MTB

As much as I would love to be one of the greatest golfers in the world, I have to say, compared to Tiger Woods, life is really not so bad.

Tiger Woods is Running Out of Money

When you read further down about Tiger’s P&L, all those figures involved many, many, many zeros.  Many, many.  That would make my stomach churn.

He lost his family, he’s losing his fortune, he’s losing in the tourneys, and he’s lost his mojo.

I can’t say I feel sorry for him.  He should have been smarter by either keeping his junk in his pants or by hiding his extramarital affairs better.  I think a lot of people in that world cheat a ton and are just smarter about keeping it from not only their wives but from the limelight.

Or am I wrong and just a pessimist?

Elin, Tiger’s ex-wife.  Smart woman.  Lucky woman.  Doesn’t have to work a day in her life again.  And all because she decided to marry Tiger Woods.

How does one get her hands on a $100M divorce settlement?  Is there a single billionaire network I can tap into in the Twin Cities?

. . . I would have started this trend again!

Kate Middleton Brings Back Pantyhose

I mean, all I gotta say is that I’ve been wearing hose like these for years.  What, you think she’s the only one who has worn pantyhose like these since the 80’s?  Come on, you naive suckers.  Psh.

The power of celebrity is amazing isn’t it?  If I were a celebrity I would try to start a ridiculous trend.  Something utterly and completely stupid just so I can see other people following the trend and doing something silly.  Like, maybe I would start walking around with my pockets sticking out.  And then start decorating them or something and see it slowly catch on and then more and more people are walking around with their pockets sticking out.  Or bring back the “French rolled” jeans?  Oooh, that’s a good one!  Or maybe something even more risque like wearing a thong underwear on the outside of my pants?  Uh, man!  I wish I could start a trend like that.  That would be super hilarious.

Btw — Pantyhose?  Isn’t that such a funny word??

Pantyhose.  Hahahahaha!

I thought you might like to see what I see every evening from my windows:

I debated between this apartment and another apartment deeper into downtown, in the Warehouse Disctrict.  I’m glad I went with this one — it’s much closer to things that I can walk to.  I can’t seem to let go of the city living yet.

For example, after work I walked to Brit’s, an English pub for a happy hour.  It was an incredible night last night.  Not too hot and not humid.  In fact, it was “Minnesota warm”, according to my manager.  What does that mean??

I try not to complain too much.  One thing I do not like to hear complaints about is the weather.  I mean, why complain about it?  What control do we have over it?  What can we do about it?  Except make the most of what we get, right?

I’m scared for the winter here.

People at work don’t know what to say about the fact that I’m a 35-year-old single woman.  Single Asian Female.  SAF.  They don’t know what to say and sometimes they don’t know how to act around me.

I think I’m an enigma to a lot of people.  I look like I’m in my 20’s but I’m actually in my mid-30’s.

Some people, at first, started treating and talking to me a certain way.  Then, when they found out how old I am, synapses were activated and gears shifted and people were baffled.

Yeah.  I get it.  Women my age in my company are more senior and they have children around the age or 7 or 8 years old.  I’m a career changer.  I’m late to the game.

Today, a manager (not one of my direct managers) told me he was doing yard work over the long holiday weekend and the conversation goes a little something like this:

Manager:  You’ll never have a house.

Me:  What do you mean?

Manager:  I mean, you don’t want one.

Me:  Why do you say that?

Manager:  It’s just not you.

Me:  Oh, you think I’m more like a condo kind of person?

Manager:  Yeah, I guess.  You don’t want a house.

Me:  Why do you say that?  You think I’m a city kind of person?

Manager:  Yeah. You’re not going to have a family or anything.  You don’t need a house.

Me:  You think so?  I actually really love children.

Manager:  That doesn’t matter.  You can love children and not want a family.

Me:  What makes you think I don’t want a family?  How do you know I’m even single?

Manager:  Oh, come on!  It’s just not you.  You don’t even have a boyfriend.

Me:  How do you even know?

Manager:  Because you never say anything about him and you are never in a rush to get out.  You have a ton of time on your hands.  (So what if I’ve planned many happy  hours??)

I tried to stay mysterious about whether or not I have a boyfriend so I brushed off the conversation at the time and we talked about some other things.

I came home after work and had a glass of wine.  I was in tears.

Could he be right?  Is he completely wrong?  Is this what people think of me?  Is this what I want people to think of me?

I don’t know.

That’s “hello” on the telephone in Korean.  Speaking of Korean, I haven’t written about my mom in a while. I guess it might be because we talk a little less and I see her a little less now that I am gainfully employed.  Aw, I miss her!

People are talking less and less on the telephone in this day and age, aren’t they?

Not unless you’re old school like some of my friends are.  I spent 50 minutes on the phone last Saturday with one of my high school best friends.  She’s not on Facebook anymore (she doesn’t like it) so I can’t really keep up with anything she’s doing in her life.

I mean, Facebook and social networking sort of saves you time in catching up, doesn’t it?  Sometimes there is a lot of information on there!  So much so, that it makes you feel caught up on people’s lives.  But, I think that’s an arguable statement because some people spend so much time on Facebook — not sure it’s quite a time saver, in general.  More like a time sink.

But 50 minutes on the phone is a long time, isn’t it?  If I had kids and a family (like everyone else my age does — don’t get me started on this one), I would never be able to do that.  The only reason my friend, Carla (coincidentally, another Carla) was able to talk for so long was because her husband took her kids somewhere for the day!

I really love FaceTime on the iPhone.  My sister-wife (a reference to my old blog) and I like to FaceTime, especially because I like to be able to see her kids, Ava and Will — they grow so fast!  Will can’t really talk too much yet so he will sit there and hold the phone and just look into it.  So I have to ask him yes or no questions — things he is capable of answering.  But, it seems like he’s getting there — slowly saying more and more things.  Ava is always so adorable.  She didn’t want to FaceTime in the beginning and was really shy about it, but she’s warmed up to it.  Reminds me, I’ll have to try to FaceTime them later.

Lori’s going to kill me for posting this!  I have a couple of other screen shots that are less flattering, so this is a good one!

My slight sunburn on my torso from last weekend’s tanning sessions is itchy from yesterday’s sunbathing session.  Sunbathing is a strange thing, isn’t it?  I think about this whenever I lie out in the sun, in the scorching heat, sitting there sweating.  I’d much rather get a tan being out in an ocean, preferably on a surfboard.

Speaking of which, I don’t know if I’ll ever live on the coast again and be able to surf on a regular basis.  I don’t know if I’ll ever see my surfboard again and if I’ll ever get back my meager surfing skills.

Oh man, I feel old.  Sorta makes me feel sad.

Since I took a break from my blog for so long, it was stuck at the entry where I wrote about my neighbor, Carla, which led some friends (Colin) to read that entry over and over again when he would come to the site to see if I had updated it.  Colin does not do Facebook so he does not know when the blog is updated.  Why he read it over and over again is beyond me.

So, I saw Colin in NYC last weekend and he told me that he wanted “no more Carla”, as in he wanted me to update the blog so that entry about Carla and the soccer players were not at the top anymore and NOT that he wanted Carla out of my life.

I hope I have explained this well because I don’t want Carla to think I don’t want her in my life.  She is the sweetest and I really like her.

Here I am, updating the blog because I had yet another friendly request to be more dedicated to it.  I am trying.

There’s always lots going on.  I just feel a little lazy about writing.  Today is an exceptionally sunny and clear day in Minneapolis and I am itching to get out on the deck and sunbathe to take advantage of it.

I do have some photos to share — I just don’t know where to begin.

I went to NYC last weekend, for the long holiday weekend.  My parents were out there for a family friend’s wedding and my bro and I decided to make a visit, as well.

My sister is getting ready to rent out the apartment and getting rid of a lot of furniture.  Once particular piece has been with us for over ten years:

I think I bought this chest in 2000 when I moved out of the dorm in Harlem to my apartment in Queens.  It’s an Ikea special.  I can’t believe it’s held up for so long!

I took a trip out to Long Island to visit some friends.  The LIRR is always a fun time.

It’s changed so much!  I used to be  LIRR pro since my ex-bf lived out there –this was back in 02-03.  Now they have brand-spanking new double decker trains!  I should have taken a photo of it, but I have a better one of the military soldiers who were guarding the Au Bon Pain in Penn Station:

I’m still wondering what in the world is in that Au Bon Pain that required two guards with semi automatic weapons?!?

Golden crossaints?  Diamond encrusted bagels?

Really, though — Isn’t it a strange location in Penn Station for them to stand guard??

Ok, I took a little break from the blog.  I know.  That is sort of lame and I really don’t have a good excuse.

I’m finding that I do want to get back to it because it’s sort of like my little diary.  My censored diary.  Ha.

I’m mostly motivated to be back on the blog because my childhood best friend, Colleen, wrote on my Facebook wall saying that she missed it because it gave her a little window into the goings-on in my lie.  I care about Col, so I want to do this for her.  And for other friends and family.

Lots have been going on since May 10, which is the last time I posted.

Work has been going really well.  I love the industry I work in and the people I work with.

It’s incredible what an old boys club my company is.  It sort of comes with the territory being a high tech company and where most people have technical backgrounds.  But, I’ve found that if you have smart things to say and contribute and you are an effective and productive woman, they  will listen to you and value you.  So, needless to say, I’ve spent some time and will be spending time proving myself.  But, that’s ok.  I like the challenge.

About two months in to my position, I made a trip with 5 other colleagues to visit a supplier in Wisconsin.  It was a road trip because it was so close, so I rented a van and drove our 6 bodies in a minivan across the MN-WI border and ventured into Wisconsin for the umpteenth time in the past year.

My rented soccer-mom minivan:

On our way back, we made a pit-stop at some kind of truck stop area and we all got snacks.  Thomas, my colleague and friend, picked up two six packs of New Glarus beer.  He was really excited to get home and crack one open, especially after having a long day on the road that started at 6am.

Thomas put the six packs in the back of the van since all the seats were taken.  I took one turn and we heard all the glass bottles go flying.  This happened after Thomas told me to not to drive “crazy”.  But, I didn’t drive too crazy!  I swear, I just took one normal turn.

We dropped some people off just as we were back inside the MN border.  Now that there was a seat open, Thomas promptly went to get his beloved New Glarus six packs and secured it:

This was actually my idea and it was a good idea.

The other week, I met my next door neighbor in my building, Carla.

At first, I thought she was really standoffish because we walked out of our respective apartments at the same time and she didn’t say hello.

So, standing at the elevator banks, I introduced myself to her and when we talked, I realized she was not originally from the U – S -of A.  Perhaps she was being shy when she didn’t acknowledge me or say hello.

Turns out Carla is Italian, as is her husband, Simone, who is a professional soccer (really, the word should be football) player for the Minnesota Stars, which is in the NASL (North American Soccer League), which is in the second tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.  The first tier is the Major League Soccer.  Okay, yes, I got that info from Wikipedia.

Carla is super sweet and we get along splendidly despite our 10 year age gap.  You can have friends of all ages, no?

She’s invited me over for dinner and told me that Genoa, the city from where she comes, is famous for pesto.  Perrrrrfect because I love pesto.  I can’t wait for her to cook me Italian food.

I had Carla over for some red wine a couple of days after I met her.  It worked out well because Simone was traveling for work.  What a perfect match for us two to meet — I’ve been miserable (ok, miserable is a little extreme) out here — missing NYC and the awful weather that doesn’t seem to let up.  Loneliness is getting the best of me as of late.

To makes things even better, Carla and Simone introduced me to some of their teammates.  Nice eye candy, if you ask me.  By default, if you’re a soccer player, that just makes you automatically HOT doesn’t it?  Granted, they’re all a good decade or so younger than me, it doesn’t hurt to go out and be distracted once in a while, right?  And plus, a good number of them thought I was around their age so that boosted my ego a bunch.  Like, A BUNCH.  And then I come home and feel super old all over again when I see on FB that all my friends are done having kids.

I can’t understand why I feel like I’m 25?  It’s not like I was robbed of my childhood?  Maybe it’s all those years I wasted in the modeling and acting world?  Five years down the drain.  I suppose that should make me around 30.  Well, that’s not so bad.

Here’s a photo of Minnesota Stars post-game crowd I went to watch last Saturday:

You know, lots of things are pretty cheap in Minneapolis.  Food, drinks, general cost of living like apartment rentals, etc. relative to other major cities.

However, there are things that are ridiculously expensive and I have no choice but to go with the prices.

Like, the other night, I was going home from being out in downtown (remember, I live in downtown) and the place where I was was just a tad too far to walk home — probably a little over 2 miles away from home.  I hopped in a taxi and it was TEN DOLLARS to go two miles.  No joke.

Yesterday, I went to the shoe repair to get some tips of heels replaced (ladies, you know what I’m talking about) and originally, the shopowner said it would be about $30 dollars to do two pairs of shoes.  So, I asked if that included a shine and cleaning of the shoes.  He said to include that it would bump up the price to $40.  Seriously.  I had no choice!  I had to do it. I love those two pairs of shoes:  they’re comfy, pumps, and good to wear to work.

Another thing is that I brought the shoes in on a Saturday and he said he wouldn’t get them done til Thursday.  Almost a week to get them done!

My dad would have called it a robbery without a gun.  They’re running a racket!

At the shoe repair around the corner from me in NYC, it was something like $8 per pair of shoes and the dude would have them done the next day!

Let me tell you — if you want to be rolling in the dough, come out to Minneapolis and start one of these services businesses.  Dayam.

Don’t even get me started on the dry cleaning.  Prices are through the roof.

Yesterday I went to the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis, where the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities is.

It’s the other U of M.  The second rated U of M.  It always makes me think twice when people out here talk about the U of M.  They ain’t talkin’ Wolverines — they mean the University of Minnesota.  We all know the real U of M (University of MICHIGAN) is far superior, even the Minnesotans know that but they’re not willing to admit it.

Ok, I kid.  Sort of.

Dinkytown is cute.  It’s totally the college town area of Minneapolis:

This is a shop where they apparently sell “U of M” gear.  I’ll never be caught dead in Gopher gear.  Or “gold.”  Whatever they’re colors are.  I’m sure I will figure it out eventually.  I didn’t pay too much attention to it when I was walking through the area.

Needless to say, a stroll through Dinkytown and being around college kids made me really miss my college days.

My, how fun and carefree it was.

Sometimes being a responsible adult (or trying to be) sucks.