Wednesday, August 20, 2008

first things first



this summer was a summer of firsts... cade and i moved into our first apartment together and have thus far survived our first 104 days of marriage (thank you facebook for that priceless nub of information). we went on our first family vacation, made our first married clan friends, lost cade's first wooden wedding ring, i cooked for the first time in my young girl life and we even volunteered as doggysitters for the first time... which resulted in some other firsts.


now we prepare to move for the first time- and as you all know, it's no small move. in 5 short days we will make our first appearance on european soil as we travel for 20 days through itay, spain and morocco- all firsts for us. after the whirlwind travel extravaganza- we will work in the same office for the first time in brussels. we couldn't be more excited about all of these incredible firsts and we are hoping all of you are considering being our first guests in belgium. we look forward to reading all your blogs while we are away and don't worry- we'll be sure to post all the pictures and experiences so you won't miss us too much.

Monday, August 18, 2008

My Celebrity Look-Alike

Ever since about ninth grade people started telling me that I reminded them a lot of a John Stamos. The phenomenon has gradually increased throughout the years, although some people scoff at the idea and don't believe me. I decided to put all doubt to rest and take the Celebrity Look-Alike Test. The results are found below...



Saturday, August 9, 2008

we love the olympics



if any of you were hoping to catch a glimpse of cade and i over the next few weeks- you are out of luck. we will be glued to the tv watching all of the olympic action. we are nerds- but it is better to embrace it than to hide it.
already this morning i watched the women's volleyball match, usa vs. japan. you can imagine how my heart was torn. after living as a giant in japan for a stint, i had a hard time believing the japan team wasn't made up entirely of robots...women that tall don't exist there- trust me. but alas, the usa human giants prevailed, proving yet again that scientific robots will never compete with real human muscle. i still love japan...but go usa!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

what happened to our blog?

i don't know what happened- but i went to my blog today and it was just an advertisement. can people change my blog? yikes! now i don't remember where i got my old background! i feel so violated.

Monday, August 4, 2008

meet me at the orange chicken




I love going out to eat. New environment, new food, no work…etc. There is, however, one type of restaurant I hate more than anything in the world: THE BUFFET. Now I realize that many people in this world love buffets, but there is something about them that gives me anxiety beyond relief. A buffet generally consists of warm buckets of substandard food that people end up gorging themselves on just to get their money’s worth. This vicious cycle usually leads to a condition I have come to call ‘rock gut’ or worse- something my dad and brother came to know quite well- the Norwalk Virus. Nothing about that description is appetizing to me in any way.

Now enter my anti-buffet arch nemesis: THE COUPON. A coupon is a tricky factor in the marketing world. It can make you do things you would not normally consider. In my case, through a simple half off coupon I was persuaded to enter Chinese Gourmet with Cade last Saturday night. I was hopeful- coupon in hand with a love for asian food- but the experience was not so tasty. Cade, on the other hand, was loving life. He immediately made friends with the entire staff who called him my ‘cute boyfriend’ the rest of the night. He also recruited a pair of Hispanic hecklers who would loudly criticize me if I walked past their table without enough food on my plate. ‘hey lady- you need to eat more! MORE!’ they howled. Cade giggled himself silly as he nibbled on doughy pizza. I hated my life more than ever. Rot gut quickly set in and I was in the worst mood. Poor Cade became the recipient of my frustration as I told him I wanted to leave.

As I was being a brat, I saw how sorry Cade was for the hecklers, his army of admiring asian waitresses, and even the crab leg he tossed in an attempt to make me laugh. He went to the bathroom to “make room for the ice cream bar” as I sat sulking. That is when I realized that Cade did all of those things to make the experience better for me. He was trying to make me happy in a situation where I was choosing to be angry. And by me choosing to be a beast, I was really making it hard for him to have a good time as well. It was while he was in the bathroom I realized how lucky I am to have such a loving husband- and also how glad I am for the principles of agency. We can choose to be happy and we can choose to be beasts- but if there is one thing I have learned from Cade more than all the others it is this- you make your own happiness.
I don’t think Cade and I will be making our own happiness at another buffet anytime soon- but nonetheless, I would like to thank Joo Syung, Daisy Ho, the Hispanic hecklers, the man in the American flag tee with the massive pile of crab legs, and all others who helped contribute to a great experience at Chinese Gourmet.