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Engagement Rings: A Sensitive Topic
Saturday, Aug 30, 2008 4:17PM / Members only
Engagement Rings. A topic either frequently discussed or avoided like a plague. Just what sort of value does a stone set in a ring hold? What does this shiny piece of object embody?
A few weeks ago, I went bridal dress shopping with a friend who is getting married next year. Up until that point, I had never gone bridal gown shopping, so this experience was quite fun and a true eye-opener! We walked into one store (shall remain nameless) in Burnaby, BC, and instantly, the receptionist shoved a clipboard in front of my mine. The questions on the clipboard was meant for the bridal consultant to "get to know the bride better" - aka: scope the financial well-being of the bride and groom! Such interesting and seemingly irrelevant questions included Where will you be going on your honeymoon? How many guests will you be inviting? Ok, I understand perfectly that the consultant has to know crucial information like the bride's budget for her gown, but what does her decision to invite 300 people have to do with her dress?? Anyway, onto my point of the blog, I also caught the consultant glancing at my friend's rock. So interestingly, this token of love, proposal of eternity instantly turned into a deciding factor in gown-choosing.
Now onto the big and often very controversial question...how much should one spend on an engagement ring? Many people have said it should be between a guy's 2-3 months salary. In response to this question, some guys have said they were willing to fork it out for the love of their life. On the other hand, there are guys who feel defensive. One friend of mine, a rather chauvinistic one, blatantly said that no girl is deserving of an expensive ring. The underlying factor in their defense is that they feel it's unpractical to spend that much on a little object, rather than putting it towards something more grand like their wedding, house or honeymoon. Fair enough. That's totally understandable.
So are guys who are willing to make the big purchases more sentimental and the others more practical? Sentimental guys can be practical and practical guys can be sentimental. But to what degree does that moral judgement affect the purchasing of a ring? Hmmm??
What is your perspective on this ring issue?
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Olympics Finale - Proud To Be Chinese!
Monday, Aug 25, 2008 5:35PM / Members only
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Can't Believe Summer's Ending!!
Friday, Aug 22, 2008 3:08PM / Members only
Hi all!!
I've been MIA for a while simply because of laziness and procrastination. For the past 1.5 months, I've been working 3 jobs and they take me all over the city M-F. Luckily, all the craziness came to an end as of this week, but starting September, a whole new level of chaos awaits
! I'll be going on
my long practicum for school and I do not feel prepared! I have my
units that I'll be teaching for the first 2 months and my sponsor
teacher has given me the ok for them, yet it makes me nervous just to
think about it. He called me a 'keener' the other day and I didn't know
whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. I guess it's a
compliment as it means he knows I'm trying.
Funny how I was sulking at the beginning of summer because I wasn't working as much as I wanted to, and then all these jobs came to me. Before I knew it, 1.5 months went by in a blink. Starting September, I'll just be working for one of them, teaching twice a week and tutoring one student. UBC will NOT like it and my school friends would think I'm crazy if they knew I will be working during a week day, since working part-time is strongly discouraged during our program. I'm actually quite worried that I won't be able to handle all that! But I'd like to believe that everything can be managed with organization.
Anyway, here are some pictures from my summer!
This was taken on our drive to Kelowna
I leave my mark everywhere I go! hehehe...
Mission Hill Winery for some wine tasting!
This was taken inside the wine cellar 30 feet bellow ground level. I wandered away from our tour group and started taking pictures.
We took a hike up Knox Mountain in Kelowna. The view was beautiful!
These are the treasure maps that I had my summer school students make! The scrolls attached to the maps are the written instructions to the hidden treasures!
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Being Thankful
Friday, Jul 18, 2008 10:24AM / Members only
Its funny that we don't always cherish what we have until reality kicks us in the butt, and reminds us that life is short.
Last week I received an invite via Facebook entitled T****'s Funeral. Upon clicking on the provided link, I learned that one of my classmates from high school had passed. I didn't know him very well during high school. I only remember him as a smart, quiet and nice guy who was in a few of my classes throughout the years. I couldn't make it to his funeral, but paid my respect to his good friend through e-mails. I don't know exactly what had happened to him, as no one seems to know, but based on the bits and pieces that I've heard, I cannot imagine what his family must be going through.
Death is always a rude awakening. It really makes you put a pause in your life and look around to see what has been happening while you've been living your life. Its like we're all starring in our own movie, and most of the time we're so caught up with our own role, that we forget to stop and notice others. Even though I didn't know my classmate all that well, his death shook me because it hit so close to home. He was my age! Someone who had finished school not too long ago, started his career not so long ago, and was ready to embark on a new journey. I am a major worrier and I worry lots about unnecessary things sometimes. Now when I do, I remind myself that you never know what would happen tomorrow, so embrace today!
Sunday was my bf and my 9 years anniversary. After having that awakening earlier in the week, I felt even more grateful and blessed to have him in my life. Someone once said that the greatest feelings are to love and to be loved. We've been together for a very very long time. We have stupid fights, get on each other's nerves, have conflicting opinions and have even broken up for a bit a few years ago. But all in all, he is my best-friend and soulmate who still brings me back to that 'honeymoon phase' feeling time after time. He is tall, charming and handsome, but is the biggest kid in the world at heart...haha. He is loving, kind-hearted,
family-oriented, independent, hard-working and ambitious. What more can a girl ask for?
We started the day having dim sum and then walking around downtown Vancouver to enjoy the beautiful weather. We stopped to watch this performingcouple as they twisted and turned in each other's embrace.
I finally bought new shades!!! LOVE 'EM!!
This is 'Theatre Under the Stars', a production held at Stanley Park every summer showcasing well-known stories with a twist. My bf surprised me with tickets on our anniversary. We saw "Jesus, the Star", a biblical tale featuring Jesus as a major superstar going through the last 12 days before his crucification. Neither of us are religious, so we didn't know the bible very well and wasn't always sure what was going on. We both agreed that we should have seen "Grease" when it was shown last year.
The beautiful area where refreshments were sold.
And there's my baby trying to steal a picture of the theatre. Camera's weren't allowed inside. Sorry guys, I don't know why this picture uploaded horizontally.
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Conflicted >___<
Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 4:26PM / Members only
Tonight, my bf and I went on a double date with another couple that we've known for a really long time. The boyfriend has been long time friends with my bf, and the girlfriend and I went to high school together, hung out in the same group and were even really good friends for a while until drama came between us. About a little over half a year ago, we patched things up and she is one of the few whom I still keep in contact with from my old high school group. Anyway, she is getting married next year and I cannot be more happy for her
!
When she first got engaged, she mentioned that she had thought
about asking me to be part of her wedding party, but she knew I
wouldn't be comfortable with the idea for a very specific reason.
Regardless, I promised her that whether I'll be part of the wedding
party or not, I'll be there to help with anything. So tonight, I
learned of the bridesmaid list which obviously does not include me.
Talking to her about her plans made me feel really conflicted. On the
one hand, I was relieved because I wouldn't be forced to deal with
people whom I no longer want in my life. But on the other hand, I felt
left out and even though she knew i wanted to help, there really wasn't
much that she was able to assign me. I don't know why I am sad about
not being a bridesmaid, because really, I had indirectly told her not
to ask me. But I guess, judging by the intensity in friendship, we're
not very close anymore. We went from being good friends to hating each
other, and now we're friends who want to be part of each other's life
from now on. Even tonight's dinner was quite awkward. We had moments
where we struggled with something to say. But I guess that's what
happens when there has been a gap in a friendship for a while. Its like
a tire on a bike that hasn't been ridden on in years. You'll have to
bump it up and get it going again. I think writing out my feelings
helped me sort of my conflict. I guess she made a good decision with
her bridesmaids, because I don't think our new found friendship is
strong enough to earn me a position in there.
On a side note, today at work, I learned that I have a bitchy Marilyn Monroe-wannabe mid to late 30ish co-worker. I think the bleach from her hair dye has intoxicated her enough to believe that she is indeed a star who deserves preferential treatment.
She waltzed in with
large sunglasses and an iPod attached to her hips. I smiled at her, but
she made no effort to respond. Then she plops her stuff on top of my
binder and demanded to know when I would be done with the photocopying
machine. When she learned that I had several copies to make, she
flipped and had a diva moment because she was going to be late for her
class. The chaos caused enough of a scene for the director to come by.
For some weird reason, the director chose that awkward moment to
introduce us, but MM-wannabe gave me a half-hearted-I-don't-give-a-damn
smile and continued to claim that there ought to be some sort of a
photocopying schedule, meaning I had to arrange some other time to do
my photocopying that wouldn't interfere with her's. Luckily, the very
sweet but assertive director stood up for me, the newbie 
.
Honestly, what part of 'first come first serve' doesn't that woman
understand? We both started at the same time, but I came in 20 mins
early to prep. It just so happened that she waltzed in 5 mins later
than I did, and she was going to blame me for making her late fo her
class? That just goes to show that maturity doesn't necessary come with
age.
Stats
- On any given day in Vancouver, if you happen to see a short Asian girl with reddish-brown hair rushing somewhere with a coffee in hand, that would likely be me. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, I had...
- Age: 26
- Gender: Female
- Total visits: 793
