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26August | oh it's been a long time since i got angry
Seriously? I'm appalled that this chick has had as much success as she has. She's awkward, her timing is off, and - oh yeah, she's racist. It's true - an Asian American comic doesn't have to adhere to any racial or social propaganda and it's not his or her responsibility to fight for equality or assume the collective voice of his or her race or generation. But any comic who degrades any race by the abuse of long-standing stereotypes, especially those that are being so actively analyzed and challenged (fetishization of Asian women? Emasculation of Asian men? Asians eating dogs? What? Did she really go there? That's not audacious, that's just completely crude and distasteful, and makes her look completely ignorant and - oh yeah, racist), should not have the privilege of standing on that stage and being heard. There are far too many unheard voices with productive and meaningful things to say for people like her to be wasting airtime with their shallow, unoriginal ideas. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The same public that has accepted her into their half-baked genre of 'entertainment' is running out to theaters this weekend to see Disaster Movie..
23August | why do these even surprise me anymore
The baby-making machines are at it again. They're actually playing in Portland in a couple weeks (September 7th), but I didn't buy a ticket when they went on sale and I likely won't buy one now... mostly because it's money that I shouldn't be spending right now, but also because I guess I feel like I'd like to be more settled here before I see a concert. And maybe I'll wait until a new album considering I just saw them in April. They're getting majorly intense though... this time you can buy a ticket to FOLLOW THEM AROUND IN A BUS for a short leg of the tour, complete with hotel rooms. It's $800-$1000 depending on which package you choose. Can you believe it? I might have done it if 1. I had the money and 2. I knew that I would be in the company of normal people. But I guess if I was doing it, I would no longer fall into the category of normal either.
20August | here's what's going on
Aaah. You know it's bad when I only blog when I can't sleep. Or is it you know the insomnia is bad when I resort to blogging? Not sure. But I'm watching 'The Roast of Bob Saget' on Comedy Central and blogging, so I must be really desperate. Hehe. No seriously, here's the scoop: 1. Portland is lovely, and I've been exploring the city a bit by bus this week. I plan to continue this through the end of the week as it's likely my last full unemployed week of 2008. (Well, let's hope anyway.) I love being back in a city and feeling free and unencumbered, able to explore on foot, and learning a new transit system. (Though I'm sure I'll love knowing it even more.) 2. Starting as soon as my criminal background check clears I will be working for the Portland Public Schools Chinese Flagship Program, as an Assistant Coordinator. I'm excited, anxious, proud, and nervous. I'm sure you'll hear all about it as soon as... 3. I'm in the process of a redesign. There are several phases to this, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before all the phases are complete, but I'm hoping to at least be able to launch the preliminary stages soon. For some reason, while I redesign things I can't bring myself to update the current version... I'll try harder. Thanks for sticking around! :) 4. Living with Brian is turning out much more natural and comfortable than I think either of us expected. It's been about three weeks and in some ways I feel like we've always been together (except when I wander back into the kitchen to check on the rice I asked him to cook, with step by step directions on the box, and realize that he doesn't actually know what 'simmer' means. Sigh!). We're still getting our gears together but I'm so looking forward to what the future holds for us here. 5. That being said, I miss my east coast friends very much :( I've joined a few Meetup groups and have my first event on Sunday, and do have a few contacts out here, but still nothing comparable to the support system that I have out east. Working in a public school administrative system will likely mean that I won't have many co-workers my age - and work is where I've met most of my best NYC friends. I'm going to have to adjust to other means of social networking... and learn to use the phone more often! 6. Okay, I miss my blog. I promise to write more frequently even though I'm sick of the design. I've been writing in the Portland blog but it's just not the same!! Snif 7. A year ago today. A guy I'd been dating, and about whom I was starting to develop somewhat strong feelings, had just broken things off in a somewhat typically avoidant and male fashion and I had decided to pretty much stop trying to look for a relationship before getting to know people organically. Not two weeks later, I met Brian. 8. I can't believe it's almost been a year.
13August | wow
I'm sorry, but is this not the most useless thing ever? Can't imagine why it's on sale...
09August | a nine-year affair
For those who don't know, I have this friend named Lisa. We met online when we were both 16 - fall of '99 - through several channels of The Moffatts internet fandom. I found her personal webpage, read her 'about me' section, and was so startled at our similarities that I emailed her and told her that we should be friends. She lived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and I lived in New Jersey, but that's why the internet is so amazing - it allowed such a proposition to not sound entirely ludicrous. And so, we were. Short getting-to-know-you emails turned into longer, more heartfelt ones, into handwritten letters, into cassette tape letters, even video tours of our homes and towns for the other to see. It's nearly impossible to articulate how close of a bond we had to each other, having never met, or had a fluid spoken conversation (we spoke on the phone a couple times, but back then without cell phones we had to appeal to our parents' long-distance plans and it all seemed too much trouble when we could just type online)... but there were times when I felt that no one understood me but her. We've had our growing pains, as most friends do - as we were finding ourselves in our own environments it put a strain on our already limited relationship and threatened to tear us apart - but as we've always felt somewhat connected (we used to joke about being each other's doppelgangers) so it happened that we were inexplicably drawn back to each other, and since then have been with each other in mind and spirit as we've grown from doe-eyed teenagers to full-fledged young women. I'm writing all this because today, Lisa and I will meet for the first time since we 'met' online on September 29, 1999. She and her husband are taking a Northwestern US vacation, and will be spending the weekend with us in Portland. These events - their trip and my move - could not have been more timely, and as it has been with the way things have classically worked out for us, it seems to have been written out that way on purpose. I eagerly await her arrival, and will be sure to detail our time to come. :)
04August | it's my half birthday
Last year around this time I was thinking of having a half-birthday party, complete with half a cake and asking for half a present from my guests. Of course, I was only half serious about the half presents. Haha. Anyway I just wanted to post an update... we've been writing much more regularly on the Portland blog, but I obviously don't want to abandon this completely. We're getting internet at our house on Friday, at which point I'll be much more able to do lots online without making Brian sit and wait for me. Also, I want to redesign. New home, new design. I'm going to be building a site for Brian anyway so might as well stay in design mode and make one for me! I miss you all and hope you haven't given up on my blog... we've come a long way from Blog 365, eh? I'm such a failure. Haha.
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