30 May 2010
by irenein Movies, Books & TV Shows
I lived in San Francisco for almost a year in 2003. My work place was next to a street named after Alice B. Toklas. So when I came across her autobiography at the local library, I got interested and borrowed it. It was written by Gertrude Stein who was also another well-known woman of her time.
I have patience when it comes to reading. Giving each book the chance to intrigue me. In most cases, I do get into the story and end up knowing or learning something new and interesting. Sadly enough, I can’t say so for this double autobiography. And I am more than halfway through! How can this be? While I was anticipating an insight into the lives of these 2 interesting women, all I got is a stale name list of famous artists, writers, and so forth. It is like drinking wine but tasting water at every sip. So disappointing…
Maybe I am too dumb to appreciate this book. Maybe I’ll just skim through the rest of the book quickly and be done with it.
28 May 2010
by irenein Quotes
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
~ Aristotle
26 May 2010
by irenein Human Nature, Quotes
It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. ~ Confucius
A couple of days ago, a classmate asked me to notify the teacher that she won’t be attending classes. But we are only 3 more weeks to completing 4th level Dutch?!
I can’t understand such things. To me that is giving up way too easily. How do people like this survive? All my life I have to face numerous obstacles that stood in my way.
One such occasion happened when I was 7 years old. I was running a high fever. So weak that I had to lay in bed with a cold compress over my forehead. Yet I was holding on to my books, doing revision for an exam the next day. My grandma looked at me sympathetically, shook her head and said ‘this one is stubborn’. Yep, that’s me.
Life would be much easier if I simply accept whatever that is served to me on life’s platter. But it is clearly not in my character to stop and settle for whatever.
And ask yourself, why would you?
24 May 2010
by irenein Movies, Books & TV Shows
It is finally over. The island mysteries, the lives of the castaways, the life or death situations, and the I-don’t-get-it!…
Well, actually there are still plenty of questions surrounding the tv-show Lost. I have watched all 6 seasons of it. That’s 6 years! I simply gave up making any sense of it at season 3, and accepted. It is easier that way. After all, it is just a television show. 
I do think the series finale was a bit rushed and sloppy. But it was an ending and what a relief. So, here’s a fond farewell to Lost. Thanks for the entertainment.
22 May 2010
by irenein Human Nature
I observed and realized something quite peculiar this week.
This seems to apply only to young adults. My observation and conclusion is that the more protective the parents, the less friends a person has.
Well, it make sense doesn’t it? If you have parents taking care of you, watering your plants while you are away on holidays for example, there’s less need to make friends that can do that for you.
This is not a good or bad situation per se. I guess it is up to the young adult to balance things out for the best. Having mommy and daddy close by is comforting, but making friends and diversifying our lives is important as well, don’t you think?
20 May 2010
by irenein Creative Business
This is an excerpt from Smashing Magazine’s article on typography:
Being literate in Chinese requires memorizing about 4,000 characters.
Hmm, I can read, speak and write elementary Chinese. Am I literate in Chinese then? I highly doubt I know 4000 characters! My brains are probably holding on to barely 300 Chinese characters. Good enough I think and I am pretty darn proud of it. 
Interesting article by the way.
18 May 2010
by irenein Human Nature
Since February, I have been taking the bus to school regularly.
Today, my bus reached a difficult corner the same time as a school bus. We were stuck there for a couple of minutes while the drivers try to maneuver out of the spot. On the next bus were children around the age of 8 or less. A little girl saw me, stared a bit, poked her seat mate, and then both started smiling and waving at me. By the time our buses got out of the tangle, we were all smiling and waving ourselves silly. What a fantastic start to the day!
This reminds me of an incident in Vegas few years ago. I was on my way to work. At the stop light, I saw a little red hair boy making faces and waving to get my attention. What else can I do but to make silly faces back at him, sticking my tongue out and all. When we went our separate ways, we were laughing and waving to each other like buddies.
I wish with all my heart that these friendly children will grow up to be wonderful individuals. May we never grow too old or too tired to wave and smile to each other.
17 May 2010
by irenein Quotes
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
~ Rita Mae Brown
I initially post this as an Albert Einstein’s quote. I was wrong. Apparently, it is a common mistake for the above quote to be misattributed. It has been attributed to Einstein, Mark Twain, Franklin and even an old Chinese proverb…
15 May 2010
by irenein Happenings, Simply Green
Yipee! D and I are proud parents of brand new Bosch laundry machines. Due to high product turnover, our dryer will only be joining the washer in the utility room this coming Friday.
I guess this purchase officially makes us grown-ups huh? Will be doing our own laundry. Dang… no more fresh, folded, ironed laundry from mama anymore. What have we gotten ourselves into?! 
13 May 2010
by irenein Belgium
My integration instructor is not a Belgian. I expected a Flemish and silently wished for someone similar to my 2 lively Dutch language teachers.
However, after several lessons, I must say that I like how things have turned out. My non-Belgian instructor understands us. Like us, she finds certain Belgian norms and habits strange and even shocking. Yet she can explain why the Belgians do the things they do because she is from The Netherlands.
A typical Belgian would have probably say something like ‘Oh, but that’s just how we are. Do try your best to live with it.’. To me, that is an acceptable and justifiable answer. After all, we are the ones who choose to live here.
Those obliged to attend Integration classes are really just doing time. There are a lot of complaining and whining. Quite annoying if you ask me.
Thankfully my instructor’s empathy and a few cheerful classmates make all these bearable.
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