Posts Tagged ‘opinion’

Contemporary art

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
21 April 2012
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I, like Morley Safer, have never really understood contemporary art.  After watching his report on the art market as aired on 60 Minutes, I realized that I hope I am never like those people, spending millions for art that often just look like household items.  Maybe I just don’t get “it” (whatever “it” is…), but when I look at those art installations I see messes, boring items, or just plain confusion.  I don’t feel anything; I don’t see the artist’s message.  Honestly, if I had millions to spare, I would rather spend my money helping people than decorating my house with art I don’t get.

I always felt that art should evoke emotions, and with more traditional pieces I can usually appreciate what the artist was conveying.  If not, at least I could admire the skill it took to create a piece like that.  With contemporary art however, all I get is a big fat blank.  Occasionally it’ll look kind of cool, but that’s as far as it goes.  I can’t think of any installation I’ve seen that makes me feel something or connect with the work in any way.  That’s why it baffles me that people will pay so much for these pieces.

Then again, I’m not sure I understand spending millions on any art, unless you’re a museum.  Why are rich people so obsessed with procuring items for their private collections, only to have them collect dust in a room that they never use?  I think part of it is a lack of outlet for their riches – they’ve bought the homes, the cars, the yachts, and the private jet, what else is left?  And so art comes along to fill a void in their life.  It helps them feel like they’re a connoisseur and oh so classy.  To me, fashion also helps to fill that void.

Perhaps I just don’t get it because I don’t have all that money.  Maybe my perspective will change one day when I find myself in that position.  I just hope that I won’t fall into that trap, living up the “high life” just to fit into that society.  I have no problem with being a patron of the arts, but I think that should mean you donate to museums and other institutions (or start your own).  Why bother collecting all this stuff, hoarding it for yourself, and not allowing the public to experience it too?  Isn’t art supposed to be shared and appreciated by all?

Dream schedule

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
30 March 2012
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My, how time flies when you’re enjoying yourself!  In my first week of scheduling freedom, I have started most days around 8:30-9 in the morning, when I wake up naturally.  I then spend the morning whiling away time enjoying an episode of The Voice or some Plants vs. Zombies gaming action.  Around noon, I packed up and headed out in search of places where I could sit and read or go online while enjoying the sunshine.  Sometimes I ended up hanging out in my car and oftentimes I found myself driving around to various parts of LA – Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood…

I filled up my tummy for lunch, then spent the afternoons first online, then reading through the first book I plan to cross off my reading list: Switch.  Before I knew it, 5 o’clock would roll around and Panda would get back from work to find I wasn’t around.  I’d head back to meet up with him for a brief break to decide where to eat and off we’d go.  By 9 or 10 we’d be back for the night, winding down the day.  All in all a very relaxing and leisurely schedule for me!  Perhaps because it was so nice, it went by in a blur and suddenly I find myself at the end of the week wondering where all the days went.  Luckily, I now have the weekend to enjoy and more weeks of working online and reading offline to look forward to.

Final countdown

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
21 March 2012
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Well, over the course of the last couple days, it has become public knowledge that I put in my two weeks and will be leaving my company at the end of the week.  Today one of the CEOs said bye to me since he’s off to NY tomorrow and I won’t be seeing him again before I’m done.  It hasn’t quite hit me yet that I won’t be seeing these people again (at least not in a consistent manner).  The good thing is I will likely need to come back to train my replacement whenever they find one, so it’s not completely the end of seeing my coworkers!  I’ll definitely miss them a lot.

Still, it’s time for me to move on, both personally and professionally.  I don’t get to see Panda nearly enough, so I want to dedicate some time to that.  Also, I have some of my own things I want to pursue and it’s a great time to do so.  I don’t feel I can really give it a solid effort unless I were to work on it full time, so that’s the plan.  Luckily, I have so much support around me and not a single person has discouraged me from my dreams.  I have a lot to look forward to and I’m excited to be able to set my own schedule and take control of my life in ways I haven’t yet.

This week, I have done my best to “rally the troops” as I like to say, encouraging them to all join me for my lunch plans.  Many have been working on various health efforts, like juicing or the caveman diet, so they don’t get out to lunch anymore.  Happily, they have been taking a break from their efforts to save money or lose weight and I’m hoping everyone will come out Friday to the last hurrah!  After all, it’s the people who make the place what it is and it’s the people I’ll miss.

Constant communication

laelene Posted in general blog, relationships，Tags: , ,
03 March 2012
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It’s been nearly a year since Panda left to work on the east coast and we’ve been very fortunate to be able to see each other almost monthly.  I always knew our relationship would be fine despite the distance and I’m glad that it wasn’t as hard as I feared it might be.  Still, it’s challenging and I’m looking forward to the day when I don’t have to wish we lived together.

For now, we keep all lines of communication open, ranging from text messages and IMs to phone calls and Skype video messaging.  I think that video chatting is a critical piece to making a long-distance relationship work.  Being able to see and hear each other when you can’t be near each other is invaluable.  It’s so much easier to express yourself and bond that way.  Even something as simple as showing each other what we’re eating becomes a rewarding experience.

In fact, Panda and I often get on Skype and don’t talk to each other.  We don’t need to!  Just being able to look over and see what the other person is doing is comforting.  We’ve both got our separate things to do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t share our time as well.  A lot of people don’t seem to understand that and have been perplexed by our decision to sit on Skype without actively talking most of the time.  I think they’ve just got to try it!

Of course, nothing beats being there in person, so still we wait for the day when that is the norm…

Blued

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
23 February 2012
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Is it just me or are there more blue cars on the road?  In the past week or two while commuting to and from work, I’ve seen so many more blue cars than I’ve ever seen in my life.  In fact, I think at any given point there would be a blue car within my view, which is pretty unusual.  Typically it’s just a sea of silver, white, and black.  Where did all that blueness come from?

Then there’s the naming craze, what with Beyoncé naming her kid Blue and I’m sure many more parents to follow.  Even our CEO’s daughter has a middle name that is similar – Bleu.  At least they named their child before someone famous made it popular!  There’s also the issue of Katy Perry’s hair, which she dyed blue not too long ago.  It might just be one huge coincidence, but suddenly the color blue has been making a strong appearance across such different things that I couldn’t help but notice.  I always knew blue was a color that just about everyone likes, but this is definitely taking it to another level.

Let me ponder this as I hunt down some blueberries to enjoy… 😉

Smart devices

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
19 February 2012
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You know, I think it’s time that the gadgets in our lives get extremely customizable.  Why is it that I can’t set my lights to turn off at a certain time or the toaster to start toasting just minutes before I get downstairs?  Why can’t I set my computer to turn itself off after that program is downloaded?  Seriously, with all the cool things that our electronics can do these days, I’m surprised that I can’t control them beyond the simple power button.  In fact, I think everything should not only be programmable to do what you want when you want, there should be an app that allows you to control it while away (like those apps for home security systems).

Imagine this: you start your day when your alarm goes off at a given time.  You like to snooze, so you sleep in a little more, but when the alarm goes off the next time, the lights have been set to turn on.  Now it’s bright in the room and you’re awake.  You get up and wash up as the toaster downstairs starts heating up the bagel slices you put in there last night.  The hot water dispenser doles out one cup’s worth of water, which brews the bag of tea you had waiting in a mug.  By the time you get downstairs, your breakfast is ready for consumption!  After scarfing down the bagel and sipping on your tea, you head out for work.  At the end of the day, you’re heading back and decide to use your phone app to have your water heater dispense another cup of hot water so you can get home to a warm cup ready for drinking.  You get on your personal computer and set it to turn off once all the files you’re uploading are done.  As you’re winding down for the night, you fall asleep in bed before you even realize it, but that’s ok because your lights turn off for you at midnight anyway.

How awesome would that be?  I don’t want my devices to be smart necessarily, but I want to be able to control them in such a way that they appear “smart” in a sense.  I really think we should be able to set things to turn off or on at a certain time or with some specified trigger.  Things would be so much more efficient that way!  It’s not like the technology isn’t out there already.  We have timers controlling things like when the sprinklers go off, so why not apply that towards any other technology we use?  I’m really looking forward to the day I can do that.

Small, small world

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
09 February 2012
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It’s funny how interconnected we can be.  Lately I have come across many situations that make me shake my head at how small the world can be at times (or maybe it’s just LA).  The most prominent example is when I commented on a friend and coworker’s Facebook about a post he put up, then later saw that the next person to comment was one of the girls who used to live in my house!  The house that we have owned for about 10 years now…  At work the next day, I had to ask my coworker how he knew this girl and (dun dun dun…) she’s his cousin!  Wow.  Of all the coincidences in this universe, that is one I didn’t see coming.  So as it turns out, my coworker had been in my house before, many many years ago.

Other such situations include a trip to Wurstküche in downtown LA, where I got into line right behind a fellow 2008 UCLA orientation counselor!  Then, later on as I was eating, I looked up to find one of my pledge bros from AKPsi sitting at another table.  Imagine that.  And many months ago, one of the engineers at work and one of the operations girls were chatting because they found they had both lived in Michigan.  When the guy mentioned that he swam, she was interested because she had worked on the coaching staff or been an assistant.  Further probing revealed that she had actually been there working with the swim team that he was on during the time that he would have been on the team!  And then they both end up at the same (very small) company out in California?!

In addition, that same girl recently found out that her former roommate bartended with the girlfriend of one of our sales guys.  Of all the bars in LA and all the roommates and girlfriends these people could have had…  Seriously, what’s up with all this interconnectedness?  I guess even a large city like Los Angeles can quickly become small after a couple years of building relationships and connections.  Eventually you’re no more than a 2nd degree contact to anyone!

Texture trumps taste

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
05 February 2012
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When I eat foods, the most important factor tends to be the texture of the dish rather than its taste.  That’s why I don’t eat calamari and why I love soup.  I’ll go for almost anything if it’s moist!  It’s very rare that I would like a dry dish with no sauce, so soup is generally a safe bet, since it has to have some liquid content at least.  I don’t know if other people care as much (I doubt it) and I think that usually people care more about the taste of their food.  However, it doesn’t work that way for me and I’d rather have a tasteless dish that wasn’t dry than a really flavorful dish that left me with cottonmouth.

For the most part, this isn’t really an issue – I love things that are smooth, crispy, crunchy, or any variety of textures as long as it’s not rubbery.  Something about the elasticity of a food (usually seafood) just doesn’t appeal to me at all.  Luckily, most things aren’t like that.  As for dishes that are very dry, I’ll still eat them if I have plenty of water.  I can’t stand it if I don’t get enough liquids to mask the dryness, which is why hot chocolate and tea are my friends when it comes to cookies and crackers.  Maybe my body’s trying to tell me that I’m not hydrated enough?

Whatever it is, I’m always looking for a place with great soup or noodle soup.  Yummm…

The cold drink phenomenon

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
30 January 2012
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I’ve never been a fan of cold drinks, though I have enjoyed some here and there.  Usually iced drinks are too cold for me, so I opt for room temperature or even hot water.  Luckily, this seems to be a growing trend and I no longer get the raised eyebrow when I ask for hot water at a restaurant.  I’m glad that my beverage choice is something that more people are adopting, especially since it’s probably easier on your body.

I remember reading once that contrary to popular belief, ice water is not more thirst-quenching.  In fact, it said that warm water is the best for absorption and therefore more thrist-quenching.  However, through media portrayals, it seems we have learned that only cold drinks can satisfy our needs after a strenuous workout or on a hot day.  I think that cold water feels refreshing and it wakens you a bit, which gives the impression that it is better when you’re thirsty.  In addition, if you’ve built up a lot of heat from working out or are already too hot from the weather, you want to feel the coolness of the drink to help lower your temperature.

Still, I usually prefer at least room temperature water in those situations when my body is hotter than it would like to be.  I find that cold drinks numb my mouth and freeze up my insides, which isn’t comfortable at all!  I’ve always been sensitive to temperature changes, so when it gets cold or I cool down too much, my stomach and intestines throw a fit.  Perhaps that’s the real reason why I avoid really cold drinks.  Who wants to have a stomachache after they drink a cup of water?

Anyways, this whole cold drink popularity thing has always baffled me, since it’s not really the same in Chinese culture.  I don’t think the Chinese would have iced their drinks if it weren’t for Western influences.  Whatever makes cold drinks so appealing just isn’t worth it to me.  I’ll take the drink in the box over the one in the cooler any day.  And watch me quench my thirst better.  😉

Wisdom teeth

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
16 January 2012
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My wisdom teeth started to bother me today and now the back of my mouth is sore.  I think it was because I decided I wasn’t brushing well enough back there so I gave them a good scrub.  They definitely weren’t used to all that action and I think my gums got inflamed.  I’ve been holding off getting them pulled because it’ll cost a pretty penny, but I’m really getting tired of the crowded feeling I have in my mouth.

Back in China, I was going to have them removed, but then I changed my mind when I realized I might not get to enjoy the food there if I went through with it.  I thought it’d take a week or so to recover, but as I later found out from my parents, it could have been fine after a day or two.  Oh well, it’s too late for that now!  Unfortunately they’re bothering me these days, so I really want to get them out.  I’ll have to review my coverage and see if it’s worth it right now.

I’m very tempted to find something to prop my jaw to help ease the tension, but what is there?  I tried using gum for awhile and also putting food on that side of my mouth to chew so I couldn’t accidentally bite my cheek.  Those solutions proved too temporary for my needs.  Maybe a night’s sleep will reduce the swelling and make me forgetting about those annoying buggers.  Why didn’t I have them removed long ago??  I’m regretting that now.  🙁

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