behavior « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘behavior’

Attention to detail

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, habits, observation

26 July 2013

I’m generally very good at noticing slight changes in details. If something is misaligned, if a font has changed, or if something is happening in the background, I’ll probably notice it. Sometimes this is a bit of a curse, since it makes the perfectionist part of me cringe and then I can’t help but focus on that slight imperfection. I’ve learned to tone it down over the years so that I notice, but don’t mull over the details too long. After all, in day to day life, who wants to spend their time constantly nitpicking what’s wrong?

This served me well in ROTC days, when we were often berated for inattention to detail. Hospital corners had to be perfectly 45 degrees, uniforms had to be perfectly creased but not wrinkled, hair had to be perfectly groomed with not a strand out of place, and the head had to be perfectly cleaned. Everything spotless, in its place, and perfect. Every minute detail was critiqued and criticized, from how you held your hands to where you placed your feet to what your facial expression was. I loved my time in military training, particularly the boot camps I attended. I think the discipline and focus on details was just the environment where I could succeed relatively easily, so that made me feel good. It makes me think of when I took shop class in middle school and the teacher singled me out as having great writing skills, because I could follow his instructions to a tee and write the letters and numbers exactly like him. I’m very good with instructions.

In my personal life, it makes me notice so much around me that my mind is constantly racing. A slight chip in my nail polish, that mark on my wrist bone where it rubs on the computer all day, my slightly uneven features, the way I tend to use one side more than another… these are the things that are in the back of my mind even as I’m working, resting, or interacting with people. Sitting here now I’m thinking about how my ankles don’t bend the same way (one is more flexible than the other), how the sheets don’t fit just right on the bed, and how a new purse I’m breaking in doesn’t stay perfectly centered. I can now think the thought and put it away until I notice it again, but imagine how insane it’d be if I had to try to fix everything! Thank goodness that’s not the case, or else I might go insane.

I actually thought of writing about this because recently Facebook changed their toolbar – did you notice? That was a pretty big change, but there are other things like font changes that I can pick out too. I use a tool called Reachli, which has changed nearly half a dozen times in the last month, with small tweaks to the font, font size, menu, etc. Most recently, I was watching a video today and saw that one of the guys in the background was sitting at his computer, typing away when everyone else was paying attention to the speaker (President Obama). If you’re that person in the background yawning or picking your nose or looking away, I’m the person who sees it. With each of these cases, the details were glaringly obvious to me, but I wonder if some people never even noticed a thing. Of course, I don’t notice everything and I certainly fell for the basketball passes trick, but I do feel like I have a much higher awareness than most people. Are you the same?

That ring thing – help!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, engagement, habits, jewelry, pictures, questions, rings

12 July 2013

Ok, so I’m still pretty new to this whole engagement thing and I am so curious what people (especially women) typically do with their rings. Do you wear it all the time? Do you always take it off to wash your hands? Do you often forget it at home? I have no idea what is normal for ring-wearing behavior and I could really use some guidance. My parents are from a generation of Chinese who did not have rings, so growing up I didn’t have role models for that sort of thing. In fact, I’m not sure if any of my relatives have rings. Well, they might have rings, but not really wear them. However, my generation of cousins are getting married now and I think some of them have rings. Still, I don’t think it’s as common or as big a deal as it is in the US.

I’m always concerned about getting the ring wet so I make sure to take it off to wash up. I’m also very careful about where I put my hand since I don’t want to scratch it up or anything. I see older women who seem to have had their rings on for so many years now that they basically forget about it. Do they also meticulously take them off each time they wash their hands? It seems like such a hassle.

What about at home behavior? Do you just keep the ring(s) on all day, every day the way I do with my stud earrings? Or is there a special place you keep your rings at home? How do you make sure to remember to wear them? Or do you just leave them and forget to put them on frequently? Just yesterday I was running late and headed out completely forgetting my ring. I figured it didn’t matter since I was getting a massage and would have to remove it anyway, but I felt a little bare. Should I just keep it on at home too?

Oh and speaking of ring etiquette/habits, do you wear yours on the left or right hand? I’ve seen both and I know different cultures have different habits, but in the US I kind of expect them to be worn on the left hand. Yet I’ve noticed a ton of people wearing rings and bands on their right ring finger… are those just decorative or is there some other meaning to that? Or is it just due to personal/cultural differences perhaps?

And finally, why am I even so concerned about this? I’m sure everybody has their own way of doing it and really it’s a symbol that I don’t need to show to the world all the time. Just because I don’t have a ring doesn’t mean I’m not committed and just because I have a ring doesn’t I’m bound. When it comes down to it, it’s what’s in my heart and mind that matter and I don’t need other people to know what my relationship status is. But, since we live in a society where we do use symbols like these and I do have a ring, I’m super curious about what other women typically do.

So tell me, what ring habits do you have?

What’s in your fridge?

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, family, food, habits, home, household, insight, pictures, psychology

10 July 2013

Much like finding out what is in your purse or your medicine cabinet, seeing what is in your fridge can be an interesting insight into your life. I know one thing that distinguishes our household’s fridge from most others in the modern world: the lack of alcohol. I’d imagine most homes have at least a wine or a beer chilling in there, but not us. My dad’s the only one who drinks alcohol at all and not all that much. In fact, I don’t think we ever had alcohol in our household until I was in college. Neither Panda nor I drink, so if you ever see alcohol in our fridge, it’s someone else’s (or we got it for them).

Well, what is in our fridge? Let’s take a look:

Let’s start with the door, which has eggs, salad dressing, soda, marinated mushrooms, pickles, and peanut butter. I don’t think there’s ever a time that we are without eggs. They’re a great food item to eat in the mornings, throw in a soup or noodle soup to add protein, or boil and use as a snack. Definitely a staple in my household. Also very important are the mushrooms and pickles – I love love love just about anything brined, salted, preserved, etc. Usually this meas pickles and marinated mushrooms, but I also enjoy kimchi, preserved radishes, and more. This particular bottle of soda was actually free due to a promotion Pepsi is doing for their Pepsi Next product – usually I’d have real Coke or Dr. Pepper and Pepsi cans. The peanut butter is not mine… I’m not a fan.

Then you can see in the body of the fridge, it’s pretty empty. At this stage, Panda and I still eat out quite a bit so there are a bunch of takeout boxes from the leftovers we had at Olive Garden. We love their 2 for $25 deal! You get so much food to eat while there AND there’s plenty of leftovers for the next meal and the next next meal. I also have a bag of black pepper turkey from the deli section, since I don’t eat much meat and Panda thinks I should consume more. We’ve got a nice half of a watermelon left, plus some oranges at the bottom (you can see one peeking through). I don’t eat fruit nearly as much as I probably should and watermelon is just about the only fruit I can eat a ton of. We’re also not so great on the vegetable side of things, so the corn helps out. It’s so easy to gobble down one of them and feel good that you’ve eaten something vegetable-like (I mean, is corn actually a vegetable? Close enough!).

And now let’s peek into the freezer!

Ice cream is a must, no matter what the season. You never know when you might want some chilled goodness. Other than that, we like to fill up with various microwavable items that I can easily heat up for a snack or lunch. We recently stocked up on these and got some taquitos in addition to the Hot Pockets, pot pies, chicken kebabs, and (hidden) bowls of wonton noodles. When you’re lazy and not a very skilled cook, the microwave is your friend. I sure wouldn’t know what to do without it!

So what do you have in your fridge and freezer?

Cleaning regimen

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, childhood, family, habits, home, lifestyle, panda, patterns, pictures

23 June 2013

How often do you clean?

I grew up not having chores; my parents were far more concerned about my academic and personal development. So, I got to enjoy a lot of time in my room doing my own thing. I didn’t make my bed (never saw the need) or dust or whatever other chores you might need to do to keep your room spotless. I did help out with general household chores ranging from mowing the lawn to washing dishes, but my room kind of remained my sanctuary. I rarely had to do chores within the room itself.

I now have the habit of cleaning only when I see a need – such as water marks speckling the mirror or visible dust on my shelves. I wash the dishes when they’ve filled up the sink and I do laundry when I’m running out of clothes. I don’t do preventative care or have any sort of set schedule or pattern. Meanwhile, Panda is almost the complete opposite. He regularly cleans when things are still “clean” (by my standards at least) and immediately washes dishes after eating. He does laundry at least once a week regardless of how much has accumulated and vacuums frequently too.

cleaning with hands in blue metal bucket/pail filled with soapy water

Last time I cleaned it was so notable I took a video. 😛

It’s really interesting how different our habits are. I enjoy a slightly messy room because it feels lived in. When things are too neat, it feels unnatural. I’d rather focus my time and efforts on living in my space; he’s willing focus his time and efforts on keeping the space neat and clean. When I do get around to cleaning, it’s usually a bit of an overhaul – a spring cleaning, if you will. I like to save up for one big effort every few weeks/months so I can spend a few hours (or the whole day) working up a sweat and really changing the way things look.

Is either way better? I don’t think so; to me, it’s a matter of preference. If cleaning all the time keeps your home in a state that makes you happy and peaceful, that’s probably what you should do. But if cleaning all the time brings on the stress of constantly thinking about it and worrying about all the chores left to do, then what’s the harm in cleaning less frequently? People have developed such an aversion to germs and things that are “dirty” but if society gets too hygienic, there are plenty of health issues to contend with. So why waste all that effort trying to avoid dust and germs only to get sick anyway? I think we could be a bit less uptight about the whole cleaning thing.

On My Mind, episode 7

laelene Posted in on my mind，Tags: beauty, behavior, bloggers, blogging, cats, makeup talk, missy, on my mind, pictures, products, skincare, swapping, swaps, trades, trading

13 June 2013

It’s Thursday Thoughts time with Jennifer!

eight bottles of nail polishes lined up in a row

These are the ones I chose to send in.

~I finally, finally mailed off the nail polish I was trading in for the Zoya Earth Day Exchange. I know, I’m over a month late, but hey they didn’t say I had to mail them in by a certain date! I kept putting it off because I didn’t like the hassle of trying to mail in nail polish, but then as it turns out all I needed to do was wrap them tight and take them in to the post office. I guess when you know there are a ton of regulations around something, sometimes you make it seems worse than it is, you know? At first I had put them all into a USPS Small Flat Rate box, but then I found out you can’t mail them Priority, so I had to repackage into another box, but that one weighed over a pound and anything over 13 oz is supposed to be mailed Priority. This was quite the dilemma for me, but as soon as I took it to the post office, they gave it a proper stamp or something and it was all fine.

~After getting my May Ipsy bag and having some items I wanted to trade, I decided to also gather all the other things I have that I won’t really use. I put up a trade list on Makeup Talk and wow, it’s been great! I loving swapping/trading and I’ve already arranged 5. It feels great to get products I actually want and will use and send off things to someone else who will appreciate the products more than I would. There are a lot of things I’d like to try that I haven’t because online shipping always costs too much, so this is a way to save on the overall cost and try those products. So much fun! In fact, I put up my For Sale or Trade list on this site too, just in case you’re interested.

makeup talk trade of products from ipsy bags

My very first trade was of items from Ipsy bags – I sent a lipstick and perfume and got a lip gloss, spray mist, and nail polish plus samples.

makeup talk bb cream and massage oil trade

The second trade where I sent massage oil and socks and got BB cream and samples.

makeup talk trade with various hair care, skincare, and facial care products

The third trade with my sent items on the left and received items on the right.

~I have this tendency to want to know everything and not miss out, so when it came to Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, I decided to start from the beginning and get all caught up on her blog. There were 149 pages of posts to go through when I started about a week ago and I finally made it through them all. I admit, I mostly skimmed, but it was cool to see how her the blog has changed. Perhaps I should do that for my own blog sometime. I used to write a lot more and have less pictures, but now I make to try to include a picture with every post. There was also a period where I cycled through a text, photo, and video post to mix things up. Nowadays I have too much to write about to include as many video posts. How has your blog changed over the months and years?

~I cannot get enough of my cat Missy! I just love how she responds to my touch – when I pet her while she’s sleeping, her tail will twitch, her arms will stretch out, paws will spread out, and I swear she’s smiling a little bit. 🙂 She’s such a happy cat and she’s happy to sleep on me/next to me/near me, which is exactly what I want. She also lets me rub and scratch and pet her any way I want. What an easygoing nature! Lately she’s been learning to tug at my heartstrings to get her way though, the sly fox. She’ll meow and meow in this sad little “feed me” voice until I give her the tasty (and more expensive) treats. She gets up on the island in the kitchen and then reaches out her paw to “grab” me. Those adorable little eyes look into mine and I give in almost every time. She’s too cute!!

~What do you do to keep hair off the carpet? Between my cousin and I, I’ve found we shed a ton of hair and it’s so annoying to find strands EVERYWHERE. Vacuuming doesn’t get it all out and I don’t have time to go around picking them up all the time. Sometimes in bed I’ll stretch out and get a strand in between my toes and for some reason that feeling really grosses me out! It’s funny how hair can be so wonderful and beautiful when it’s on your head, but the moment it falls out it’s icky. If you shed a lot of hair too, what do you do about it??

~I’ve been in a funk lately, bumming around. :-/ It’s been hard to get motivated to do anything and it makes me feel like a bad person. I see all these super high-achieving people around me and I wonder if there’s something wrong with me because I don’t care to be overworked like them. I used to be super ambitious and also want a fantastic career, but now I’m more inwardly focused and establishing a good family life has become my priority. Unfortunately, that side of things means spending money rather than making it and well, you still gotta make a living, right?

So what are your thoughts on this very fine Thursday?

Sleeping ways

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, cats, habits, missy, panda, pictures, sleeping

02 June 2013

How do you like to sleep?

I’m a pretty wacky sleeper. I usually start on my back and have my legs splayed every which way, then throughout the night I toss and turn to either side, legs swinging along with my torso. I also have a tendency to kick the blanket off my legs – they like to “breathe.” Usually the only part of me that needs the blanket is my tummy. The rest could be with blanket thrown off at any point. Only in the colder months do I calm down a bit and keep all but one leg, foot, knee covered.

I tend to take up a lot of room too, with my legs bent out to either side or my arms out or above my head. And since I move a lot I tend to need a pretty wide area to move about. I never stay on my sides for long because of the pressure on my hips. About two years ago I suddenly couldn’t lean on my right side anymore because it was so uncomfortable on my hip. Things have eased up since then but it’s still pretty uncomfortable for me.

Meanwhile, Panda likes the blanket tucked in tight, especially under his chin (I can’t stand that). He will often sleep with his arms up over head but rarely out to the sides. He also rolls to either side, but doesn’t quite flail like me. He does tend to take up a lot of blanket though!

My cat Missy? She’s a belly-up, arms up, waist twisted kind of sleeper. 😉

Never have I ever…

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: alcohol, behavior, experiences, pictures

21 May 2013

Remember that game you used to play? Everyone would hold up all ten fingers and you’d go around the room saying “Never have I ever [fill in the blank],” with all those who had done it putting down one finger. This went on until there was only one person left with fingers standing. Sound familiar?

bottle of wine with cork, bag of coffee grinds, green mini alcohol bottle shaped like violin, and shot glass from amsterdam

Some of the things I don’t indulge in.

I played that game quite a few times as an icebreaker and it’s a really interesting way to get to know people. The things that you choose to not do can say a lot about you. After all, self-control isn’t easy, so if you’re making the effort to NOT do something, then it’s probably somewhat important to you (usually). Of course sometimes it might just be because you can’t do it (which can also reveal a lot about you). I saw this post over on FatMumSlim and thought it was a great conversation-starter. Here’s my version!

Ok, so here goes! Never have I ever:

~cursed (on purpose/aloud). I must admit I did stumble over my tongue once when trying to say “shirt” and I have, in my head, considered saying some foul words. But never intentionally at or in front of someone.

~had most forms of alcohol. I tried a can or two’s worth of beer once (way worse than I even expected) for a round of beer pong.

~drank underage. I was 22 when I tried that nasty beer.

~had coffee or energy drinks. I hate the smell of coffee so I stay away. I’m not into over-caffeinating to try to stay away/alert so I have no need for coffee or energy drinks. Good old water is my friend.

~owned a dog. I’m more of a cat person, since they tend to be quiet, don’t need walks or baths, and are just the right size for cuddling. I do like dogs but I don’t really love them. One of the few breeds I might consider one day is a white Pomeranian – they may yap sometimes, but they’re so fluffy and cute I can probably overlook that.

~ridden a motorcycle. I’m not sure if this is something I’m interested in, but for the sake of trying, I probably will one day. The closest I’ve gotten thus far would be a moped. Does that count?

~had my own place. I’ve lived alone at my parents’ house (they were living abroad at the time) and I’ve had my own apartment (but shared it with someone else). I’ve yet to live in a place that I’m paying for by myself and I doubt I ever will. I don’t think I need to though, so that’s fine with me.

~smoked or done drugs. I have been around it and seen plenty of people doing it, but I usually walk away (if possible). In fact, I think that because I disliked smoking so much, I gave myself a sensitivity/allergy to it. One day, suddenly, I found that if I pass by the smell of cigarettes or marijuana, my throat swells up and my voice gets scratchy. Or maybe I just “gave” it to myself because I was around smoke so little. Who knows.

~had a food allergy. Nuts, gluten, dairy, fish, strawberries? Bring it on! I’ve known friends who are allergic to all of the above, but I’m not allergic to anything of the sort. In fact, other than that smoke “allergy” (sensitivity?) I’m not allergic to a single thing.

~pulled off an ollie. Ok, so most people probably haven’t, but what skateboarder hasn’t? I’m partial to long boards for cruising around SoCal style and those aren’t very trick-friendly. I played around with some friends’ short boards before and they taught me a trick or two, but I’ve yet to master the ollie.

~(for the non-skateboarders since the previous one is practically a freebie) broken a bone. The worst injury I ever had was shin splints and the only time I ever needed a hospital was for a minor surgical procedure to remove an odd birthmark.

So how’d you do? How many fingers do you have left standing?

When in a jam…

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, behavior, observation, videos, zoo

08 May 2013

Question: What happens when a naked mole encounters a traffic jam?

Answer:

naked mole traffic jam from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

[There is a video embedded in this post. If you do not see it, click through to view in a browser.]

On My Mind, episode 5

laelene Posted in on my mind，Tags: aveeno, behavior, blissmo, blissmobox, boxes, bulu box, cats, costco, cupcakes, customer service, cute, desk organizer, food, graze box, influenster, julep, missy, mystery box, nail polish, observation, on my mind, panda, panda loves, photo box, pink panel, pretty things, snacks, susiecakes, target, tatcha, testing, zoya

03 May 2013

Ok, so I’m a day late, but I’m still linking up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for “Thursday Thoughts” aka On My Mind. 😛

a~ Sometimes all this stuff happens that I want to talk about but then it gets to be too much so I hold it off. So here’s a little bit of catching up!

b~ I finally tried Susiecakes back when Panda was here in LA and I really enjoyed the way they swirl their frosting! Georgetown Cupcake has their “signature swirl” and so does Susiecakes. From what I can tell, the frosting actually goes into the center of the cupcake too, for an ultimate “oozing” experience. Quite good! I wish the cupcakes were a bit bigger though, but I guess it’s better for me that they’re not.

c~ For awhile, Missy (my cat) wouldn’t go outside and spent the day napping on my bed or otherwise lazing around. To me, this was normal cat behavior, but to my mom, it was a signal of distress. She kept asking me if something was wrong with Missy and eventually it seemed like there might be. I started to become convinced that she was depressed because she doesn’t have another cat to play with. We do have another cat, Molly, but she’s old and grumpy and abuses poor Missy. I even seriously contemplated getting another cat for Missy to befriend! But hey, she seems to have recovered and enjoys a good run outside again. Third cat idea? Tabled.

d~ I got my first order for a mystery box and sent it out to a girl in Vegas. I had fun putting it together and trying to guess what she might like, but it’s hard to please people! I recently got her feedback saying she didn’t quite feel like it was the value she paid for, which made me a bit sad, but I really did try my best and I had outlined all the items she could expect. So now instead of mystery boxes I’m thinking of transitioning to grab bags so it’s even more clear what they’ll get.

cat laying in box on top of tissue paper and beauty products

Missy immediately thought: “Bed!”

e~ I’ve read up on some photo boxes used to take product photos and I found my own sort of solution. I “hacked” a photo box using a cardboard box from Costco and a solid colored piece of plastic. I’ve experimented with other things too, like tissue paper, but Missy seemed to think it was for her to play in! Check out one of the product photos I did for the Tatcha samples I got (review to come). I think it’s pretty good, though I wish the background didn’t have the blue since it doesn’t always look good. Still, not bad for a cheap version!

f~ I have been sooo looking forward to my Graze boxes and even got a sneak peek when I went to check on the status. They ask you to rate the items in the box after they send it, so you can actually know what’s coming ahead of time if you’re curious. So far I’ve received two boxes and there have been some items I really enjoyed (and wished they had larger portions of) and some that I probably won’t want for awhile. Their rating system makes it really easy to get the ones you like and ensure you don’t get the ones you disliked. Reviews to come.

g~ So as you can tell from my Aveeno review, my Influnster VoxBox arrived! I really hope I continue to get more VoxBoxes since this has been fun and I enjoy using my new night cream. We were told we get in on the summer VoxBox automatically if we were one of the first 100 to finish the Aveeno brand challenge, which I’m pretty sure I did. We’ll see though!

h~ I got suckered in to signing up for Bulu box because of a free box offer, but I think I’m going to cancel before they charge me. After looking around at previous boxes, it appears that they’re too health-focused for my taste. I’ll still try that first box and see though – maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised!

i~ I saw this super cute desk organizer at Target and I totally wanted it! I shouldn’t be splurging now though, so I will patiently wait for it to go on clearance before snagging one if I can. I find that when I have cool storage units like this, I’m much more likely to stay organized(ish). When I settle into my own home, I’m totally going to get things like this so I can stay motivated to keep things neater. I mean, when something’s fun, you tend to do it more! And how fun is a pretty little box like this? It’s just asking for me to put my pens and paperclips and push pins and rubber bands in there!

j~ In some more up-to-date news, I started day 1 of my 2-week testing for Pink Panel and just as I predicted, we got Julep products! Pretty psyched about that since I’ve been curious about their brand ever since I found out about their Julep Maven subscription service. I get to test out their glycolic hand scrub, oxygen nail treatment, and cuticle serum. The lotion and nail polish removers came to supplement the whole hand care experience so the entire testing period, I’m using all Julep products for my hands. I don’t know what to expect from the oxygen treatment and cuticle serum, but I already love how the scrub feels, smells, and works. It’s something I would definitely buy!

bottle of dried zoya nail polish held upside down

I held it upside down so you can see how solid it is.

k~ My Zoya nail polishes arrived today, though one got backordered and is on its way. One of the bottles was all dried out though! Whaaat? I was sorely disappointed and contact their customer service, so I expect a satisfactory resolution soon. This would involve more than just replacing the one I got, but we’ll see if they’re the “go above and beyond” types. [Update: they got back to me and they’re rushing a replacement. Meh. Maybe I expect too much of customer service.]

l~ On a similar note, the most recent Blissmo box contained a repeat item that was the bulk of the value of the box. Also not so happy about that, so I emailed their customer service. I do not enjoy paying twice for the same product when I’m paying to learn about new ones. As I mentioned to them, the least I would expect is another product from that company’s line, but a completely identical product is no bueno for a subscription box.

Panda watching

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, bamboo, behavior, eating, food, pacing, panda, pandas, videos, zoo

12 April 2013

Panda and I visited the National Zoo not long ago and got a chance to see the pandas! They were stuck indoors for the time being (maybe because it was brisk outside) so it was easy to watch them.

Look at how dexterous those paws are!