List of happiness

Being happy is hard work. I’d consider myself a pretty damn happy person most of the time and I don’t think I could be asking much more of life at this point. But even when I’m at the peak of life’s oscillations, there are some bad days. (It’s too bad the oscillations aren’t periodic, because then we’d be able to take the Fourier Transform of it and find the resonance frequency and be able to predict our future)

Hence, I’d like to remind myself of what generally always makes me happy that I don’t do enough.

1. Waking up earlier and getting a head-start on the day without the morning rush
2. Playing the piano
3. Exercising
4. Cleaning up and and then looking around and enjoying the new cleanliness with a cup of hot tea
5. Reading
6. Knitting (okay, I’ve been doing this one a lot. It keeps me sane)
7. Looking at pretty things in real life (Browsing design blogs on the computer doesn’t count. Touching unaffordable clothing at the mall does)
8. Sleep (I actually do a lot of this also…)

I hope everyone has a little list like this to help you out when you’re feeling a little under the weather. Hopefully we can maintain a relatively constant supply of happiness around to keep us afloat through the waves that life crashes on us.

Monaco fashion, final installment

The first thing I thought when I woke up in my bed in my humble Central Square apartment today was “ooh, it’s still early enough for sunrise breakfast” (which is where I watch the sunrise while being served breakfast). I realized with great sadness then that I would have to make my own breakfast this morning and then even clean my own dishes. My second thought was a frightening “Wait…was Monaco all just a dream??”

Indeed, the whole trip really felt like a dream. A dream where I got to live a completely different life. The Shanying in the Monaco life was a social elite, chatting with some of the most highly influential people: professors, CEOs, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Directors, etc. This alter-Shanying donned on her Karen Millen dress as if she had a whole walk-in closet full of these types of dresses, drank her never-empty wine over dinner, wore her heels without complaining about the pain, and floated between tables in the large Gala dining hall full of fabulously dressed men and women, laughing with acquaintances and meeting new ones.

But now Shanying is grounded again in Cambridge, suddenly responsible for making up material for her classes, figuring out why her lab experiments keep failing, cooking her own meals, and cleaning her own apartment. Nothing is handed to her on a silver platter with a smile and a french accent anymore. And you know what? Nothing beats the feeling of being truly alive and normal and in control again.

I leave you with the only other picture of my fashionable attempts: the Gala dress. And now, off to lab!!

Day 3: Screw Monaco Fashion

I’ve feeling a little discouraged. I was posting pictures of my fashion endeavors here because I was excited, thinking I could match some of the way other people here dress. I was particularly excited about the post-Opera Gala dress, which cost me an arm and a leg to buy. But yesterday, while I felt semi-appropriate during the talks, the cocktail reception + dinner truly made me feel out of place. All the women went to their hotels after the talks and changed out of their business attire and into incredible cute party dresses. I guess you had to look a little bit more celebratory when you are surrounded by 20 violinists, a bass, and an accordion serenading you at the double door as you walk in to the dinner hall (appropriately called “Salle d’Or” or “Hall of Gold”). The women were all looking rather stunning. There was also an older woman there who showed a shockingly large amount of cleavage. I wanted to take a picture…but it felt a little intrusive. But I would say that my ridiculously expensive dress that I purchased for the black tie event tonight would have fit in quite well during yesterday’s dinner.

Where does that leave me? I suppose it was just silly for me to believe that I could seamlessly blend in with the multi-millionaires at this conference. And thus, as an act of defiance, I’ve decided to stop bothering posting pictures of my attempts to look nice. It’s all over now. I should just take pictures of other people instead.

…okay maybe I’m being just a touch over-dramatic. For one, I don’t think anyone gives a damn. Most of the attendees are MIT alums anyways who are still more or less grounded in our nerdy ways. The real reason why I’m not posting any new fashion images is because I drank too much last night (unlimited champagne, rose, red, and white wines throughout the whole evening affair) and was too hung over and sleepy this morning to attend the second day of conferences.

I think I’ll my self-proclaimed day off to walk around Monaco. I’ll try to take some pics of my not-so-fancy-anymore dress for tonight’s Gala and post that. The Prince (short for His Serene Highness Prince Albert the Second) will be there and he’ll just have to deal with the eyesore that is me.

Monaco Fashion #2

Good morning! I’m off to my first day of the MIT Energy Initiative Conference. It’s gonna be a full and packed day…but hopefully not too boring. I did have some time to quickly grab a picture of today’s outfit.

Shirt: Express
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Mary Janes, Lizza from Coach
Necklace and earrings (not that you can see them): pearls from China
Jacket (not pictured): Beige coat from no-name brand in China

Armed with heels, a stomach full of delicious crepes and coffee, and a bag full of business cards, I am ready to network!! Gotta run. Until tomorrow!

Monaco fashion #1

I arrived last night in the ridiculous country of Monaco (or as I like to call it, Moneyco). I’ll be doing a more detailed travelogue entry some other time, but I decided to blog about my daily fashion endeavors, because this is the only time and place I’ve ever encountered where people care about the way I dress.

After wonderful breakfast (unlimited crepes!!!) while watching the sun rise, and after I hand-washed three of Mike’s t-shirts (if we had sent those three t-shirts to the laundry women in the hotel, it would have cost us 30 euros. THIRTY. I mean, wth), I picked out today’s outfit for checking out the country and some southern France hilltowns.

Dress: Judy Kim, from Raspberry Beret in Porter Square ($5!!)
Jacket: Love Stitch
Earrings: no name brand from China
Necklace: …not sure actually; it was a present from a friend in San Diego
Shoes: Satin flats with bow, from Ann Taylor

Okay, so I’m wearing mostly no-name stuff today. Tomorrow’s the first day of the conference, which means business attire, which means I have real clothes with real brands. Until tomorrow, lovelies!

Phrases spelled out and foamy soap

Two observations on this lovely Thursday morning (why is this morning lovely? I finally managed wake up before 8am, instead of snoozing for over an hour and a half. I tend to snooze for such a long time, the alarm decides to ignore me and simply shut off. And because today I finally woke up early enough to get to the office before 9, I had the pleasure of walking through Central Square and Harvard Yard breathing in a crisper warm air than the suffocating blanket of heat that starts later in the day.)

1. Are there any phrases that you hear people say all the time, but upon seeing it written on paper you realize you’ve misunderstood the phrase all your life? For example, just now I saw “quote unquote” on the New York Times Magazine. I’ve been saying “quote on quote” all my (English-speaking) life. Now the phrase makes so much more sense! Can you think of any other examples of this happening to you?

2. Who invited foamy soap? I hate that person because I have no idea why soap ever needs to come out of the dispenser pre-foamed. Foaming up the soap in my hand makes me feel productive — why would someone take that joy away from me?

Pictures…worth a thousand words?

I was going to make this long post about my three-week trip to China; about the World Expo, visiting Yellow Mountains, and all of the crap I had to deal with at airports. But I am too lazy to write words, so enjoy these random assortment of pictures instead.

First we went to the Expo in Shanghai. There were many people, the lines were long and all the pavillions are huge.

I'm on a horse! I'm on a horse! I'm on a motherfucking horse!

Abercrombif and Titch, a word that reminds me of Bitch or Tit but def. not Fitch

We climbed Yellow Mountains. It was beautiful but my pictures didn't come out so great. I'm trying to coverup its crappiness with an artistic black-and-white look

Is this image of the Yellow Mountains better?

This is a rock on Yellow Mountain. It's named after what it looks like, but the name is not what you think it should be.

We visited Hong Cun in AnHui province, a very beautiful ancient town

But at the end of the day, the best part of going home was family

10 things I’ve come to realize in China

I’ll be posting momentarily about my adventures in Shanghai and the World Expo. But after being in China for several days, I’d like to share a few things I’ve noticed that’s different from the US:

1. Drivers here are absolutely terrifying. They change lanes constantly, even though it feels like they’re driving in the middle of the road for most of the time. They don’t seem to heed much attention to traffic lights and sometimes will freely drive on the opposite side of the road. If you’re not driving on the highway and in the city, pedestrians jaywalk as if it’s their job and you have to pay twice as much attention to motorcycles and bicycles. Is the stereotype that Asians are horrible drivers really embedded in our genes?
2. On the topic of cars/drivers: Chinese people seriously dislike seat belts. They have a special metal piece that mocks their seat belt to put in the buckle, because the car will beep otherwise. Do they not realize that the car manufacturers put that annoying “seat belt unbuckled alarm” feature there for their safety?
3. All the women here are obsessed about weight and height. Everywhere I go, the first comment is always about my weight (apparently I’ve lost some weight, which is their way of telling me I was super fat before) and my height (apparently I’ve gotten taller, but I’m pretty sure the older generation is just shrinking). My cousins talk about my weight all the time, pocking my waist and grabbing my chubbytummy fat.  The irony? Everyone here is so damn thin, I don’t think they can even get fat.
4. Everyone is weirded out by the fact that I don’t like to wear socks with my sandals. They keep asking me if I’m too cold.
5. Of the kitchens I’ve seen so far, it appears customary to put the fridge and freezer in a separate pantry room. This seems completely unintuitive to me. I open my fridge like 12 billion times when I’m cooking…
6. At dinner parties, which are all held in private rooms in restaurants, toasting is essential. Like vectors, direction matters: if couple A toast couple B, couple B must later in the party toast couple A. I am completely overwhelmed by all the toasting and all the nice words that people say to me. I have no idea how to respond with the exception of smiling and drinking lots of wine. I’m pretty sure they all think I’m rude, because I never say anything nice back.
7. I’ve always known this, but oh my god the food is so fucking good. Street food or fancy restaurant food. I haven’t experienced hunger since my plane landed.
8. Clothes, bags, and shoes, especially nice ones, are really not that much cheaper in China anymore.
9. Being with family is one of the best feelings in the world. I love them fully and dearly, even though I could never express it in Chinese. It makes me realize just how lonely it gets in the US.
10. This country is full of optimism, drive, and motivation. Everyone is working to make China the next world leader, and the energy among the people is infectious. Yes, there are tons of obstacles still: government corruption, air pollution, and media censorship. But the Chinese people are stronger and working harder than ever, and that in itself is something worth of my pride.

Things that annoy me

People who constantly say “You know what?” or “You know what I’m saying?” or “You know what I mean?” in conversations.

TV shows

I love TV. This is a long list of what I’m watching currently (yes, I only watch what’s available on Hulu)

Drama

Lost – This is the only show I’ve followed from start to finish. Too bad the series finale will be happening when I’m in China! I wonder if Hulu works there…
House – Slowly losing interest in it, but when I’m bored enough I’ll watch it.
Parenthood – Just started getting into the show. LOVE IT! My favorite drama right now.
Desperate Housewives – Terrible show and only getting worse. And yet I can’t…stop…watching….
Chuck - Recently got really into it. Mike and I watched the first season in less than a week.

Comedy

Modern Family - I wish there was a new episode of Modern Family every night. I just can’t get enough of this show! My def fav right now.
Better off Ted - It’s officially been canceled by ABC, but it will always go down as one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. Also, can we talk about how Cougar Town, the worst show/acting/premise EVER, is renewed while Better off Ted had to be cut??
Community – Decently funny…sometimes. I mostly just watch it for the 30 second skit at the end of each episode.
Parks and Recreation - Also just decently funny sometimes.
How I Met Your Mother - Used to be hilarious; now just painful to watch. Haven’t been following for a while now…When will the storyline progress?

Really bad television I secretly like just a teensy little bit

Real Housewives of New York City. I know. I’m sorry. It’s just…the drama! It’s memorizing! Don’t judge me too much: I’ve only watched 1.5 episodes.

Show that I’m afraid to watch because I know I’d be obsessed with it and I’m really trying to pretend like I’m better than everyone else by not watching it

Glee.