Lonely Mother’s Day – Third Culture’s Story

This most likely happens to many third culture kids (TCKs) when holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day rolls around. I phoned a florist in Taiwan to make sure a basket of flowers (carnations for mothers day! of course) in her favorite color assortments are sent over on Saturday. Why a day before Sunday? Because …

She’s not shy, she’s just not interested

This actually happened. Hilarious as it is. My girlfriend, Mandy is a cute blond, and was out with me and some friends. We ran into more friends at G lounge (one of me fave places!) and we all started hanging out. I introduced one of my single guy friends to my friend, Mandy. My guy …

Delayed responses to texts? Huge turnoff.

Recently, two of my friends started seeing each other. However, the girl would sometimes be texting with the speed of light, i.e. responding texts within 1-2 minutes. But other times, she would not respond until 3-4 days later. This really frustrated the guy."Is she playing games? What is going on? Is she just playing me?" …

Guys, we apologize for letting you wait outside the bathrooms.

I was at a bar and restaurant. Saw a guy just standing by himself outside the restroom. I think he's been standing there for awhile. I went in, saw a girl at the mirror. "Ahh," I think, "He must be waiting for her. Ok, that makes sense." A few minutes later, I come out, and …

Why do you guys and girls tear each other down like that?

Recently, I met a guy in the business school. Great guy. Funny, smart, nice and gentle. At the same time, I met a group of these business students, which included girls as well. These girls somehow took an immediate liking to me, and have somehow adopted me to be their new favorite little sister. This …

Non-single guys: Why do you flirt? and girls: why do you flirt back?

Ok, strange question? Let me back up and explain why. Dennis, great guy, beautiful and on his way to graduate from medical school and make some big bucks. Smart, funny, charming. And oh my goodness, does he get so much attention from girls, and he flirts right back, just as strongly. He seeks out the …

A Jewish and a Christian = Romeo and Juliet?

Last week, I was talking to an acquaintence while we were all out with mutual friends. We hit it off really well, we both enjoyed the intellectual stimulating conversation that the other person had to offer. Our humor was just the right amount and level for both people. We had a lot in common (working …

“What exactly do you want right now?”

Hm, common question that I've been asked a lot recently. After breaking up, some friends are eager to introduce to me that "awesome guy" or that "great person that you'll totally match with" to me. But I'm not sure if that's the route I want. I do enjoy my single life and my freedom. Part …

“Fearless” Colbie Caillat

"Fearless" - Colbie Caillat Just started listening to her songs. Love the beat to this song and the arrangement. The lyrics reminds me of both the cheating ex back in July as well as this current break up. I guess break ups, no matter how different, evoke similar responses and emotions. The current break up, …

My own blog woke me up!

The very next day after I broke up, I was kind of mopey and sad, and missed him a lot. Some of my friends had told me before that my early entries in this blog really helped them when they were going through breakups and the grieving process.  So, I went back to my own …

Allow yourself to grieve

This morning, I was reading Acts 14. And I came across this: "They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe." Isn't it amazing that …

My Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine's Day (and Chinese New Year!) 🙂 After church, we went to pass out hot chocolate, tea, cookies and brownies to the homeless people around the city of Philadelphia. This was our church's way of celebrating love, by trying to use our actions to express God's love to those around us in our …

Platonic Men and Women friendships?

Ahh, the age old million dollar question. Can men and women just be friends? Well, there are quantifying statements to help explain better. At one given moment, perhaps a man and a woman can be purely friends, but when you take away the snapshot and look at long term, the answer may be different. At …

“Are we spending way too much time together?”

When two people are in love and dating, when is spending time together going overboard? Hopefully, the two people still have contact with the outside world. But where's the balance? If you have a girl or guy friend, that disappears once they're dating, and everytime you see them, they show up in a pair (couple …

Marrying against your family’s will: Romantic or Irresponsible?

Now some people may say this is so romantic because love conquers all. But lets step back and be grown ups for a sec, now can we? You want to get married but your family is very much against it. Your response? A. Ignore and go ahead with it anyway. With or without them. B. …

How you start the relationship, is it important?

I have friends pondering over the value and sustainability of their romantic relationship. We got into a discussion: How did your relationship start? Why are you with the person you're with right now? We got some varying answers: 1. We have a lot of fun together. 2. We were really good friends, and were spending …

Jealousy or Competition?

A coworker, Amanda, is celebrating a birthday. Boyfriend and 60+ friends attend. Boyfriend gets upset in the middle of the party, because Brad keeps chatting with Amanda. Boyfriend blows up at the party and threatens to break-up with Amanda. She's utterly confused.   She discusses the events at the office the next day, and one …

Gift Ideas for your boyfriend’s parents

So after spending Christmas with my boyfriend's parents, and laboriously obsessing over what to give, I finally gave this: 1. Chopstick set in a fancy wrap case. 2. Chocolates from Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. 3. An Espirit scarf/wrap, silk mixed cotton, beautiful blend of color and embroidery. So their tradition is to sit …

Christmas Activities

So as a third culture kid, we get this awkward situation of Christmas. In the US, Christmas is by far the largest holiday, most widely celebrated, most crazily prepared and most money spent on. However, Christmas holds a very different weight in other cultures, well, all other countries, pretty much. In other countries, there is …

Embarrassed to be practicing? But it pays

On Food Network, they have these cake challenges, where you have to make/build a cake in like.. 10 hours, to fit a theme. Like Edible Ornaments, or Ice Age Movie Theme, or Christmas Season, etc. So in the "Edible Ornaments" episode, this on contestant said that she practiced hard at home, over and over again. …

I hate jewelry commercials on tv

It usually is playing on tv. But during holiday season, it is bombarding every single tv station. That Jared Jewelers commercial? Or that Littman Jewelers commercial of the 2 lovers skating? Or fun little mom and dad commercials from Kay "Every kiss begins with Kay"? (I know you're humming that line as you read that.) …

What to give your boyfriend’s parents for Christmas?!

Its hard enough finding a gift for you boyfriend for Christmas. But try buying a gift for his parents!! I'm spending Christmas eve and Christmas Day with his family (since my family is overseas). So as many suggest, if I bring over a bottle of wine, its more of a hostess gift, something that I …

“I don’t wait for a man”

That's what my friend said to me today. "There's two things I won't do. I won't wait in lines for clubs and I won't wait for a man." At the first moment, I looked at her with admiration thinking, wow, she's so confident and strong! But then, I rethink her statement, and I'm not so …

Unselfish vs being taken advantage of

Responding to Emylou from Sacrifice: Where's the Balance What is the difference between being unselfish and being taken advantage of and walked all over? Sometimes, I find myself so scared of being abused and misused, that I try to keep a distance. People say I'm so passionate and generous with my time and my energy. …

Sacrifice: Where’s the balance?

I was chatting with a group of my girlfriends, and we started talking about Sacrifice. Sometimes, we find ourselves at one extreme, where we're selfish with our time and our money, and we really don't want to sacrifice any of it, even to help the poor and the needy, sometimes even to assist a loved …