...you really suck. Let me count the ways.
At a family dinner, you yell at me in front of everyone for being a pig and eating too much bread. In reality, I've only had 1 slice.
And then you go on to tell a made-up story about how I'm such a pig, that I start eating anything you put on the dinner table before the table's even set. Never have I EVER done that. May and dad will pick at it, and I generally sit down to eat after they do.
You tell me just after I've eaten that I'm really fat.
You sit down in a row with Gramma and your best friend and proceed to go on with them for half an hour about how fat I've gotten and that it's really bad, and that one day I'm going to be obese because I make bad decisions and don't know how to eat well.
This is all on top of the fact that you have never had a single nice thing to say to me in the entirety of my life. Dad will say, "Very good," if I get a 100 on a test. You will go, "Where's the extra credit points?" May gets similar treatment from you.
Many a time when I come home, the first thing you say to me is, "Go bake a cake for me." What happened to hello?
You never have anything nice to say about any of my boyfriends. Nothing. You never want to meet them, and all you do is spend time talking trash about a man you know nothing about to me and to all of your friends.
The reason I never come home and visit is because of you. I don't want to be around you because all you can do is tell your daughters that they don't know anything, and that they're ill-qualified to do anything right in the world. You're irrational, loud, rude, narrow-minded and completely backwards.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
So Much for Togetherness
Axel left last Friday for Haiti. He's there documenting the good work being done by Doctors Without Borders. So far, it sounds like it isn't too bad, if you disregard all the dead, dying and injured. The weather is balmy, the people are nice. I've been very nervous about him being there. This morning there was a 6.1 earthquake, and I texted him as soon as I heard to make sure he's alright. Slept through it, so that's not too bad. I just got this funny little email from him about what it's like in Haiti for the DWB organization:
well - the entire thing is pretty much a black comedy out of the chronicles of disorganization...
we were embedded with the Swiss Doctors without Borders - the deal was that we get food, shelter and logistics
and they get the footage for their own use.
Except the Swizzies dumped us with the Dutchies - which we did not even know until we realized that
there are actually an abundance of borders within the doctors without borders: the dutch somewhat get along with the belgians - but they do not
like the swiss and everybody hates the french.
except: all the individual people from those charters are pretty much from all over the world - so Carlos, a Colombian surgeon who lives in the Bronx
is refused a ride with the Belgians because he is considered Swiss. And we are like the unwanted relatives ;-)
So we crashed on the lawn with the Dutchies until they kicked us out - not because we were an inconvenience (we are not there all day
and at night we sleep on the lawn) but because we are swiss :-)
now we are with the swiss, but they did not mention that they do not have a real house so we are in tents with them - and make us rather unwelcome.
As we are IDP's now (internally displaced people) we also plunder as much as we can. We stole a bunch of cookies from the Dutch and Bananas and water
from the swiss :-)
the swiss just realized that Haiti is not on 240 Volts, so all of their equipment is not working (I just looked it up un the internet before I left). The Japanese came with a super
fancy inflatable hospital but distrust everybody and do not speak a word of french or english.
all in all it is rather interesting and i just had some delicious chicken with shallots :-)
well - the entire thing is pretty much a black comedy out of the chronicles of disorganization...
we were embedded with the Swiss Doctors without Borders - the deal was that we get food, shelter and logistics
and they get the footage for their own use.
Except the Swizzies dumped us with the Dutchies - which we did not even know until we realized that
there are actually an abundance of borders within the doctors without borders: the dutch somewhat get along with the belgians - but they do not
like the swiss and everybody hates the french.
except: all the individual people from those charters are pretty much from all over the world - so Carlos, a Colombian surgeon who lives in the Bronx
is refused a ride with the Belgians because he is considered Swiss. And we are like the unwanted relatives ;-)
So we crashed on the lawn with the Dutchies until they kicked us out - not because we were an inconvenience (we are not there all day
and at night we sleep on the lawn) but because we are swiss :-)
now we are with the swiss, but they did not mention that they do not have a real house so we are in tents with them - and make us rather unwelcome.
As we are IDP's now (internally displaced people) we also plunder as much as we can. We stole a bunch of cookies from the Dutch and Bananas and water
from the swiss :-)
the swiss just realized that Haiti is not on 240 Volts, so all of their equipment is not working (I just looked it up un the internet before I left). The Japanese came with a super
fancy inflatable hospital but distrust everybody and do not speak a word of french or english.
all in all it is rather interesting and i just had some delicious chicken with shallots :-)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bitchy Broker!
Aida is the most depressing woman you will ever meet. Marlen and I found a posting from her company on Craigslist last year, saw the apartment and decided the apartment would be fine despite the fact that it was lit with fluorescents and the living room light fixture had a hub cap glued to it and a shattered shower door was lying in the kitchen. At the lease signing, she suddenly dropped a "brokers fee" bomb on us. It was listed online as no-fee, which she claimed was incorrect and "worked out a deal" where we had to pay her 1 month's equivalent instead of 1.5 months equivalent, and it had to be in cash.
Now, we're moving out of our apartment, and unfortunately, she's one of the brokers showing the place. The three of us all work jobs with very long hours, so I told her she could pick up keys after 8:30, when at least one of us would be home, or in the morning before we go to work, or some time during the weekend. She said, "No, I can't go out that late or be there that early," "No, I don't work on weekends," "No, I won't go into Manhattan to pick up the keys," and then tried to make me feel bad by saying, "You know, I work very hard. I work everyday from 9-6." Well, guess what lady, 9-6 is a good day for me. The reality is 9-8 on a normal day plus weekends, so quit your bitching! O, you have to commute to work everyday? No shit, so do I. 40 minutes one-way on public transportation pressed against dirty old men, not all alone in a cushy Lexus like you. Then she started threatening me that it's in our contract that we must make the apartment available for showing or we forfeit our security deposit. Really? You're too lazy to meet me at my work to get the keys, or meet me at any of the times that I'm available, and now you're threatening me?
I called Sam, my landlord, who was very aware of how rude a person Aida was. He even said to me, "That's how she is, she always wants to make everyone else do all the work for her. That's why I hired this other guy, he's much nicer." I'm glad he understands. He told me that he would be dealing with her in his own "special" way. I have no idea what he means by special, but I hope he stops using her as a broker, because she is a very bad representative for such a great landlord.
Now, we're moving out of our apartment, and unfortunately, she's one of the brokers showing the place. The three of us all work jobs with very long hours, so I told her she could pick up keys after 8:30, when at least one of us would be home, or in the morning before we go to work, or some time during the weekend. She said, "No, I can't go out that late or be there that early," "No, I don't work on weekends," "No, I won't go into Manhattan to pick up the keys," and then tried to make me feel bad by saying, "You know, I work very hard. I work everyday from 9-6." Well, guess what lady, 9-6 is a good day for me. The reality is 9-8 on a normal day plus weekends, so quit your bitching! O, you have to commute to work everyday? No shit, so do I. 40 minutes one-way on public transportation pressed against dirty old men, not all alone in a cushy Lexus like you. Then she started threatening me that it's in our contract that we must make the apartment available for showing or we forfeit our security deposit. Really? You're too lazy to meet me at my work to get the keys, or meet me at any of the times that I'm available, and now you're threatening me?
I called Sam, my landlord, who was very aware of how rude a person Aida was. He even said to me, "That's how she is, she always wants to make everyone else do all the work for her. That's why I hired this other guy, he's much nicer." I'm glad he understands. He told me that he would be dealing with her in his own "special" way. I have no idea what he means by special, but I hope he stops using her as a broker, because she is a very bad representative for such a great landlord.
Monday, January 04, 2010
To the New Decade!
Happy New Year!! I just had a wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled weekend and for some reason feel far more well-rested than I did from Christmas weekend. Must have been all the mom drama that I didn't have to put up with. In any case:
Christmas was great, though for whatever reason I don't remember too many details. We went to Eric and Sylvia's house as usual, though Sylvia didn't get to the house till around 9 or 10pm. I brought a delightful little pear-pistachio tart which I thought turned out really tasty. I should have made it bigger though. Maybe next time. We all hung out, watched 2012, chatted. I borrowed my uncle's really awesome new Nikon and went around taking pictures. Gramma got excited that the entire family was together and made us all take family photos. Guess it has to be done at some point...
The day after Christmas, May and I went to a local diner to see some childhood friends. Everyone seemed to be doing pretty well. May's friend who always hated me when we were little is oddly much nicer now that we're all grown up. I think it's because we work in related industries and are the only ones living in NY, so he feels like we have the most in common now. In any case, brunch was very nice.
The Saturday after Christmas, May and I were sitting in May's room playing video games when mom walked in. Mom went into this really long spiel about weddings and relationships and how there was a place for the woman in the home and how important it was to find a man that can take care of you, blah blah blah, sexist stuff. I was all for operation get-May-a-boyfriend, but then mom kept talking and the longer she talked, the less interested I was in helping and the more offended I got at her backwards way of thinking. In any case, the true goal of her lecture was that a northern Chinese neighbor had some boys from Beijing coming over for the weekend, and she and mom decided to introduce my sister in the vain hope that she and one of the boys might hook up. Unfortunately, most of the boys were asian guidos. The one that wasn't, and happened to be the boy of most interest, was actually kind of cute. The downside was that he and May wouldn't talk to each other, and really, they couldn't anyway because May's Chinese is filled with stuttering (no offense, May) and the boy could barely speak English. As for me, I felt like the painted whore in the room because I date white men and wear makeup. There you go, Mom, that's why I'll never marry a nice Chinese boy, because I'm tainted.
Then there was work. I felt incredibly tired. I blame my mother. She causes me a lot of stress which is very draining. Ironically, I was far busier this past weekend, and I feel far more relaxed.
So, Thursday was New Years Eve and I went with Marlen and her friends and met up with Brian, my old roommate. We went to Alice's Tea Cup. I tried to call in a reservation, but you have to actually physically walk in and put your name down so I was the vanguard since everyone else was very slowly puttering. Brian seemed to have a good time and seemed to like everyone. Then I went home and cleaned, and then went to Axel's. His buddy, Yuri, invited us to go to a party, and I invited Brian. Brian almost invited Ken, but then Axel said that we were already riding on the coattails of someone already riding on coattails, and it wouldn't be good to bring too many people. All's better anyhow, I didn't feel like being around people I dislike. They thought Brian was very awkward, but nice. From the two minutes they saw of Ken...well, they didn't seem to care for him so much. In any case, the party was great. I spent a long time just catching up with Brian, and then I spent the later portions of the evening with Axel. Yuri was extremely drunk and kept making me do little twirls. Guess he thought I looked like a pretty-pretty little princess. At one point, I was sitting with Axel on the couch, and then Yuri sat down practically on top of me and started philosophizing about love and family and told me that I shouldn't let my idiot mother dictate my love life because she's trying to grab onto the past which is no longer there. He also mentioned that my being upset is greatly upsetting to Axel. Pooh. He also said something of which I can't remember, but I interpreted it to mean that Axel loves me very much, and that's just fine by me!
Next day, I took Brian and Stacy (from Dancer's Symposium!) to dinner in Astoria and then to my apartment for some dessert. Greek yogurt with honey, walnuts and pomegranate. Brian joked that after 2 years, I'm still feeding him all the time. It was nice to catch up with the two of them. Next day was a huge day of spring cleaning. All the floors are squeaky clean. The next day was a day of sleeping in, and then going to the movies with Axel. All in all a great way to start the new year.
I just calculated that Axel and I will be celebrating 1 year in 2 days. Who knew?! Good thing I thought to figure it out. For some reason, I thought it was a week or so later.
Christmas was great, though for whatever reason I don't remember too many details. We went to Eric and Sylvia's house as usual, though Sylvia didn't get to the house till around 9 or 10pm. I brought a delightful little pear-pistachio tart which I thought turned out really tasty. I should have made it bigger though. Maybe next time. We all hung out, watched 2012, chatted. I borrowed my uncle's really awesome new Nikon and went around taking pictures. Gramma got excited that the entire family was together and made us all take family photos. Guess it has to be done at some point...
The day after Christmas, May and I went to a local diner to see some childhood friends. Everyone seemed to be doing pretty well. May's friend who always hated me when we were little is oddly much nicer now that we're all grown up. I think it's because we work in related industries and are the only ones living in NY, so he feels like we have the most in common now. In any case, brunch was very nice.
The Saturday after Christmas, May and I were sitting in May's room playing video games when mom walked in. Mom went into this really long spiel about weddings and relationships and how there was a place for the woman in the home and how important it was to find a man that can take care of you, blah blah blah, sexist stuff. I was all for operation get-May-a-boyfriend, but then mom kept talking and the longer she talked, the less interested I was in helping and the more offended I got at her backwards way of thinking. In any case, the true goal of her lecture was that a northern Chinese neighbor had some boys from Beijing coming over for the weekend, and she and mom decided to introduce my sister in the vain hope that she and one of the boys might hook up. Unfortunately, most of the boys were asian guidos. The one that wasn't, and happened to be the boy of most interest, was actually kind of cute. The downside was that he and May wouldn't talk to each other, and really, they couldn't anyway because May's Chinese is filled with stuttering (no offense, May) and the boy could barely speak English. As for me, I felt like the painted whore in the room because I date white men and wear makeup. There you go, Mom, that's why I'll never marry a nice Chinese boy, because I'm tainted.
Then there was work. I felt incredibly tired. I blame my mother. She causes me a lot of stress which is very draining. Ironically, I was far busier this past weekend, and I feel far more relaxed.
So, Thursday was New Years Eve and I went with Marlen and her friends and met up with Brian, my old roommate. We went to Alice's Tea Cup. I tried to call in a reservation, but you have to actually physically walk in and put your name down so I was the vanguard since everyone else was very slowly puttering. Brian seemed to have a good time and seemed to like everyone. Then I went home and cleaned, and then went to Axel's. His buddy, Yuri, invited us to go to a party, and I invited Brian. Brian almost invited Ken, but then Axel said that we were already riding on the coattails of someone already riding on coattails, and it wouldn't be good to bring too many people. All's better anyhow, I didn't feel like being around people I dislike. They thought Brian was very awkward, but nice. From the two minutes they saw of Ken...well, they didn't seem to care for him so much. In any case, the party was great. I spent a long time just catching up with Brian, and then I spent the later portions of the evening with Axel. Yuri was extremely drunk and kept making me do little twirls. Guess he thought I looked like a pretty-pretty little princess. At one point, I was sitting with Axel on the couch, and then Yuri sat down practically on top of me and started philosophizing about love and family and told me that I shouldn't let my idiot mother dictate my love life because she's trying to grab onto the past which is no longer there. He also mentioned that my being upset is greatly upsetting to Axel. Pooh. He also said something of which I can't remember, but I interpreted it to mean that Axel loves me very much, and that's just fine by me!
Next day, I took Brian and Stacy (from Dancer's Symposium!) to dinner in Astoria and then to my apartment for some dessert. Greek yogurt with honey, walnuts and pomegranate. Brian joked that after 2 years, I'm still feeding him all the time. It was nice to catch up with the two of them. Next day was a huge day of spring cleaning. All the floors are squeaky clean. The next day was a day of sleeping in, and then going to the movies with Axel. All in all a great way to start the new year.
I just calculated that Axel and I will be celebrating 1 year in 2 days. Who knew?! Good thing I thought to figure it out. For some reason, I thought it was a week or so later.
