Dearest ML,
M sent me this story, maybe you read it already on Marina Keegan who was a Yale Graduate and died from car accident last Saturday. She was 22.
I kept reading her last post she wrote in Yale Daily News, I cannot help and think how come such a talented and sensitive girl, full of ambition just gone like a wind? How ironic when she wrote "we are so young, we are so young" yet she was the one to first pass away?!
Nothing is fair in this world.
Let's make something happen in this world.
In a sleepless night like this, I cannot help and figure what exactly I can do to make a difference in the world? To influence people? To motivate my friends? To have a successful career (and then what?) I feel like I am no different from a fresh graduate. The only difference is I am not so young anymore. I had my graduation moment, and I never look back. I am someone with history, and someone who always think about where I am heading to, what destiny will bring to me.
Take one step at a time, and try my best. This is what I will do.
Seize the day. Seize the moment.
RIP Marina, I do not know you, but I feel like you were someone talented and inspirational to a lot of people.
k xoxo
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Caught in the cycle of poverty
Dearest ML,
If you have the time, take a look on the cover story by LA Times today and then also read the comments
Caught in the cycle of poverty
New to LA for less than 1 year, it is still hard to imagine people in the States can live like this. I think there are a few issues here:
1. Cole always mentioned about kids but I have no idea why she may consider having the 5th one given her conditions. Where is the birth control? She does not know about condom / contraceptives? As some readers may have pointed out, maybe this is her plan to gain more welfare or food stamps by having more kids. Who knows but this is alarming - it is a false alarm this time but who knows if it will be a real baby on board some time soon?
2. I am always interested in the topic of "ending poverty" (and subsequently microfinance) but in this story I think Cole has her own responsibility to bear. She missed a few times of working hard to get a job. It is a pattern.
3. Some readers suggested the role of mentor and I do think this may help provided the person is open to "constructive criticism" (believe me, not everyone is) and provided there is strong-minded person to help the impoverished like this in terms of attention, dedication and time (something more valuable than donating money)
4. All in all, the whole story keeps reminding me one thing: the person who can help yourself is yourself. For Cole, IF you are really doing the best for your children, stop having more babies, take care of your health, and settle down to get one / multiple jobs. No rocket science here. Life is not fair and sometimes someone's path is doomed to be more difficult than the others.
The story also reminds me of my dad, how he came from a poor family of 5 boys, uneducated parents who were not home to work and how he worked himself up to social ladder to become a professional and a middle class and now retired with enough money to spare. Coming from a poor family is not an excuse. Not taking care of oneself properly physically and not having a burning desire to make ends meet is.
k xoxo
If you have the time, take a look on the cover story by LA Times today and then also read the comments
Caught in the cycle of poverty
New to LA for less than 1 year, it is still hard to imagine people in the States can live like this. I think there are a few issues here:
1. Cole always mentioned about kids but I have no idea why she may consider having the 5th one given her conditions. Where is the birth control? She does not know about condom / contraceptives? As some readers may have pointed out, maybe this is her plan to gain more welfare or food stamps by having more kids. Who knows but this is alarming - it is a false alarm this time but who knows if it will be a real baby on board some time soon?
2. I am always interested in the topic of "ending poverty" (and subsequently microfinance) but in this story I think Cole has her own responsibility to bear. She missed a few times of working hard to get a job. It is a pattern.
3. Some readers suggested the role of mentor and I do think this may help provided the person is open to "constructive criticism" (believe me, not everyone is) and provided there is strong-minded person to help the impoverished like this in terms of attention, dedication and time (something more valuable than donating money)
4. All in all, the whole story keeps reminding me one thing: the person who can help yourself is yourself. For Cole, IF you are really doing the best for your children, stop having more babies, take care of your health, and settle down to get one / multiple jobs. No rocket science here. Life is not fair and sometimes someone's path is doomed to be more difficult than the others.
The story also reminds me of my dad, how he came from a poor family of 5 boys, uneducated parents who were not home to work and how he worked himself up to social ladder to become a professional and a middle class and now retired with enough money to spare. Coming from a poor family is not an excuse. Not taking care of oneself properly physically and not having a burning desire to make ends meet is.
k xoxo
Coffee Meets Bagel
Dearest ML,
As posted on your Facebook wall last night (since you are NY-to-be), this is what I found after reading a small column from a Hong Kong newspaper: Coffee meets Bagel
Without signing up (I am not eligible nor in need of such service!) and from the preliminary information I have from their website, here is my feedback:
1. I think the concept is cool because it turns out it is not that easy to meet potential partner in US (surprise!) but the key of success lies on "how CMB consultant can lie up a good match". If it is just random match, the coffee / bagel (which I still cannot distinguish who's who) may lost interests in this quickly and will likely disregard the whole thing. So I will say the first 3-5 matches are really important.
2. I still haven't figured out their business model and revenue income. I think it is fine to charge subscriber a minimal fee to sign up to enjoy the service say for 30 / 90 days if not I am not sure how they are going to sustain, considering there is no ad on their website, and considering how important it is to find a good match for the first few trials.
3. Assuming this charge model, and assuming it is a success within say 10 matches, obviously the benefit is on the spread of words among friends and possibly opt-out of the service. But to have a good match the prerequisite is again manpower to support this service
4. Sometimes I may see friends of friends that I may get interested to know about but no connection, maybe CMB can tap into this area too as purely customized match instead of "random" match (well I do not know how random that is anyway but I remember Glamour said it is "random").
5. I like the idea of having suggestions on where to date (which may turn into a paying service for bars / restaurants and stuff) but more manpower is needed for the business development.
Right on Arum, I look forward to see CMB flourish in other cities too :)
k xoxo
As posted on your Facebook wall last night (since you are NY-to-be), this is what I found after reading a small column from a Hong Kong newspaper: Coffee meets Bagel
Without signing up (I am not eligible nor in need of such service!) and from the preliminary information I have from their website, here is my feedback:
1. I think the concept is cool because it turns out it is not that easy to meet potential partner in US (surprise!) but the key of success lies on "how CMB consultant can lie up a good match". If it is just random match, the coffee / bagel (which I still cannot distinguish who's who) may lost interests in this quickly and will likely disregard the whole thing. So I will say the first 3-5 matches are really important.
2. I still haven't figured out their business model and revenue income. I think it is fine to charge subscriber a minimal fee to sign up to enjoy the service say for 30 / 90 days if not I am not sure how they are going to sustain, considering there is no ad on their website, and considering how important it is to find a good match for the first few trials.
3. Assuming this charge model, and assuming it is a success within say 10 matches, obviously the benefit is on the spread of words among friends and possibly opt-out of the service. But to have a good match the prerequisite is again manpower to support this service
4. Sometimes I may see friends of friends that I may get interested to know about but no connection, maybe CMB can tap into this area too as purely customized match instead of "random" match (well I do not know how random that is anyway but I remember Glamour said it is "random").
5. I like the idea of having suggestions on where to date (which may turn into a paying service for bars / restaurants and stuff) but more manpower is needed for the business development.
Right on Arum, I look forward to see CMB flourish in other cities too :)
k xoxo
Faint memories of our ex
Dearest ML,
We are have faint memories on our ex, regardless how much we would like to forget about him. Here is one, related to B when I received the email from Jo on tips to prepare for dragon boating:
We are have faint memories on our ex, regardless how much we would like to forget about him. Here is one, related to B when I received the email from Jo on tips to prepare for dragon boating:
Seagods, a few tips for the next 24 hours until Stanley warm up races:
- make sure you are fully hydrated - keep a bottle of water with you and sip throughout the day on Friday. A number of people have mentioned that they were thirsty at Deep Water Bay and next day (and they didn't think it was just a hangover!) A 1% drop in hydration can impact performance by up to 10% so we need to make sure we are fully hydrated as we go into race day and throughout the day. Bring plenty of water and (as they say in the army) you should be weeing "clear and often"
- rest and have an early night on Friday. Minimise alcohol in order to avoid dehydration (there will be plenty of beers on Saturday night!)
- eat balanced meals on Friday with carbohydrate and protein (lean white meat is best as red meat is hard to digest)
- get a good night's sleep on Friday
- eat a good breakfast ideally with carbohydrate and protein eg egg on toast, porridge and banana, beans on toast, fruit and yoghurt
- bring sports drinks, gels, bars, bananas to eat between races
- caffeine can also be useful between races (and in the afternoon) to give an extra kick
- caffeinated sports gels can be taken approx 15 mins before the race
Every little helps in races that are won and lost in sceonds.
See you bright and early on Saturday for another great day of racing!
See the point "avoid red meat"... it struck the chord when I remember we had a big meal of red meat (premium beef to be exact) before the Around the Hong Kong Island Race, THE outrigging race of the year as we thought this may give us a bit more strength. I personally felt horrible on the next day...
Honestly I do not want to think about this (or anything related to B) but it just came out of nowhere. If I feel sad or angry at myself for still thinking about this (or anything related to him), maybe it is a good time to turn around and see the whole incident as a joke, something we did go through together and nothing will change this fact.
Having said that it leads to the next point: embrace the faint memories we still have with our ex for this is what makes us who we are now. Have gratitude for him making who we are now. I may have too many yoga lessons these days but there is one thing called Karma. When we can accept our past without any hard feeling then we can let it go completely and focus on what lies in front of us.
k xoxo
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Quizás Quizás Quizás
Dearest ML,
Oh boy I must have been lazy... My last blog post was 3 weeks ago!!! Yes it seems to me this is indeed the first blog post written in LA again.
While the search for myself remains on, I have been reading different newspapers everyday. There is one column that I really like in Hong Kong, it is about the relationship of a financial journalist with her Mr Big: how two independent person coming along together gradually, her struggle if she should spend the night in his giant condo etc.... Very interesting.
As one reader pointed out in her comment, she wrote in a very Hong Kong style way. I have difficulty in describing what exactly is "Hong Kong style" way, in short it is Hong Kong style, something I miss after not in the city for a while.
This time she wrote about her university friend YY who studied abroad in the States, first time to learn how to take care of herself, first time to learn how to cook, go to the supermarket, to have a boyfriend and unfortunately broke up.
Devastated, she decided to go to Mexico alone.
In an unknown city unknown small bar full of strangers and Spanish, she heard this song "Quizas Quizas Quiza", a song that she heard 10,000 times when she broke up. Suddenly her secrets was revealed again unexpectedly.
"But when all the others are actually so normal and drinking coffee, chatting, I finally realized how naive I have been. I finally realized one thing: a song is just a song: it can be sad or neutral, or nothing. The same applies to a man," she wrote on a post card that the author still keeps it today.
Yes, a man is just a man! We all have our heart broken before, but a man is just a man. And today I read the Ask Amy column again, someone who had the history of "cut and run" would like to have her ex again. Amy just said "the best you can do is to let him go", and specified that "someone with a tendency to cut and run will have a tendency to do it again".
Then I thought about my ex(es), and your R, and realized one thing: a man is just a man. A man with a tendency to "cut and run" will likely to do it again. Whoever he / they are seeing now, good luck with them.
k xoxo
Oh boy I must have been lazy... My last blog post was 3 weeks ago!!! Yes it seems to me this is indeed the first blog post written in LA again.
While the search for myself remains on, I have been reading different newspapers everyday. There is one column that I really like in Hong Kong, it is about the relationship of a financial journalist with her Mr Big: how two independent person coming along together gradually, her struggle if she should spend the night in his giant condo etc.... Very interesting.
As one reader pointed out in her comment, she wrote in a very Hong Kong style way. I have difficulty in describing what exactly is "Hong Kong style" way, in short it is Hong Kong style, something I miss after not in the city for a while.
This time she wrote about her university friend YY who studied abroad in the States, first time to learn how to take care of herself, first time to learn how to cook, go to the supermarket, to have a boyfriend and unfortunately broke up.
Devastated, she decided to go to Mexico alone.
In an unknown city unknown small bar full of strangers and Spanish, she heard this song "Quizas Quizas Quiza", a song that she heard 10,000 times when she broke up. Suddenly her secrets was revealed again unexpectedly.
"But when all the others are actually so normal and drinking coffee, chatting, I finally realized how naive I have been. I finally realized one thing: a song is just a song: it can be sad or neutral, or nothing. The same applies to a man," she wrote on a post card that the author still keeps it today.
Yes, a man is just a man! We all have our heart broken before, but a man is just a man. And today I read the Ask Amy column again, someone who had the history of "cut and run" would like to have her ex again. Amy just said "the best you can do is to let him go", and specified that "someone with a tendency to cut and run will have a tendency to do it again".
Then I thought about my ex(es), and your R, and realized one thing: a man is just a man. A man with a tendency to "cut and run" will likely to do it again. Whoever he / they are seeing now, good luck with them.
k xoxo
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