Posts Tagged ‘opinion’

Work zone

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
09 December 2010
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I’m far too tired to churn out a more cohesive piece tonight, so just some thoughts about recent developments.

I like it when I get in the zone at work and the day flies by.  Things are picking up now and this week went by very quickly for me.  I can’t believe Friday snuck up on me like that!  I guess it helped that we had our holiday party last night, which kind of made it feel like a mini weekend.  Unfortunately, it meant a lot of driving for me and I’m still exhausted from not getting enough rest.  I also had an event today, but tomorrow I’m home free!

I am really happy that the gears are churning up to a faster speed again – I could only do so much working a one-woman team of me, myself, and I.  And just in time for me to feel good about the work I do prior to the longest break I’ll get this year!  🙂  This is my first official winter break from work and I’m taking a week and a half off to cruise with my parents and hang out with Panda to celebrate another birthday, another new year.

I’m definitely looking forward to what 2011 will bring our company.  We’ve been getting a lot more people in the office, which might also be part of what’s making me feel more productive.  There’s just more activity all around!  And it certainly helps to have a manager around to answer all the questions I have.  I no longer have to operate as my own little island.  I enjoy company!

Grasping at the subconscious

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
30 November 2010
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As I pulled into the garage tonight, I remember thinking to myself, “that’s something you should blog about.”  Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to stop and write it down like I usually try to do and now I’m at a loss for what it was.  I know it’s in my subconscious, floating just below the surface.  When I try really hard, all I can think of is a number of other things to blog about; I just can’t think of this one particular thing I had in mind.  It’s driving me crazy!  I know the thought is going to come up again, but who knows when?  I wanted to write about it tonight!

Our minds are very interesting things, ever so infuriating at times.  The harder I try to put myself in that state of mind as I stopped the car and got out, the more I get distracted with other thoughts and memories of unrelated details.  I guess I’ll just have to try to remember when I’m back in that situation again, in the car pulling to a stop, then getting out thinking about a topic.  For now it’s killing me and I think the best thing to do is just get to bed and stop driving myself insane attempted to recall this memory just out of my reach.

Maybe I’ll dream about it.

Vehicular expression

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
27 November 2010
1

I think it’s really interesting how a car-obsessed nation chooses to use vehicles as a form of personal expression.  From the basics like model and color of the car to the ornamentation that is added to it, Americans really get into their cars.  And, in a sense, they really exercise their freedom to express themselves in more ways than one.  Oftentimes it can get pretty personal and revealing.  It’s at once fascinating and bizarre (yet completely accepted in mainstream culture).

Take bumper stickers, license plate frames, and other stick-ons, for example.  They express political views, personal life details, a certain sense of humor, or a way of life (among other things).  I see cars with bumper stickers supporting the candidate they’re voting for or advocating world peace.  I see cars with license plate frames joking about how they’re a spoiled princess or proudly declaring that they’re the world’s best mom/dad/grandma/grandpa.  I see cars with plastic stick-on stick figures outlining each member of the family – parents, children, and pets alike.  Then there are the dedications to a loved one lost.  It’s amazing the variety of things you can put on the back of your car for all to see.

Of course there’s also the license plate itself.  Everyone has to identify the state in which they reside, but many go beyond that and get fun backgrounds and custom characters.  In California, there is space for 7 letters or symbols and it’s amusing all the things people come up with.  I’ll have to compile some pictures sometime.  Most of these often take a bit of interpretation, since a lot of the letters have to be missing to fit the parameters.

Now let’s not forget the interiors as well.  Do you have a tassel dangling from your rear view mirror?  Or maybe a scented dolphin to freshen up the air?  Oh, and what about that flaming steering wheel cover you use and the Hello Kitty head rest covers?  Right… that’s not weird.  I never really understood people who had to cover up the insides of their cars, unless the steering wheel cover was a grippy one because the original got worn so smooth it became slippery.  Still, plenty of people adorn their seats with their odd taste in cartoon characters or cute little animals.  Let’s not even delve into the tissue box in the back with a pastel yellow cover and flowers sewn on top.  Really?  The Kleenex box designs just didn’t cut it for you?  It’s not like the box will get cold, you know…

Yeah.  Americans LOVE their cars and use it as the ultimate form of self expression.  Whoever knew that revealing these random details about your personality and preferences to complete strangers you’ll never even speak to would be such a popular phenomenon?  I learn a lot about the people driving in the traffic around me just with a glimpse of their car.  Truly amazing, and perhaps sometimes TMI.

Thanksgiving traffic nightmare!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
24 November 2010
1

Ok, I get it, people (especially Americans) love their holidays.  But really, do you have to clog my commute on the rare occasion I get off of work early?  It would have been great getting off work today at 3 except for the fact that I had to drive for three and a half hours to get home!  Seriously?!?!  I mean, I was grateful when my morning commute was only an hour (compared to the typical 1.5-2 hrs), but that was MORE than made up for at night when I still didn’t manage to get home before the sun set.

I fully went through two bags of Veggie Straws & Chips, a huge bottle of water (from my KOR ONE hydration vessel), and my handy dandy tea mug.  And that was still with an hour and a half to go.  By that time I had to urinate so bad that I couldn’t bear to pull out my final “bottle” of water (it was in an anti-bottle, actually) to drink.  I was crawling at about 2-3 MPH for a good 3-5 miles as the 405 merged into the 5.  It was absolute insanity!  Why can’t people commute to their families tomorrow during the day, when I’m not exhausted from work and driving?

I’m definitely going to rest as much as I can this long weekend after that ordeal!

The government that runs us

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags:
21 November 2010
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You know, sometimes I wonder if democracy is really the best form of government.  If you look at who gets elected in to the myriad of positions… well, just how qualified are these people?  They come from all kinds of backgrounds and often get elected not necessarily because they’re better, but because they have the money, connections, personality, or what have you.  What do they actually know about politics and running a country?  I think it’s good to get people from a broad range of professions and experience, but I also think everyone running in an election should pre-qualify, either with courses, a test, or both.  Why shouldn’t the future mayor, governor, or president have to first learn a little something about policymaking and how previous legislations may or may not have worked?

I wish there was some sort of vocational school or graduate/post-graduate program that all elected officials had to go through prior to running.  I mean, in a way the royals got it right.  Future kings and queens are bred to be the leader of a country.  They learn a particular set of skills, are exposed to a particular set of experiences, and are expected to behave in a certain way as well.  What do we require from our presidents, senators, and state leaders?  Nothing concrete as far as I’ve seen.  So why not take a lesson from the monarchy structure of governing and combine it with the oh so free democracy we have?  Letting democracy run free might not be the best way to run a country.  Let’s breed our future leaders much like scientists are – through a rigorous set of requirements to prove competency in the appropriate areas.

Alumni mentor

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
18 November 2010
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Tonight I met my mentees for the UCLA Alumni Mentor program!  It was really fun and I’m looking forward to building strong relationships with them.  As far as I know, we’re on our own now that we’ve been matched up, so I’m going to come up with some fun things we can do together over the course of this year.  I’m really looking forward to learning about these two that I have been matched with.  One is a first year just embarking on the college experience and one is a fourth year, getting ready to transition out.  I hope that I have some useful insight to offer them both!

I remember back when I was a fourth year, just returning from a year abroad in England.  I had opted to live on campus again and many of the friends I made in the rooms around me were first years.  I think it was then that I started to really have some mentoring kind of role.  I had amassed a lot of knowledge in those years of undergrad living and had so much to share about not just the UCLA campus, but college life in general.  It’s crazy to think that they are now fourth years.  In my mind, they’re still first years, full of energy and inexperience.  But alas, they have grown so much and learned a lot over these years.  It’s pretty cool.

I hope that I prove to be a good mentor, even if I am still pretty fresh out of college.  Last year I opted not to participate because I felt I didn’t have enough to offer – no real world experience, no full-time job, or any of that “grownup” stuff.  This time around I was eager because I’ve been working for many months now and I’ve had some really great experiences since I left college.  Between that and all the internships and jobs and student organizations I have under my belt, I feel like I can contribute something useful now.  It’ll be a learning process for me and them, and I’m glad to have this to look forward to and plan for.  🙂

Foreign desire

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
15 November 2010
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I have these dreams, dreams of living abroad.  I’ve mostly done so fleetingly – a few months here, a few months there…  It just hasn’t been enough to satisfy my hunger for immersing myself in another world.  I love the slower pace of life in many European villages.  The land brims with history and meaning and the weather is fantastically real.  None of that 300 days of sunshine per year business.  It’s a charming set of countries, each with a rich culture to share.

Mostly I want to go back to England and live there for another year or two.  There’s something about the quaint village tucked away in a quiet corner of the country that holds an appeal for me.  Actually, it doesn’t even need to be that out of the way.  When I was studying abroad at the University of York, I found the town of York to be a wonderfully refreshing place.  Cobblestone paths meandering throughout the town and twists and turns that left me utterly confused much of the time.  It took a long time to really understand how one road could lead me to a shop that had previously taken me four or five turns to get to.

Though it tended to be colder than I would have preferred in the warmer seasons, the cold seasons were gloriously filled with hot nourishment, scarves, fuzzy socks, and all the trappings of a frigid winter.  It was easy to connect with nature and enjoy life when there was a lake to stroll by (granted, it was man-made), rabbits to spot, a horse in a field who loved carrots and apples…  Beauty was all around me and I was very happy with where I was.  I even had time to cook and try out some dishes I had never made before.  Some Sundays, my flat would get together for a meal of roast meat, steamed veggies, and Yorkshire pudding and gravy.  Oooooh Yorkshire puddings!  How delightfully crisp, yet soft they were, with just the right blend of sweet and savory flavors.

I can imagine a similarly peaceful and satisfying life in Southern France or Switzerland as well.  I could definitely retire to one of those places, but before that, when I’m still young, I want to return and live out a few simple years.  I have shared my desire to live abroad with Panda, who fully supports it.  There’s just one glitch.  This is a life I imagine with him by my side, so I can share these pleasures with him.  Unfortunately, with his chosen career path, he will likely not only be in the U.S. the entire time, but he’ll probably be with the same organization until he retires as well.  Where’s the room for travel and living abroad?  Virtually none, really.

So how do you reconcile that?  Therein lies the dilemma that has been troubling me ever since this desire to live abroad again began to resurface.  And so we shall see what compromises will have to be made over the years.  For now, I have my dream and a stubborn resolve to find a way to satisfy both my wants and his.

Not “that pregnant”

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
12 November 2010
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Once upon a time, when I was at the intersection of Gayley and Strathmore driving into Westwood, a pregnant woman was crossing the street in front of me.  To my friends, I commented that I never wanted to be “that pregnant” and they laughed, arguing that there were no degrees of pregnancy – you either were or you weren’t.  But alas, they totally missed my point!  I have absolutely no interest in my belly bulging so much that no shirt will cover the lower part of it.  I don’t want to be that pregnant.

Then, recently on radio they spoke of the “very pregnant” Alanis Morisette, which implies that you can be more (or less) pregnant than the average woman.  Hah!  I thought to myself.  She is very pregnant; I don’t want to be.  It was a little bit of vindication for a viewpoint that my friends did not share.  Sure, biologically you either are or are not, but that doesn’t mean that when you are, you can’t be more or less.  I’m just sayin’.

Light and fresh

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
09 November 2010
0

new haircut makes everything fluffy and silky

Ah, haircuts!  They are always so refreshing and renewing.  There’s something about getting rid of some hair and coming out with a silky, shiny ‘do that is very pleasing.  And today that is what I got done.  🙂  I’ve been meaning to get a haircut for awhile now – the ends of my strands were beginning to fray and the dryness lately has made my hair brittle and coarse.

The cut is nothing different from what I usually get, but the shampoo and conditioning I got today were great for the condition of my hair.  Now my hair doesn’t weigh heavy on me or get tangled towards the ends.  It feels so good to run my hands through and there’s not a hint of static!  The wonders that a salon treatment can do.  I absolutely love it, though I still don’t go more than two or three times a year at best, since it’s really a luxury and not a necessity.

Doesn’t your mood lighten too when it’s a bit breezier around your head?  The better to appreciate wind with!  The better to flip around!  The better to twist and curl!  Oh yes, it feels good and it makes me feel good.  Sometimes I do understand why people spend so much money on things.

What time is it again?

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
05 November 2010
0

Oh Daylight Savings, how you confuse me.  All this talk of falling back and springing forward makes sense until I try to figure out if the sun will be setting earlier or later in the day now.  By all intuition, it should be later since it gets dark pretty early now.  Yet, according to all logic the opposite will happen.  So why does it happen?!  It doesn’t make sense to get up and have the sun even higher than it was before, then leave work only after the sun has set and not during the setting.  You’d think they’d fix the time so that we get up as the sky is lightening and leave work when it’s still light out.  I’m baffled.

But hey, at least I get an extra hour to work with!

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