It was mucky, and muddy. But that didn’t stop us from picking and kicking (thanks, you two, for the rotten apple mush in my hair) all the reddish green apple-y goodness we wanted. Here’s a little photojournalistic storytelling of our Upstate Adventure.

ARISE Show Information

Rushing to the show after work in steady rain was a fitting, albeit frenetic precursor to the ARISE Show, whose theme was simply Water. The collective showcase of African designers benefitted clean water projects for the region, and reminded us all sharply how luxurious NYFW and living in New York simply is in comparison to the third world situations across the globe.

Read the rest!

Hiking the AT

• Leaky Toilets
• LOUD refrigerator
• LOUD refrigerator next to our bed
• Oven that has NEVER worked
• Faucets that don’t know what WARM means, and only know what SCALDING and ICY COLD mean
• Broken Screen Door
• Belligerent Neighbors (NYC living, self explanatory)
• TOO SMALL STUDIO
• No storage
• Sharing one closet (I grew up, pretty much, an only child – sharing is a concept I only tolerated at school)
• squirrels chewing through car wires because they don’t have delicious, natural, abundant tree nuts…OH WAIT…

BUT….

End of April, moving soon!!!

Pessimism in 3, 2, …..

Cons:

• I hate packing
• I am an organizational Nazi and cannot be calm when doing anything that is considered a Big Deal, i.e. I will probably excel spreadsheet this whole moving process, therefore causing myself emotional breakdowns and paper-bag-breathing-worthy hyperventilation.
• Hiring movers
• Hiring a truck
• I really, HATE packing

Pros:

• Can’t wait to move out of this apartment
• WANT TO GET A PET!!! Something fuzzy to love on…
• Redecorating itch may be satisfied soon

Will update soon!

anybody want to volunteer to help us move?

No? Nobody? Thought so…

This past Friday the hubs and I were privileged to be a part of a wedding ceremony of two new friends! They married at the Queens County Clerks in a short, sweet ceremony, and now we have a new couple friend to hang out with near our apartment!

It’s so nice to meet new people, especially new people you click with well and have many interesting things in which to discuss and learn about each other!

Variety is the spice of life!

Congrats to our two new friends and their Furbaby, Peanut~!

Welcome to married life!

“Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” (Wall Street Journal Editorial)

First of all, the title was not handed from the author herself, rather, the WSJ chose to title this article themselves. Quite divisively, I might add.

In reading the extremely biased, one sided version shown above – there’s been lots of controversial talk about this person, as a mother, as a woman, as a CHINESE woman, as a law professor. etc.

Poor lady has even experienced death threats on account of this article…

Being an asian american – born in this country, but experiencing a childhood with parents who embody (mostly) this “tough love” principle, I can honestly only give thanks to the experiences I’ve had. & Speaking for myself, I’ve only experienced things that yes, I look back upon with mixed feelings, but I also look upon with gratitude and admiration. My mom was a “Tiger Mother” (but not to the degree of Mrs. Chua) & sure I complained about it, screamed even, and cried myself silly. But was it worth it?

Of course. & why?

Because there was a healthy amount of fear and respect, the enforcing of tasks no matter how dull, and the demand for individual perfection that strengthens my resolve to do “what has to get done”, to keep learning/achieving, and to accept my superiors as such.

Because I learned that Tough-Love, doesn’t mean No-Love.

& the No Bullshit Route she took made me stronger and more self-aware.

There is a Chinese (I believe it’s Chinese…) saying, to paraphrase as I understand it, that explains that a child may not love you for what you do now, but it will when it grows older. There are some things that children have to know as hard and just facts of life. The “my mom is my best friend” route gets old, and can be abused on part of the child if they learn to manipulate it, and usually a pugnacious, rebellious, short-sighted, self-righteous teen (like I was) will.

Good thing she didn’t let me get away with much.

I owe her a lot for who I am today. & it means so much more when she says she’s proud of me now, than it ever did before. I know better now, and being thankful at 25 feels so much more real & meaningful than it would have when I was 16.

I for one, champion Tiger Mothers. Or at least one who let’s her children (one day) have sleepovers and be in the school play.

(Of course, everyone is “The Perfect Parent” when they have no children of their own – only time will tell if I am even a competent one when the occasion to prove myself arises.)

Addition: I am currently in the middle of the book and am loving Amy Chua more and more. She’s agressive, blunt, coercing, take-charge, doesn’t sugar coat things and most of all, she’s human.