Clearly, no one will find this as funny as I did, but I had to share. One Saturday morning I dragged the hubby to the gym, the poor guy hadn't even had this coffee yet, but I was on a tight timeline to get to my next destination for the day so off we went for a quick workout. Wrapping up the hour, I looked up from the bike to see him just a few feet away perched on the abs machine. So I mouthed to him "I have two and a half more minutes" and he replies "I know". So then I say, out loud, "What, how can you know that?" and he says, quizzically, "You just said 'I'm hot for you', right??" Needless to say, it's a good thing I was just on a stationary bike, or I would have fallen off, laughing! He's so funny, ha.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Birthday sisters
Happy birthday to you both, ladies!
Monday, May 11, 2009
International Super Spy
Saturday night I accompanied Olivia to the annual dinner of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce at the Royal Park Hotel. It was a black tie or "ethnic garb" affair, and I chose the former (though I will have another post later about being a White Guy in a Barong.)
When I wear a tuxedo, there's a part of me that feels like I'm Chuck Bartowski pretending to be Charles Carmichael, International Super Spy. (And yes, I have been called International Super Spy, by my nephew Kieran, who picked up the phrase from the Backyardigans.) It's like I don't feel that I belong at a black-tie event, I'm just pretending to be someone who does.
I've been thinking about this recently after reading Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers. In his book, he mentions that one of the major differences between children raised in middle and upper class househoulds is that they are taught to be comfortable in situations, to be confident enough to ask a doctor questions, for example, when compared to children raised in lower class households. Failure to feel comfortable in situations helps to explain the difference in achievement between children from different economic backgrounds.
I've been learning a lot about this through my wife. I am amazed at how she is able to feel comfortable and be herself in all situations, from public speaking to formal situations down to looking in the clearance aisle at K-Mart for cheap ways to help stage my house last year. When I'm with her I feel more comfortable with who I am. I'm no longer playing the role of International Super Spy, I'm me. And that's just one of the reasons why I love her!
When I wear a tuxedo, there's a part of me that feels like I'm Chuck Bartowski pretending to be Charles Carmichael, International Super Spy. (And yes, I have been called International Super Spy, by my nephew Kieran, who picked up the phrase from the Backyardigans.) It's like I don't feel that I belong at a black-tie event, I'm just pretending to be someone who does.
I've been thinking about this recently after reading Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers. In his book, he mentions that one of the major differences between children raised in middle and upper class househoulds is that they are taught to be comfortable in situations, to be confident enough to ask a doctor questions, for example, when compared to children raised in lower class households. Failure to feel comfortable in situations helps to explain the difference in achievement between children from different economic backgrounds.
I've been learning a lot about this through my wife. I am amazed at how she is able to feel comfortable and be herself in all situations, from public speaking to formal situations down to looking in the clearance aisle at K-Mart for cheap ways to help stage my house last year. When I'm with her I feel more comfortable with who I am. I'm no longer playing the role of International Super Spy, I'm me. And that's just one of the reasons why I love her!
Friday, May 8, 2009
New wheels
My husband bought me a new car last week, a new 2009 Buick Enclave. Yes, that's right, one day he sold my Lexus while I wasn't looking and is now forcing me to drive a GM just to get around!! Okay, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration. I'll admit it, I was a little bit in love with my last car, but since I'm more than a little bit in love with my husband we made the decision together to get some new wheels. I'll post a picture after I have a chance to run through the car wash since a little birdie decided to leave me a present, ahem.
But let me just take a moment to complain about the 3 GM dealerships we went to, because I found the common thread to be quite interesting - no one tried to sell me a car. And no, I don't mean people ignored me or flat out lied to me (like at Suburban Mazda where I walked away from when shopping for a previous car-boo), I mean the sales staff could barely be bothered to answer questions that I had, much less encourage me to spend quite a few pennies on one of their cars. It was completely bizarre, and the hubby mused that perhaps it was because they are so used to people with employee-related discount sales that they don't put in a big effort. But even that explanation doesn't sit well with me in that they still stand to make a little money off of even those sales, so why not try to have people buy through you? Oh, and also I could have done without the loud gripes about GM by some employees at two of those places (we had to go looking for someone to even greet us at the third place), not helping matters folks. Lastly, had I known about the discriminatory remark one salesperson made about some other customers after they left the dealership, I would've pitched a famous fit but alas I had left the dealership feeling ill and I let the Barton deal with all the paperwork. Don't worry, as the manager will receive a copy of my strongly worded survey reply!
Anyway, so far so good on the new car, now only if some of the people within the GM supply chain could hop on the don't-call-it-a-comeback bandwagon, perhaps we'll see light at the end of the tunnel yet.
P.S. Hey OnStar chick, I didn't appreciate you being so flirty with my husband even after you discovered that I was in the car too! Now if only he didn't enjoy it so much :).
But let me just take a moment to complain about the 3 GM dealerships we went to, because I found the common thread to be quite interesting - no one tried to sell me a car. And no, I don't mean people ignored me or flat out lied to me (like at Suburban Mazda where I walked away from when shopping for a previous car-boo), I mean the sales staff could barely be bothered to answer questions that I had, much less encourage me to spend quite a few pennies on one of their cars. It was completely bizarre, and the hubby mused that perhaps it was because they are so used to people with employee-related discount sales that they don't put in a big effort. But even that explanation doesn't sit well with me in that they still stand to make a little money off of even those sales, so why not try to have people buy through you? Oh, and also I could have done without the loud gripes about GM by some employees at two of those places (we had to go looking for someone to even greet us at the third place), not helping matters folks. Lastly, had I known about the discriminatory remark one salesperson made about some other customers after they left the dealership, I would've pitched a famous fit but alas I had left the dealership feeling ill and I let the Barton deal with all the paperwork. Don't worry, as the manager will receive a copy of my strongly worded survey reply!
Anyway, so far so good on the new car, now only if some of the people within the GM supply chain could hop on the don't-call-it-a-comeback bandwagon, perhaps we'll see light at the end of the tunnel yet.
P.S. Hey OnStar chick, I didn't appreciate you being so flirty with my husband even after you discovered that I was in the car too! Now if only he didn't enjoy it so much :).
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A fresh perspective
As usual, I'm a week or so behind in my weekly copy of Crain's Detroit Business, but this morning I read with interest the (April 20-26) edition that profiles of their twenty in their 20's list http://www.crainsdetroit.com/assets/html/twenties09.html. While many were "creative" types, others were successful in a more standard business career path, and I found myself reading each of their comments about why they live in the metropolitan Detroit area. So many of them shared the common thread of feeling rewarded if they could thrive in this unique environment lots of us call home. Stay on and fight my fellow 20-somethings! Okay fine, so maybe that ship (my 20's) sailed some time ago, but anyway take a peek and try to get inspired yourself.
Also read this article last week in the Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/article/20090424/SCHOOLS/904240389/1026/MSU+s+$10+million+gift+a+mystery, how cool is that? Basically there's a donor that has given away nearly $70 million in recent weeks to colleges across the country - anonymously. The only pattern they've found so far is that the 14 schools that have received the gifts are run by women. Double cool. But I'll be honest and say that if I had that kind of dough to give away, I'd probably put my name all over it!
Lastly, hitting this week's newstand in Fortune magazine is not just the annual Fortune 500 list, but smack dab in the middle of the magazine itself is a 2-page spread that is a simple and effective ad about the Judson Center www.judsoncenter.org, a human services agency where I sit on the board. A fellow board member who is a GM executive (not sure if he's wanting to be anonymous himself) "donated" the national ad space by letting Judson use it because it's one of his favorite charities. Pleae check it out, it's awesome. If I can get an electronic copy, I'll post it.
Also read this article last week in the Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/article/20090424/SCHOOLS/904240389/1026/MSU+s+$10+million+gift+a+mystery, how cool is that? Basically there's a donor that has given away nearly $70 million in recent weeks to colleges across the country - anonymously. The only pattern they've found so far is that the 14 schools that have received the gifts are run by women. Double cool. But I'll be honest and say that if I had that kind of dough to give away, I'd probably put my name all over it!
Lastly, hitting this week's newstand in Fortune magazine is not just the annual Fortune 500 list, but smack dab in the middle of the magazine itself is a 2-page spread that is a simple and effective ad about the Judson Center www.judsoncenter.org, a human services agency where I sit on the board. A fellow board member who is a GM executive (not sure if he's wanting to be anonymous himself) "donated" the national ad space by letting Judson use it because it's one of his favorite charities. Pleae check it out, it's awesome. If I can get an electronic copy, I'll post it.
Start small
Since I may have scared off a few readers by asking them to become organ donors (but c'mon folks, don't let them go to waste :), I'll also suggest a few ideas to start small.
I've convinced the hubby (isn't he great??) to join me this week in making a blood donation through the American Red Cross who holds blood drives every week in your backyard www.givelife.org, even though he admits it is not his favorite thing. But here's the deal, as it turns out it is also not my favorite thing to be poked by a needle, but I'm sure that sentiment is also shared by a 2-yr-old at our church whose parents shared a story yesterday of his blood disease and the transfusions that he needs every 6 weeks just to get by. It breaks their heart to watch their little boy and all the other families they meet at the hospital go through the process over and over, and yet they can't even give themselves in case he needs a bone marrow transplant. I do love you my friends - but get over it. No excuses. Please?!!?
For better reading than my whiny/tough love, see the top 10 reasons to give http://www.givelife2.org/donor/top10.asp, and the top 10 excuses http://www.givelife2.org/donor/top10excuses.asp.
Another coolio idea that I recently discovered, an organization called
Paper to Pearls www.papertopearls.org that benefits women in Uganda and helps them better their lives through jewelry-making. Seriously, I get to make a difference in someone's live and get a fantastic handmade new necklace to boot? Somebody pinch me. So if you're due to get a present from me this year, guess what it will be?? :)
I've convinced the hubby (isn't he great??) to join me this week in making a blood donation through the American Red Cross who holds blood drives every week in your backyard www.givelife.org, even though he admits it is not his favorite thing. But here's the deal, as it turns out it is also not my favorite thing to be poked by a needle, but I'm sure that sentiment is also shared by a 2-yr-old at our church whose parents shared a story yesterday of his blood disease and the transfusions that he needs every 6 weeks just to get by. It breaks their heart to watch their little boy and all the other families they meet at the hospital go through the process over and over, and yet they can't even give themselves in case he needs a bone marrow transplant. I do love you my friends - but get over it. No excuses. Please?!!?
For better reading than my whiny/tough love, see the top 10 reasons to give http://www.givelife2.org/donor/top10.asp, and the top 10 excuses http://www.givelife2.org/donor/top10excuses.asp.
Another coolio idea that I recently discovered, an organization called
Paper to Pearls www.papertopearls.org that benefits women in Uganda and helps them better their lives through jewelry-making. Seriously, I get to make a difference in someone's live and get a fantastic handmade new necklace to boot? Somebody pinch me. So if you're due to get a present from me this year, guess what it will be?? :)
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