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Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

The best woman in the world

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: asian american, mommy, pictures, ted

17 August 2009

photo credit: europa.eu

I’ve been going through another binge period of TED video-watching and many of the performances I saw were dedicated to that particular person’s mother. It reminded me of this crazy phenomenon where so much of the population admire and adore their mothers. It’s really amazing because mothers (and fathers and grandparents) are one of the most often-lauded “groups” in society. There’s a certain mystical nature about the influence of a mother and it strikes me as a curious thing. After all, all mothers were just women before that, and little girls before that. At what point do they suddenly become wise and caring and protective and loving and inspirational? I wonder if the hormonal changes during pregnancy suddenly mature a lot of them and prepare them for a life as a role model. What happens to make women transform like that? I don’t get it. Do I just have to wait my turn to feel the magical effects? Many really rise to the occasion and do a great job in their role.

Take my mother for example. She’s smart, she’s capable, she’s supportive, she’s patient, she’s skillful; she’s a handyman, she’s a chef, she’s a gardener, she’s a bargain hunter, she’s a problem solver, she’s a nurse, she’s an engineer, she’s a planner, she’s a housekeeper, she’s a financier, she’s a daughter, she’s a wife, she’s an aunt, she’s a mother. Honestly, a lot of the things she does baffles me and I hope I don’t need so many skills when it’s my turn. She can fix almost anything in the house, she can scrimp on money to leave extra for me to spend, she can cook and clean and handle our finances, all the while never running out of energy. I think about cooking sometimes and it makes me tired. I think about the laundry stacking up and leave for just one more day. I see the clothes lying everywhere and consider them part of my personal “style.” Meanwhile, she’s bustling around vacuuming the whole house, hanging up my clothes, taking care of her plants, investing in stocks, teaching herself programming, auditing classes at the local community college, and working on a few projects for her job.

photo credit: parent24.com

There’s also truly something to be said for a motherly touch. It instantly soothes me, between a combination of the warmth, gentleness, and pure psychology of knowing it’s my mother caressing my forehead when I’m ill. I remember a Vick’s VapoRub commercial that advertised the effectiveness of their solution combined with a mother’s hands to soothe a sick child in bed. It really struck me because it’s completely true! A little bit of cooling and heating ointment, plus the soft touch of my mother and I would feel so much better! There’s a tenderness in that sort of treatment that helps as well, melting away all my worries. I know I’m safe and cared for. It beats any other option for recovering from illnesses!

It’s funny to hear how mothers are, as I’m sure many of yours are too – protective, concerned, crazy, embarrassing… they’ve got spunk, they’ve got personality, and they’ve got style that none can match. Some prance around doing silly things, some make you do silly things, but in the end, you can’t help but love them. I especially love cross-cultural mothers who have had to make the best of their culture in a new culture. If you’ve never heard of My Mom is a FOB, you should go check it out. It’s a collaborative blog that chronicles some of the strange, but ultimately endearing things that Asian-American mothers do. (There’s also a counterpart for fathers.) And so has been my experience, with way too much advice and quite a few grammatically confusing e-mails. But hey, it’s hard to consolidate East and West into some sort of cohesive cultural mold!

Really though, what woman do you admire more than your mother? (And perhaps your parents’ mothers?)

Symmetrical beauty

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: body image, experiences, habits, observation, pictures

16 August 2009

photo credit: ihasahotdog.com

In nature, as in most things humans create, symmetry is often regarded as a form of perfection and beauty. Symmetry is supposed to signal genetic “fitness” in evolutionary terms. It symbolizes harmony in more abstract terms and is considered aesthetically pleasing. Even in the sciences and more technical fields, it allows patterns to form more easily and is respected for its precision. Most creatures and plants we know have a least one axis upon which is forms (more or less) a symmetrical image around. We often look for it in the furniture we buy and the mates we choose. There’s some sort of allure about it and any asymmetry is “tastefully” done so that things don’t appear “out of balance.” Surely you’ve noticed this?

Symmetry comes in many, many forms and has affected all things from art to religion to science. For me, it is most apparent in the peculiarities that come of being very conscious of symmetry in terms of balance. I try to eat equally with both sides of my mouth. I try to use both arms equally (constantly switching the hand with which I brush my teeth and hair, for example). I try to not always sleep on the same side. In all this effort, I have found I concentrate a lot on my semi-ambidextrousness: eat with a fork and spoon with my left hand; eat with chopsticks with my right hand. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out so nicely and it’s unavoidable to drive with my right foot most of the time (I’m still working on the precision of applying pressure with my left foot), or —

Holy cow, I’ve just realized that I nearly thought my default thumb for pressing the space bar was my left one because I’ve been using that, but it’s because I trained myself to do so a few months ago! Wow, it really worked and now I am far faster and more accurate typing without using my right thumb. Now I’ll just have to switch back and forth between the two so I don’t lose dexterity in my right thumb now. Ok, sorry for that digression.

So, as I was saying, not everything works out as well as I’d like, but for the most part I am constantly changing how I do things. Some are just dangerous though – cutting with my right hand is still shaky business, shifting gears with my left hand could pose a huge hazard on the road, and riding goofy on my longboard could potentially give me more battle wounds and scars.

I'm not imagining it! 🙁

What I really wanted to address is the unevenness I suddenly noticed a few days back, when I took pictures of my belly (inspired by Katana, who did it to track her fitness). I have not been this thin/light in many years, so I wanted to document how it looked so later on I can see the difference (and perhaps be inspired by it to not gain too much weight). After all, I couldn’t see the difference in the weight I lost in the past 5 months. The only way I could kind of tell a difference was that my pants fit looser and my belly got flatter. Otherwise, I still have hefty thighs and a fair amount of belly fat. When I looked at the first picture I took, I was shocked and thought I must not have stood straight, so I took another. This time, it became apparent that it was not my posture – my waist really is uneven! One side is a pretty straight line from ribcage to hips, but the other has that kind of “cinched” waist look that is supposed to be feminine.

I’ve always had a slightly uneven backside, with the muscles along my spine on the left side being bigger than the muscles along the right side. Now it seems I have another problem with my right side being weaker and less muscular than my left! How tragic. So now I’m concentrating on trying to put more strain on that side and working it out more in my day-to-day movements to slowly even it out again. My asymmetrical hair may be an accepted look, but an asymmetrical body… not so much.

Now what am I going to do about the one-sidedness of riding my longboard?

Wildfire

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: experiences, pictures, story, storytelling

15 August 2009

smoke from southern california wildfires start to darken the blue skies

Clear skies darken.

The sun glows a blood red in the distance, as it shines through the smoky clouds. Dark orange and brown clouds of smoke creep into the clear blue sky. There is no movement outside; all the creatures have withdrawn. With the sunlight blocked, an eerie glow alights your world and casts it in a shadow of red and orange. The typical heat of the evening sky no longer irritates you as the temperature cools. The air smells of burning wood and a breath end in a fit of coughs as the clouds settle into a haze and you are surrounded by unseen floating particles. Before you hurry inside, you notice small things floating down from the sky. Is it snow? As it settles, you look down on the ground to find a thin layer of ash is raining down. It’s time to get indoors before you get respiratory problems.

sun obscured by smoke clouds from wildfires appears to be glowing red

Ruby red in real life.

The next day, you drive to school to find the parking lot empty. One lone nark (the school’s patrollers/guards) stands at the entrance. You approach, rolling down your windows, and she tells you school is canceled. Surprised, you go home and turn on the television to listen to the reports of the wildfires burning through your neighborhood. The ash is still falling gently so children and the elderly are advised to stay indoors. Videos of fires are shown along with clips of planes flying by, dumping tons of that pink stuff to put out the flames. Some houses have been lost already, but you live in a densely-populated area far from the wild vegetation of the hills. The fires would have to burn through a lot of houses to reach yours, so you stay put.

water in outdoor spa sprinkled with bits of ashes from wildfires

Floating ashes.

There has been an order for evacuation in a neighborhood on the other side of the freeway, a few miles away. It was a neighborhood you almost bought a house in when moving to this city. You have friends who live there and you wonder if their homes are in danger. As night falls, you look out at the view from your backyard. The once dark hills in the distance are glowing with firelight. There’s probably still a good 10 miles between you and the closest fires. The spa in your backyard might provide a useful refuge if the fire somehow makes it this far. You don’t see why you’d still be around by then though. You consider packing the cars with emergency items and sentimental things, in case your family needs to drive off somewhere to escape the burning wrath in the distance. Perhaps tomorrow though; there is no imminent danger.

wildfires at night seen beyond lights of the city in the faraway hills

Fires glowing above, city lights below.

As the days pass, you hear reports of how the fire jumped the highway. You drive by on your way home and find all but the far left lane shut down as the fire burned next to the shoulder. By the time you squeeze through, the hills are blackened and smoking from the dead fires. Their charred faces are steaming unhappily, but they have been subdued. Firefighters remain just to watch it a little more before they go on to the next site. Soon the fire is mostly contained – 50%, 60%, then 80%. School is back in session and you try to stay indoors. The smoky air irritates your throat and gives you a hacking cough. One of your friends is out there somewhere, fighting one of those fires. He posts period updates on his profile, with pictures of what he’s up against. Finally, one day, the threat is gone. The fires in your neighborhood have been completely contained and another summer is through.

Failure

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: personal insight, pictures, work

14 August 2009

If nothing else, he has been amazingly resilient to ridicule. photo credit: soundoflife.net

If nothing else, he has been amazingly resilient to ridicule. I respect that. photo credit: soundoflife.net

Failure. My greatest fear. Failing to accomplish what I want to. Failing to meet others’ expectations. Failing to become the kind of person I dream of. Failing to live a life I’m proud of. Fear of failure holds me back, paralyzes me. It gives me no room to breathe, no chance to defend myself. It suffocates me. And most of this is done in a very subconscious manner. But when I carefully examine my approach to things, I have learned that it all boils down to this simple fear. Katana wrote about the difference between success and responsibility and it seems that people often mistake the two. What I have come to realize over the years is that I admire people’s success, but not their responsibility. So, though there are people who I may think I want to be at times, I really don’t. I don’t envy the pressure they face, whether from the paparazzi following them everywhere or to their “failures” blasted out for the world to know. And I fear that sort of judgment of failure.

Even the smallest failures can hold me back from taking due risks, especially when it comes to work or a career. I am terrified of making mistakes on the job. I’m threatened by the possibility of falling flat on my face trying a skill I’m unfamiliar with. And so, I sit quietly, not really challenging myself, or keeping my ideas to myself, in case they’re ridiculous. It’s really hard for me to put myself up for judgment and I have actively avoided such things. Though I usually get very positive feedback, even the most tactfully-put criticism stings hard. I really need to overcome that, but it’s very hard for me to deal with a sense of disappointment. It’s like I could have, should have, done something, if only I would have. And that is an opportunity wasted, isn’t it? Of course, I don’t expect to grab every opportunity that comes by. Certainly I will miss out on some, but those that I do grab can be far better, if I play my cards right.

However, I’m not afraid to stand out. I’m not afraid to do silly, crazy, strange, weird, unusual things. I’m not afraid to be unconventional. That all goes to mush when it comes to a workplace environment though. At least throughout my educational years, people are expected to be learning at school, which in turn opens the doors for mistakes. In the workplace though, people are expected to be doing, which is much less conducive to allowing mistakes. I was blessed that the environment at C&S was very forgiving, yet even then I always feared that a request to talk privately was just another way to critique my performance. I’ve always had a deep-rooted fear and respect for authority, whether it be parents, teachers and professors, or bosses. It’s hard for me to see them as friends or as equals, no matter how well they treat me. Even though I’ve come a long way in not being held back by these feelings, there’s still quite a way to go and I would be devastated if something I did that was considered bad ever got in the news.

photo credit: twitip.com

I’m slowly breaking out of the grip of this fear, as I gain more confidence in what I do. I’m actually perfectly fine with putting myself out there to get a job and I don’t mind being judged and rejected for that, but once I’m working, I’m always afraid of how I am perceived by my supervisors. I’m not afraid of being jobless and I’m not afraid of asserting what skills I have learned from previous jobs. I don’t mind the idea of striking out on my own, but I’m letting my fear of failure in my parents’ eyes push that aside for a more standard job. The entrepreneurial desires will have to wait until I can justify what I’m doing to my parents. I must admit I am a bit fearful of not being able to hack it as a businesswoman though. I really do believe that I can do it though, and I will work at it until that becomes reality. I’m not afraid to work hard. I just don’t want people following my every footstep, documenting every mistake, and discovering all my weaknesses. I can do that just fine for myself, thank you very much. I think that’s the biggest driver behind why I wouldn’t want to be a famous star. I would like people to know my name, but in the same way we know someone like Bill Gates – he certainly doesn’t attract the screaming teenaged girls or stalker photographers quite like the people of Hollywood.

So there you have it, my greatest insecurity.

My Bruin obsession

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: environment, future, pictures, ucla, work

13 August 2009

I have spent the two weeks since I’ve been back looking for jobs purely at UCLA. I’m not interested in much else, unless a really great local eco-consulting opportunity comes up. I figure (as I always do) that if I don’t do it now, I won’t get a chance later. Once I get into an environmental career, since I’m not a researcher or professor, I won’t really get to work for my alma mater. So, now is the time, while the most important thing is just to get lots of good work experience for business school. It would help if it was on campus and environmental, which is why my top choice is any job with the Institute of the Environment. However, if it has nothing to do with the industry I want to get into later, it’s still useful as a learning experience and will help me have something to draw from when I pursue my MBA.

So, I’ve convinced myself that once I work for a few years and go off to graduate school, I will not be able to work for UCLA anymore. After all, the positions they offer wouldn’t really justify it and I should be focusing on truly building my career by then. That’s when I’d really need to know what local businesses are in the environmental arena (or maybe I’ll be ready for start my own thing by then). With that in mind, I am doggedly pursuing UCLA careers so I can fulfill one of my heart’s desires. I haven’t really been picky, considering all jobs that look about entry-level and don’t require a very technical skill that I know nothing about. From Housing to major departments to the Office of the Dean, I’m trying them all, though my hopes really are on that one with the Institute.

I’m also getting involved in some Young Alumni events, like the mixer I just went to, and next week there’s another similar event, as well as a Bruin sendoff in September, welcoming new Bruins who will be starting in the fall. I even donated a few dollars to the 5K Challenge, which is aiming to get 5000 young alum to donate at least $5 each. When that happens, a generous ’70 alumnus named Darryl Johnson will donate $10,000! Cool, huh? It’s a good way for him to get the young alum involved and feel good about themselves – after all, my $5 is helping to get UCLA $10,000 more. I’m an absolute sucker for all things Blue and Gold and I really, truly, believe I would bleed it if I could. 😛 But seriously, slap the UCLA logo on any decent-looking item and I’ll probably want it. One day I plan on having a room in the house Bruin-tized (oooh maybe I can even get a miniature of the Inverted Fountain!) and my school gear proudly displayed.

Just gotta go pick up my diploma now.

I’ve always been one for school spirit, buying lots of memorabilia for not only my college, but my high schools and even middle schools. I don’t think they sold stuff with my elementary schools’ names or logos, or else I probably would have gotten those too. I certainly was into the whole yearbook thing until I got to college. Since then, I’ve shown my commitment by working for four UCLA departments during my college career, living in on-campus housing for three years, and supporting the bazaars and sales on campus by buying quite a bit! In high school I got a class ring each for both of my high schools, but come college I felt that it was nicer to get a graduation package with a nice diploma frame, keepsake tassel, and t-shirt instead. I also joined the Alumni Association with a Lifetime Membership, for which I was given two license plate frames, two padfolios, a mug, and some other random small gifts.

I’m proud of the history of the school and the rich traditions we have, despite being so young. There’s really so many rewarding experiences that you can’t find elsewhere and I’m glad I chose to be a Bruin. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂 [insert 8-clap :-P]

Young alum mixin’ it up!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: england, experiences, food, panda, pictures, storytelling, ucla, work

11 August 2009

Yay free things! I <3 all things Bruin.

Today I attended my first alumni event, a young alumni mixer held in the San Fernando Valley. People from a variety of backgrounds showed up, ranging from fresh-ish grads such as myself from the Class of ’08 to people as far back as the class of ’98, and grad students as well. It was a nice event, with free appetizers and some raffle items. I was the first one to show up, even after I found that my original parking spot is permit-only and had to move my car a very long block away. The place was strewn with lots of small gifts that people could take at will, like Class of ’09 cups, Class of ’08 keychains, Class of ’07 stickers, etc.

I sat down to chat with a few people and when the appetizers came, I munched my way through quite a bit before curbing my hunger. I met a bunch of interesting people – a guy who was my year, a Chem major who is doing R&D work now; two girls who were ’04, one is a third grade teacher and the other a nurse at UCLA; a guy who was ’06 Psychology, now working on techie stuff for UCLA Biomed or something like that; a lady who was ’06 Music History and History, and has been a professional musician for 25 years; a girl who was ’03 and is working at the UCLA Fund; and a few others who work for UCLA, as well as a handful of people in the environmental field. I got a nice lead with Ms. UCLA Fund, who told me to let her know when I submit my application for a job on campus that I would really like to have.

As luck would have it, I also won a raffle item and chose to take home the mug. I was a sucker for the gold trim and black and white image of Royce Hall. I was almost tempted to get the mouse pad, but then I realized I never use one. This clocks in as the second mug I’ve won and one of many that I have unofficially collected over the years. I will never forget my beautiful black mug from Gallery and Toff’s (two nightclubs in York), which I got during Fresher Week when I first arrived for my year studying at the Uni of York. I think it’s the sturdiness, yet fragile nature of them that make me feel they are valuable enough. Everyone’s a winner when I win things, because I get really excited and that brings a smile to most everyone’s face (except for the super bitter who reaaally wanted to win too, I suppose).

I had nothing else to do, so I stayed quite late chatting with these people. The last guy I had an extensive talk with kept calling me a cougar because Panda is two years older than me. 🙁 He was teasing, of course, but for some reason I was very eagerly trying to deny his allegations. He joked that I go to high school proms to pick up guys and buy underage kids alcohol to bribe them, all ridiculous notions, but I still defended myself. I’ve had my share of pseudo-dating but I’ve quite happily settled on my first and only boyfriend, thank you very much. But hey, cougar is better than cradle-robber, right? And so I concluded my night, taste buds happy with the food, mind pleased with the service, and overall a very positive feel about the night.

Somehow I didn’t take a single picture there though…

Silly allotment theories

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: idea, observation, pictures

10 August 2009

photo credit: lonvig.dk

I’ve heard here and there this idea that “cute” babies lose their looks early and “ugly” babies grow up to be beautiful people (of course all such judgments are completely up to personal preferences, so what are their definitions, really?). I always thought it was a funny idea and it makes me wonder if there’s a certain amount of attractiveness that each person gets and using it up too early in life exhausts its supply. 😛 I guess that explains the whole ugly duckling thing and those who blossom really do! So, for this reason, I wouldn’t mind having “ugly” babies. Then they can use up their attractiveness during the years when their self-confidence will probably benefit from it the most.

Similarly, I wonder if the same principle works for physical ailments and sicknesses. I have never had a big injury in my life, but I am constantly bruised, scarring, or otherwise recovering some small injury I inflicted upon myself. Do all the little things add up to cancel out a more major problem? Wouldn’t that be an interesting way for the world to work… each year you get so much injury potential, which can come once in a big accident, or in many small incidences. So for people like me, there are always little things going wrong, but never a huge tragedy, whereas for others, they generally have a smooth ride, then suddenly get thrown off course by a huge event.

Yeah, I come up with some random theories on the patterns of life.

Ball games

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: games, ipod touch, panda, pictures

08 August 2009

I seem to only be able to play block or ball-like puzzle/strategy games and when I do, I do so with a zest. Recently I have been obsessed with three of them, in three different mediums. On my iPod touch, there’s Bubble Burst; on the computer, there’s Bubble Spinner; and in real life there’s Lonpos. All use balls in different ways to create games that I find addicting to play. I guess part of it is because I can be decently good at them and part of it stems from my Tetris gaming days. Sometimes I find myself playing these things for hours, shooting for amazing results. So much time goes into them!

My high score on the easy level.

Bubble Burst is a game where balls fall into a given box region and you tap ones of the same color to get rid of them. Mystery boxes fall down and you tap them to get prizes, which can be good or bad. Sometimes the balls will bounce right out of the container and with each one you lose, a life is lost until you die. This is a fun game for me to play whenever I am on the road, since I can just pull out my iPod and tap away. The unfortunate thing is that you can’t save it mid-game, so you have to either finish or quit before you can access the other functions on your device. However, you can press the power button to turn off the game and essentially freeze it until you decide to continue playing. My high score on this game reached 28,007,888 once! That was on the normal level though; for the hard level I usually shoot for 400,000 and for the extreme level I go for 200,000.

Bubble Spinner is a game that Panda introduced to me. A sextagonal shape of balls appears, spinning on a center. You shoot balls at it and get rid of ones of the same color if there are three or more when you shoot your ball. With each hit, the “wheel” spins accordingly and you have to work with some crazy angles on this thing. Gray balls along the bottom indicate how many more balls you can throw without making the minimum three before you get attacked by extra balls flying in. When you get rid of all the balls, a new set appears and with each level up, that is how many points you get per ball removed. What I love best about this game is that there is absolutely no time pressure, so if you need to get distracted, you can leave the game without pausing and come back whenever you want. Sometimes you lose out a little if you pause on a game that is timed, but there’s no worries like that for this one. They’ve also got some random “soothing” music playing in the background, which is nice to listen to at times. My high score on that one is 56,374. Oh, and this is one you can share your score for on Facebook, if you’re into competing with your friends.

lonpos game of plastic pieces like tetris

There are 12 pieces in all, ranging between 3 and 5 balls connected in a unique shape.

Finally, Lonpos is a game I discovered when at a friend’s relative’s place in Germany. They are kind of like tetris pieces, but fit into a triangular shape container. It takes a certain spatial ability to perfectly fit them all in one of the 15 possible ways. The more complicated versions then turn them into 3D puzzles. It’s hard to explain until you try it. I’ve managed to solve the basic one a few times, though it always takes awhile, and back in Germany I got the 3D ones but now I forget how they work. I really wanted one when I first found out about it nearly two years ago, but I could only find it online for over $100 (and if I remember correctly, closer to $160!). Thank goodness I waited – I found this set in Hong Kong for only HKD 10! 🙂

And there you have it – my gaming obsessions. Nothing nearly as complicated as video games or whatever else is out there. I prefer simple balls, used in creative ways.

YouData: slow and steady

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: food, pictures, recommendation

07 August 2009

I’ve been subscribing to this lady called “Dealicious Mom” who e-mails out frequently about freebies and coupons that she finds. I’ve gotten some good deals out of it, like two free tacos at Jack-in-the-Box. Well, most recently she introduced me to YouData, which I have found to be a great way of making a few extra dollars here and there.

youdata Basically YouData takes the middle man out of the advertising cycle, linking you straight with advertisers interested in getting your attention. You therefore get paid directly from them for clicking on a link and going to check out their website. It doesn’t give much, with anywhere from 5 cents to 15 cents per click. So far I’ve averaged a dime a click, which isn’t bad. You get paid to your PayPal account every Friday and I just received my first payout! It’s not much, but it’s something I wouldn’t have had otherwise. The site is still growing, so there aren’t that many offers up yet and there is no guaranteed supply – patience is key here!

I like them a lot though, because they really feel like an honest way to earn money. After all, what is a second of my time worth? Plus, with ads targeted at my demographic, it’s actually stuff I may be interested in, which can improve my life. Most people will probably look at this and think to themselves, but that’s hardly anything. Well, certainly, but everything adds up. I’ve been a member of MyPoints for years and I’ve never taken them up on a deal, but I always click the e-mails I get to get the 5 points just for viewing the offer. From that and a few special offers, I have accumulated over 12,600 points.

So similarly, over the years this can start off just making a difference of pennies, then nickels and dimes and quarters and dollars. Eventually, I can look back to see that I’ve earned dozens if not hundreds of dollars just by taking a few seconds a week to click and check out relevant ads. That makes me feel good and realistically, money doesn’t just come so easily, so this feels worth it. I shared it with my fraternity brothers on our listserv, but I don’t know if they’ll all see the value and potential in this. Whatever the case, I’ll keep using it and sharing it with anyone who might be interested.

Why not go sign up too?

Green me!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: environment, mommy, pictures

06 August 2009

photo credit: blackstarproject.org

I am in the market for a car. Why? You know, I’m not quite sure. But hey, it’s the last thing my mom will do for me before she sends me off to fend for myself. Of course, I can still bum my living situation off her for the allotted three months before she starts to charge me a minimal rent. Besides, might as well take advantage of the government’s stimulus plan and save a thousand or so, right? All of this came up rather randomly and suddenly the first full day I was back. My mom and I spent the day finding out about getting me a new phone and we decided to drop by the dealers’ strip at night to have a quick browse at what there was. Sadly, I’m not the most original, so I pretty much just wanted to look at the brands we’ve owned: Toyota and Lexus.

photo credit: vietnamcar.com

Originally my budget was $30,000, but that was dropped down to $20,000 when my mom saw some of the price tags for the cars on the lots. After a bit more searching, she settled to something more like $23,000, which should get me a decent set of brand new wheels. I think I can probably stretch that a little if I need, though hopefully I won’t. I checked out Toyota, Hyundai, and Nissan and try as I might, I still find the Camry the nicest-looking. And yes, I do not want to buy a car unless I think it looks nice. Most have short, stubby trunks that I find utterly unattractive and others just have the wrong shape in general. I liked the features of the Altima but I just didn’t like how it looks from the front. After some pondering, my mom decided that what I need is a mid-size sedan. I don’t really know what the difference between that and a full size is, but hey, sounds about right!

photo credit: thedailygreen.com

I went home and did some research and suddenly it dawned upon me: why am I not looking at hybrids?! So of course, the first thing I did was only consider the hybrids on the market. Lucky me, there aren’t too many out there that are mid-size sedans, so it makes choosing easier. I really just want the Camry, but the Prius has such cool features and the Altima is slightly cheaper and has sliiightly better MPG. Sadly, I find the Prius ugly and I don’t know if I could bear to own the thing. I guess a test drive can help me decide. As for the Altima, though it’s the safest car on the road, I don’t know if the price and MPG differences are big enough to change my mind. In the end, I’ve come full circle and still got my eye on a Camry Hybrid.

However, I want to go to the dealer’s and ask about all the things that the Prius has and what the Camry can have too. Usually I’m all about functionality over aesthetics, but for some reason with cars, that’s not so much the case. I’ll also need to take them both out for a spin. I’ve heard that the Prius has a “Prius blind spot” and if that bothers me, there’s no way I’m getting it. The solar panel cooling system and parking assistance sounds so awesome though! I hope they have that type of technology for the Camry as well. I wish the Camry’s MPG was better though – only 33 MPG to the Prius’s 50! How does the Prius get away with being so much cheaper when it has better technology?! I just don’t understand cars. All I know is that I’ll probably stay brand loyal for the rest of my life, thanks to the choices that my dad made in my youth.

[You know what I just realized? Camry = C + mary! Yeah, this is what happens when I mistype something… amazing discoveries occur. :-P]

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