wine tasting
Damn...I make good sangria. It was an accident actually; I left a bowl of fruit sitting in concentrated sugar water overnight, and when I used it, the sugar water tasted fruity, so I put it into the sangria. Very yummy.
My sister's really smart. She got an 800 on the first SATII she's ever taken. As a result, she's taking my other Fendi. We're still waiting for her PSAT scores, but Pway's kinda stupid, so we're not even sure if the PSAT they took was legit or not.
I actually feel kinda bad for her. I'm putting her on a really hard schedule of vocab, writing, and research projects. It's only because I'm around to monitor every minute of spare time she has, but it's for her own good. She says I have to buy her a pair of Manolos if she gets a 2400, and like an idiot, I agreed.
We made cake and jello today, and the jello was the only one that came out good...oh! and sangria! That was good..mm..
up the mountain
I just came back from 6 straight hours of tutoring. I'm really tired, but these kids are wonderful, so it's not like I had to keep repeating the same things over and over to get them to understand.
I have 24 hours of tutoring lined for next week. This is the most I've had...EVER. Hope I can get through it alive. However, because it's still the beginning of summer (most kids got out this week), there's still a chance that more students will enroll, but the spots are limited. I don't like working on the weekends, but I will allow either early Saturday or Sunday mornings.
I really need to start writing down the interesting things that happen in class. Can't write them here, unfortunately, because kids these days have an uncanny way of navigating through blogs and finding exactly what they need. So yeah, no embarassing anyone.
You know....even after two years, I still have no idea why Princeton accepted me. In my essay, I stated very clearly that I didn't want to do anything exceptional or world-changing with my life. I told them I wanted to be a soccer mom/housewife and live a quiet, normal life. Maybe they'd hoped I'd change my mind, or they wanted to use me to balance out all the hard-core students out there. I dunno. When parents ask me about how I got into college, I really have no idea what to tell them.
I really want to go to Woodbury Commons, but I need to resist the urge to spend money. But they have EVERYTHING!!! Gucci, Pucci, Burberry, Fendi, Chanel.......AND ALL ON SALE!!! sigh...we'll see...
scared of clowns?
I just bought Karl's birthday present even though his birthday isn't till August:
Cirque du Soleil tickets. 2nd row. Dead center.
I'm so excited! But knowing that there're still two months until we go see them, I'm probably going to end up buying a secondary (or ternary) gift. Same goes for my sister, but at least that's acceptable because it's her sweet 16. I offered to take her to Wicked, but she declined.
My dad liked his gifts, which was surprising considering the first thing he said before he opened them was: "Did you keep the receipts?" He's really picky. I got him a Burberry polo, Jen got him a box of Godiva biscuits, and my mom bought him a Ralph Lauren shirt.
The Yanks game today was a real heartbreaker. I don't know why they kept Wang pitching for so long. Soccer today was also pretty insane; the Koreans kept getting injured. I love watching the Brazilian team play, even though people say they're a real disappointment this year. I don't know much about soccer, but I think they're really good.
NEW LINK
Okay, see that link that says "Matt's comics" on the right hand side? Click on it and enjoy.
medias res
For the first time in more than 2 years, I am experiencing that horrible little thing called PMS.
I don't like it. It makes me feel ugly, but luckily, not fat. I mean--c'mon now--I'm hormonal, not blind. That came off totally conceited, didn't it? I'm just a horrible person right now, but I want actual written documentation because it's kinda a monumental thing for me: this laughing to crying to being confused...thing.
So is this how most girls feel every month? It's absolutely unbearable. Seriously, it hits you out of nowhere, and you have to rethink your life and disassociate these nasty little feelings from everything else. I think the first important step to getting through PMS is to recognize that it is PMS, and not something that's actually serious.
And how did I know? I turned down a trip to Short Hills mall.
Now, I know: inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. I should be focusing more on my attitude and life perspectives than the latest sale at Burberry. Inner beauty is important--and I totally agree! But you see, I don't think of my exterior as being prettier than my interior. I'm a good person. Plus, my favorite color is pink, and I'm all pink inside (ha!). Oh geez, I'm totally retarded right now.
I should stop writing, but this is like one of those slip-ups you make during a conversation that you just dig deeper and deeper into. Please don't lose too much respect for me. Okay, now that just sounded needy. Wait, is this why a lot of girls get accused of being too needy? Cuz if so, then I scream injustice. Hormones are the real bitches.
I ate with my hands today at Makeda's. Mmmm....k bye.
penniless and broke
I don't know about you, but I love reading books such as Shopaholic, Nanny Diaries, and Bridget Jones's Diary. It's the classic girl-next-door turned career gal, with the usual confusion and anxieties most women have about both their work and personal lives.
That said, I should totally write a book on tutoring because there're just so many hilarious things I can come up with that actually happened. I'm trying to convince Jenny to collaborate on it with me, and together maybe we'll write a bestseller. Unfortunately, neither of us feel like we have enough "life experience" to write a novel, and my attention span doesn't exactly allow me to write more than a page at a time.
Also, I've decided on my signature look: jeans with a black top.
Two reasons: 1. I feel most confident in a nice pair of flattering denim, and a top that doesn't scream out for attention.
2. Most of my tops ARE black, and if I can convince myself this is really "my thing," I won't be as tempted to go shopping.
I really can't afford to go shopping anymore. It just isn't working out. I completely violated my Short Hills every 6 months deal to go shopping for father's day, but I have to say--I picked out a damn good gift.
"Cars" was a good movie, but only if you don't compare it to "The Incredibles." It's not the typical DisneyPixar comedy cartoon, but the characters were developed well, and the story's not bad either. Karl and I went on opening day, and I realized how much I enjoyed watching kids' movies with a bunch of giggling children sitting all around us. It's comforting to know that I haven't really outgrown myself yet.
The summer's going by too quickly; I can feel it already, even though I'm not really doing anything. I bought The Bell Jar, and once I finish it, I'll have completed my goal for the summer.
don't nobody not like costco
First of all, people need to stop hatin' on Paris Hilton's new single. She doesn't really sing, so she doesn't even have a chance to mess it up. Also, the song totally sounds like No Doubt back in the 90s, so it's all good with me.
In Costco, they have those vacuum tubes: you put a document in a canister, slide it in, and whooosh! It's sucked in and going up and through the pipes to who-knows-where.
Speaking to Asian women is a lot like those tubes. Even the tiniest thing can get sucked up and passed around, but you never really know where it's going to go. What you do know, is that eventually, and sometimes in a shorter time span than others, the information will get across. Somehow.
I know these women. They watch Korean dramas all day, and they complain about their children over lunch. I have nothing personal against them, but you always have to watch what you say when they're around. If anything has taught me how to stay under the radar, it's these women and all the idle chatter. It's never anything serious, and they don't mean any harm, but it's just an annoyance that makes me want to wring off their heads--bobs, perms, highlighted hair, and all.
I'm also close to paying off my vacation, which is a relief considering I've only really been working for a few days. And it's not an easy job! Some of my kids, I swear, have ADD, and it's impossible to keep them focused on their work. Still, they're all amazingly bright and willing to learn and I love them to death. I've been sending them emails too, and I frequently feel the urge to send them random ones out of pure love and absolute boredom.
But the most important things in my life right now are these:
1. My mother's sick right now, so I'm going to try my best to keep her happy and non-stressed. She's not allowed to have any alcohol with her meds, so I'm going to have to personally "get rid" of all the liqs in the house. Asian people don't like to waste, so the drain's the last place it's going.
2. Father's day is coming up, so I'll have to find the almost non-existent designer polo shirt with a front pocket. My dad uses it to hold like...a wallet or something--just a little quirk of his. I'm also thinking about getting him a bottle of Hennessy XO, which is somehwere between $100-200. Not sure. Also, because Father's day is so close to his birthday, I might just splurge and get him that nice Burberry watch I've been checking out.
3. I lost 4 pounds!!! I lost 4 pounds!!! I'm not exactly concave around the belly, but it's progress! And do you know what that means? No more gym! No more shameful fainting and puking!
My new goal is to resist the Gucci sale even though I don't own a single pair of designer shoes. I hate shoe shopping. I love having comfortable feet, and all the pretty shoes are like half a foot tall. I mean, c'mon now. If I was meant to be that tall, God wouldn't have made me Asian.
oh so laughable
So, the contract didn't last long. I bought stuff, as to be expected, but at least I haven't really been eating ice cream. Costco sells huge bags of frozen fruits, and I've been using them to make smoothies.
I did, however, go to the gym. I also, laughably, puked and blacked out after going on the ellipticals.
It reminded me that no matter how smart I try to be, it doesn't really matter if my body decides to break down. Stay healthy, stay healthy, stay healthy.
Oh, and after bruising my pride, I still haven't been back to the gym. But I will! I promise!
Lately, I've been busy doing my whole tutoring thaaang. There's a constant stream of worksheets and quizzes to make, as well as papers to grade. I'm teaching my kids "close reading" to see if it's possible to master it at a middle/high school level. So far, they're doing surprisingly well, and they seem very proud of themselves for what they could accomplish. I'm doing a kinda Gothic theme summer reading, but we'll see how long that lasts. I think I still have to hit up the old Lord of the Flies and Brave New World and other "society gone wrong" books.
My new haircut makes me look too nice and peppy. It's so...bouncy. And way too short for my taste. Maybe I'll let it grow long and go for the dark, mysterious look which I know I can't pull off for my life. I guess peppy is okay for the summer, and it does look nice with the two new bathing suits I got (one red, one pink). I hate swimming, and I doubt I'll have that much time to go to the beach, but I love buying bathing suits, especially when they're only $15 each (Marshalls).
I really need to start doing some summer reading of my own, but I find myself reading the stuff I'm giving the kids rather than the books I need for school. I'm really glad I took Nunokawa's 19th century lit course, because I'm totally in love with both Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and Eliot's Middlemarch. I'd love to do my JP on either of those books, or maybe on Sexton or Bishop.
