If you are like most people around here, your first word this year was “Happy.” You then hugged and/or kissed the person next to you, before texting your friends and posting something fun on social media. If you are like me, you don’t remember what your first word of 2015 was because you were deeply engaged in a solo project in the comfort of your home. And if you are me, you also just finished rereading Dan Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness. In this chuckle-inducing book, Gilbert explains why Continue reading
My Staff
At my job’s end-of-semester meeting, I was asked what I was most proud of. “My staff!” was the first thing that popped in my head. The thought came as a flash, and after a moment of reflection, I confirmed out loud that I couldn’t think of anything other than, indeed, my staff.
Earlier this year, MIT’s Continue reading
The “Give” in Thanksgiving
It’s been a long time since my last post, but I promise, I’m still here! It’s been a crazy few months and now that I’m remembering that I have a blog/site, the trees have gone bare, it’s completely dark out by 4:30 pm, and we have snow on the ground.
What else, Thanksgiving is here! Continue reading
Asian Eyes: A Fold Between Beauty and Identity
If I told you I underwent double eyelid surgery—the #1 type of cosmetic surgery in Asia—to make my eyes look more awake, would you believe me?
Before and after photos
I Am My Beloved’s, My Beloved Is Mine
Five years ago in the presence of family and friends, Mike and I stood facing each other and improvised on what to say before exchanging wedding rings. That day was, and still is, the best day of my life. Continue reading
Fun at Weddings
My friend Julien from high school just got married yesterday. Also yesterday, while chatting with someone about her upcoming wedding, I learned that two of my other friends had gotten engaged (to each other) that very afternoon. That’s probably a cue for me to write something wedding-related, such as my former “career” in the wedding business. Few people know that after doing so many weddings, I started an official Continue reading
Reflecting on “Reflections”
My mom had hoped that her three daughters would one day turn into a doctor to help take care of the family, a lawyer to protect the family, and a writer to tell the story of the family. My sister Estelle noted that if computers had existed when mom had made these plans, maybe a computer guru would have made the wish list. As consolation, I once offered Continue reading
M&M’s First Charity Run
Dear Sir and/or Madam,
I am moderately appreciative of your vaguely generous support for my generic cause. Without your support, my efforts would have been negligibly though non-trivially affected. I apathetically look forward to your continued support of my unapologetically routine endeavours.
marginally yours,
-haroldbot Continue reading
Something Called a Ph.D.
College campuses have been manicured to welcome proud parents; students are turning in their final projects; there’s excitement in the air, mixed with a hint of sadness. It’s graduation season once again. With 58 higher education institutions in the area, sooner or later (if you haven’t already) you will run into Continue reading
We Were Boat People
Warning: This is not a fun post.
Vietnamese boat people refers to refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship after the Vietnam War, especially during 1978 and 1979, but continuing until the early 1990s. The term “Vietnamese Boat People” is often used generically to refer to all the Vietnamese (about 2 million) who left their country by any means or method between 1975 and 1995.
–Wikipedia, Boat People