Before the Chinese New Year feast at my parents’ house yesterday, Kevin and I went to the theater and saw Valentine’s Day. It’s our first movie theater experience together since Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Kevin took Alex and his friends to see The Lightning Thief for his birthday, but I stayed home with the girls.) If you enjoy ensemble cast romantic comedies like Love Actually and He’s Just Not That Into You, you’ll love this movie, doubly so if you live in Los Angeles; every picturesque scene is a Valentine to this city. My favorite characters were played by Taylor Swift and Julia Roberts. One made me laugh, and the other made me cry. The rest of the star-studded cast was pretty good too. I only wish the older couple played by Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo had gotten more screen time.

Categories: entertainment, movies
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Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. We’re heading over to my parents’ house for a feast. I can’t wait. I baked some almond biscotti tonight to take over tomorrow. It’s a family favorite, but it takes me about 3 hours to make from start to finish, plus the cleanup is heinous, so I don’t make it nearly as often as they’d like.

I count Chinese New Year among one of the coolest benefits of being Chinese American; I get to celebrate the new year TWICE. This year all I’m hoping for is something a little better than what I’ve been feeling: overworked, underpaid, and perpetually sick. I’d also like to have a few moments of clarity, pretty please.

My first semester back in school has made me question my sanity. Why am I taking on this intense obligation, both in terms of time and money, when all three of my kids are young and we’re constantly counting our pennies? About half of my classmates have grown children, and many others have no kids. These people think I’m insane. Frankly, I think I am too.

Despite all this, I still have hope. I have a conference presentation I’ve been stressing over, but as of next week it’ll be done. I’m going to see a new doctor in a couple of weeks, so maybe my health will improve sooner rather than later. I’m working on incorporating a bit of meditation into my day, which should help in many ways. I just discussed our budget with Kevin, and we think we should be able to survive until our furloughs end, whether it’s one or two years from now.

On that note, I wish you all a happy Year of the Tiger. May you eat lots of good food and prosper in the new year!

Categories: budget, chinese, school, work-life balance
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I’ve been learning about Nonviolent Communication a la Marshall Rosenberg. If you have never read this book, I highly recommend it. It’s great for anyone who wants to learn how to communicate better. First and foremost it will teach you how to spot “violence” in your own speech patterns, e.g. orders rather than requests, requests based on conditional love, and talk filled with judgment. I think it’s very counter-culture because Americans takes pride in a quick wit and having opinions about everything, even things that don’t particularly matter. But by the time you finish this book, you’ll be ready to mediate Middle East peace talks.

Categories: school
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