Posts Tagged ‘opinion’

Back east, eventually

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
05 June 2011
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Today Panda and I finalized plans for me to go out to DC again and I’m really excited!  This time it will be a long weekend for the 4th of July and I’ve been told the fireworks at the National Mall are fantastic, so I definitely plan on going to check it out.  Ultimately I’m just really looking forward to having a little vacation and traveling a bit.  I miss the east coast and the weather out there, especially since LA has been brisk most days and we’ve barely had a summer day in the past two years.  I’ve almost forgotten what a 90+ degree day is like.

I’d actually like to have a thunderstorm during one of the days I’m there.  It’s been so long since there’s been a torrential downpour with lightning brightening the sky.  There’s something very comforting about staying inside, dry and warm, as the world outside  blows around and everything gets wet.  That’s my favorite time to curl up with a book, blanket, and hot drink.  It’s been so long since I’ve read a book!  I tried to get back into it awhile ago and borrowed one from the local library, but I ended up returning it a few weeks later after only getting through a few pages.  I don’t really have the patience for a lot of books now.  Perhaps I should get around to listening to the audiobooks I have that have yet to be completed.

But I digress.  As I was saying, I’m looking forward to returning to the eastern side of the country and I’m actually looking forward to living there again at some point.  I think that Panda’s long-term future will be there, even if in the short term he takes some opportunities to work elsewhere.  As much as LA has to offer, I’ve been here long enough that I’m ready for a change again.  For now the best I can do is little spurts of vacations out there, but in a few years I’d like to go to school out there for my MBA and then live there after graduating.  I may be the only one who enjoys humid, hot weather!  😛

Body Scentsation

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
02 June 2011
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three canisters of body scentsations body butterI’ve been obsessed with my newest body products – Body Scentsations body butter.  I found them at Fiesta Hermosa and went for the 3 of the 2-oz size for $15 deal.  As you can see, I got the Acai Berry, Pineapple Pomegranate, and White Ginger.  They had so many great scents and everything is natural and made locally in Ventura.  Pretty cool brand.  I love the way the body butter greases on without actually staying greasy.  It melts with your body temperature and seeps into your skin, making it so soft and smooth.

As they say, a little bit goes a long way, so you’re encouraged to use the body butter sparingly since it is ultra effective.  I love it on my elbows, heels, and around my nails.  Unfortunately, a skin condition I have has flared up, so I keep rubbing it in, but it hasn’t gotten rid of the redness and slight swelling on my fingers.  Other than that, I’ve enjoyed it a lot (currently working on using the Acai one) and it gives me great joy just to get a whiff of it when I open the canister.  Shea butter is supposed to be good with eczema and psoriasis, but whatever I have is neither of those so I don’t know how to treat it.

But anyway, that’s not the point – I’m just really excited to have these new products to enjoy and I can’t wait to start using the other two scents as well.  When I get through these, I’ll probably want to try some of the other fantastic smells that this product line offers.

Long weekends

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
27 May 2011
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It’s amazing how quiet things are in the office the day leading up to a long weekend.  People are so eager to finish the day early that not much gets done, which sort of perpetuates the whole situation.  After all, why stick around when you’ve finished up your work for the week?  And so it goes, usually with no more than a half day’s worth of work accomplished before everyone packs up and heads out.  Unfortunately for me, I do my weekly reports on Fridays and they always take up quite a bit of time.  Many a time I’ve been the last one left on a Friday night and today I was determined to not let that happen again.

Thankfully, I didn’t have too much work to do besides the report, which takes about 3-4 hours to compile.  It didn’t help that our CTO brought in a Justin Bieber DVD to play, which was at once annoying and distracting.  I can only handle so much tween screaming before getting a major headache!  I was relieved when that was finally over and I was nearing the end of my report.  It was almost 4 PM and there was light at the end of the tunnel!

Ah, American holidays.  It’s so rewarding to get a long weekend to recoup after months of the daily grind.  I’ve hardly even gotten to rest on the weekends since there’s just so much to do.  Hopefully I can catch up on some rest this weekend, what with no GMAT class or events to attend.  Still, Panda’s in town so I want to do some things with him and of course we want to try to meet up with some friends before he jets off again.  I’m glad we have the extra time!

Cleaning ritual

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
21 May 2011
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We people are funny creatures.  We love to clean before we have guests over, or when a loved one returns from some time away.  Why is that?  Why is cleaning up so important before someone shows up?  I think a lot of it is a need to have control and orderliness.  After all, humans are always trying to control their environment, are they not?  Keeping things organized makes them easier to manage (aka control).  And so it is, we clean before any sort of occasion to control the impression we make on visitors and family alike.

Even I succumb to this.  Before Panda showed up this weekend, I put most of my things away and tidied up a little bit.  I tend to leave things around because I feel like a home isn’t really lived in if everything is tucked away perfectly.  However, I didn’t want Panda coming to my place to find nowhere to sit except on top of my clothes (my seating areas are perfect for piling up clothes).  I also didn’t want him to have to step over random bags or shoes to get around.  I guess it came down to a practicality thing.  But for most people, the appearance of a neat and orderly life is imperative to making a good impression.

Somehow along the way we decided that being messy was a bad thing.  The entire housekeeping industry relies upon this viewpoint.  To a certain extent, it is perfectly understandable; nobody wants to walk into a hotel room to find things in disarray.  Yet, in our own homes I think we could be a lot more flexible on the cleaning rituals we set.  What’s wrong with jeans thrown over the back of a chair or a ruffled blanket?  They don’t necessarily present health hazards.  Personally, I prefer to keep them that way.  Unfortunately that’s not how society views things and I know I’d get judged (however slightly) if I weren’t to change my habits when guests came around.  It’s too bad!  We could do with less time cleaning and more time focused on other things.

They don’t get it

laelene Posted in relationships，Tags: , , ,
18 May 2011
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When some people found out that Panda and I will have Skype on as we go about our normal business, they didn’t understand it.  They asked me what the point is and they found it to be weird.  Obviously they don’t take the same comfort that I do in just having him around (in whatever form required).  I don’t believe that conversations should have to be staged for a certain period of time just because you are on a phone or meeting with each other.  That works for those you don’t get to see much.  But for someone you’re dating, it’s just not enough.  Plus, it’s much more natural to have spurts of conversation based on what is happening in real time, rather than condensing everything you want to share into a few minutes a day.

So what better than to sit on Skype, being able to check in on each other and see what the other is doing?  I mean, it’s as close to being in the same room as you can possibly get when you’re (thousands of) miles away.  And really, the best sort of interaction is in person, so I don’t see why more people wouldn’t want to sit around video chatting their loved ones.  I guess part of it is my inability to relate to their need to keep things from their significant other.  It’s a common theme among the talk I hear about relationships.  Why do people have so many secrets to keep?  While I understand you don’t always want to share everything, I certainly never feel the need to hide things and Panda actually errs on the side of sharing too much.

I love being able to look up from what I’m doing and see how he is when I am unable to actually be with him.  I like the freedom of being able to come and go and not have to continuously call him back or disrupt his routine.  Apparently other people just like to have their lives to themselves, but me?  I like to have Panda around as much as possible.  That’s why I keep my Skype on.

East coast

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
01 May 2011
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This weekend has gone by too fast, yet Panda and I were able to get a lot done!  It was really nice to get to see all the places that he has spoken about and also take a quick tour of D.C., since it’s been years since I’ve been here.  In fact, I haven’t returned since we moved out to California nearly 9 years ago.  I’d almost forgotten what the scenery was like around here, with plenty of greenery and bodies of water.  The weather has been so-so and I am looking forward to experiencing a real summer again in a few months.  The one thing I’ve always missed is seeing fireflies on those hot summer nights.

It’s hard to believe that the weekend is over and tomorrow, we’ll both be back at work, thousands of miles from each other.  The good thing is, he’ll be back to the West coast in a couple of weeks for work so I get to see him again.  It’s been nice hanging out back East and I look forward to coming again later this year.  For now, it’s time to pack my suitcase and return to my life in LA.

Yoga gains

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
26 April 2011
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Well, right when I was first starting yoga, I wrote about “Yoga Pains” and now it’s all about my yoga gains.  While I still suck at a lot of moves and struggle to figure out how exactly each pose should feel, I’ve definitely gotten better.  From the first downward facing dog of the night, I can already bring my heels to the floor.  I was nowhere near that three months ago.  I finally started to understand this concept of pushing the floor away – no matter what I did when I first started, my palms just wouldn’t stay glued to the floor and I pretty much was only using the heels of my palms to keep myself up in downward facing dog and plank pose.  This created a strain in my wrists that was painful.

I’ve gotten better at regulating my breathing, but still feel like I fill up too fast and those deep gulps of air just don’t last very long for me.  I guess I’m still breathing in too much air right away.  My shoulders stay away from my ears and I’ve been pretty good at remembering to lengthen through everything.  However, a lot of this lengthening strains my right shoulder because I have to raise my arm above my head and the constriction there doesn’t help the looseness I have in the socket.  I have to try a lot harder to keep my shoulder in the socket, properly stored away.

I’m still working on keeping my legs engaged during poses and not getting shaky so quickly.  And while it’s getting much easier to maintain a handstand (with some help keeping my legs straight up), I’m still weak in a lot of areas.  I’ve noticed that I’m improving in all areas, but gradually.  My upper body strength has been pretty pathetic since sometime in high school, so it’s nice that I can work on that.  My low back has been troubling me for over three years and it’s feeling a little less strained when I stand.  Most of all I think it’s nice to take out an hour of my time twice a week to focus on my body.  I don’t find my thoughts wandering when I’m in class.  I just concentrate on what is before me and the moves that we are working on.  Then at the end, I completely let go for the resting part and sometimes even fall asleep from being so relaxed.

I still find yoga to be too challenging to be enjoyable (for the most part), but then again, I get bored when it’s not hard enough.  We’ll see if I continue on when I’m no longer living at this apartment complex.

Friends

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
23 April 2011
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Ah, the beauty of human interaction.  It’s been awhile since I’ve gone out to hang out with friends as much as I used to in college and I didn’t realize how much I missed it!  College is sort of a non-stop rollercoaster of social interactions and chilling with friends.  You’re surrounded by peers almost the entire time you’re there, which is a stark contrast to the loneliness of work life.  Nowadays I come home from work and plop down in front of the computer for the night.  I talk to Panda on Skype and maybe talk to friends via IM, email, or Facebook.  I rarely go out to meet up with my friends!

However, things seem to be changing pace a bit recently.  I’ve started to get out more and make more plans.  It’s nice to have social events scattered throughout my schedule and it gives me something to look forward to!  Actually, let me clarify – it’s nice to have social events with friends.  After all, I’ve been going to a decent number of other events, like yoga, networking events, and massages/facials.  Those types of activities don’t satisfy my hanging out with friends quota though.  You just can’t beat chilling with people you’re familiar with, whether it’s over a meal or on a couch.

I’ve got a lot of scheduling to do and I’m really looking forward to it!  It also helps that part of my chilling with friends gets to be chilling with Panda, finally.  🙂

Summer!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
17 April 2011
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Wow, it’s been so long since we’ve had nice warm days in LA!  The past couple of days have been a real treat, since we pretty much skipped right over the summer thing last year and went straight from a brisk winter to a cool fall.  I think I only remember two days being moderately warm in all of 2010.  I feel like I’m finally coming out of hibernation after a year and a half of chilly weather and boy does it feel good!  It makes me want to actually go outside and do things on my time off rather than hole up in my room on the computer like I’ve been doing.

I’m really excited to start inviting people over for pool parties and maybe even barbecues, if I can figure out how to work the grills we have poolside.  I think I might also consider wandering around the Century City mall every now and then, enjoying the warm evenings as I browse storefronts and munch on Pinkberry’s.  What a relaxing way to spend a Friday night after a full week’s work.  I’m really looking forward to the increase in activity that the higher temperatures will bring.  Also, I haven’t craved frozen yogurt in the longest time, probably because it hasn’t been hot enough to make me want something to cool down with.  I’ll be adding that back into my diet now, for sure!  Nothing like a good old yogurt parfait from Pinkberry’s to satisfy my froyo cravings.

This past week was also the first time I’ve gone to yoga class while it was still light out.  That was pretty amazing for me too – I’m so used to associating class with the darkness of the night, but now it still feels like daytime when I head over.  I love having long days of sunlight.  Thinking of long days, I’m almost nostalgic for the warm summer days of the East Coast and Midwest, where we’d sit on the porch and watch fireflies as we ate watermelon or drank lemonade.  Too bad there are no fireflies here and as of yet no juicy watermelon in the fridge.  I can’t wait to see Panda in Virginia this the summer and recreate some of those great memories of my childhood.  I’d rather have days of thunderstorms and flash floods if it meant I could also have beautifully warm nights.  It’s certainly better than the tepid summer we experienced last year.

Sony VAIO

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
14 April 2011
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I got my new laptop yesterday!  Receiving it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I had hoped, since I couldn’t open it immediately and start fiddling with setting it up just the way I like.  It sat in the box for a couple hours by my desk until I took some time before lunch to open it up and start charging it.  Setup was quick and soon I was configuring things to my liking.  I kind of imagined having the packaging and manuals laid out all around me as I sat with it in the middle of the living room (don’t know why).  Instead, it sat next to my work laptop and external monitor and made my desk look like some sort of computing hub.

When I was shopping for laptops, I had wanted one that wouldn’t get hot, but I should have looked for one that wouldn’t be noisy too.  I’m going to have to check with Sony whether this noise level is normal, since it is much louder than I expected a brand new laptop to be.  It certainly wasn’t like this at Best Buy.  It’s not even like I’m making it do all that much work yet either.  We’ll see what they say.

I do enjoy the keyboard more than I thought I would and the backlit feature is nice, though the light peeks through the cracks of the keys and I wish it didn’t do that.  Still, it feels cool that it glows when lighting is low.  The screen is also very nice and I’m glad I didn’t convince myself to get a smaller size.  I have a lot more room to play around with, allowing me to have multiple windows up and in view much easier.  After having an external monitor in addition to my computer monitor at work, I’ve been spoiled and started to get used to having a lot of space to throw up reports and webpages and the like.  This is almost a similar experience.

I had hoped to be a bit more enthusiastic about my new computer, but I’ve been holding myself back from setting everything up until Sony can transfer some of my files and programs.  Once that’s done, I can finally get on with having everything I want on this new device, ready to be tried out.  I can’t wait to take it to the store this weekend (maybe even tomorrow) so I can fully embrace everything it has to offer.  🙂

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