Childhood Part I

Growing up, my daddy was the only parental figure I had, after my mom passed away when I was a young toddler. Although, I didn't have the maternal love that most children my age would have, my dad represented both of my parental figures in my life. After my mom passed away from the unprofessional and uneducated hands of the medical surgeons in Vietnam after operating a surgery on her to treat the brain tumor, my family decided to immigrant to America.

When we first came to America, my dad and I moved to California to live, while my three sisters stayed in Texas with our aunt and uncle.  I didn't like staying in California with my relatives because my cousin was always playing tricks on me. I remembered once he poured water in my only pair of tennis shoes, and my dad was very mad, but he couldn't reprimand my cousin for his actions. My dad had to clean and air dry my tennis shoes for me,so I can wear it to school the next day.

All of our relatives always seemed to criticize my family ever since we immigrant to America. After living in California for about a year and a half, my dad and I moved back to Texas. My oldest aunt had built an extension to her house, creating a duplex like style for my family to live. Our own little space was pretty nice, with the exception that my aunt and uncle being a little controlling sometimes. This little extension had two average sized rooms, a small kitchenette, and a living room revamped from an unused garage. My dad stayed in the outer room, and my sisters and I stayed in the inner room. We used the hallway to place a mini breakfast table. Although this extension of the house was not ours, I am very grateful for my oldest aunt for spending $20k to build this area for us. Without her, we wouldn't have a nice place to live. I didn't understand this when I was little, but living with my relatives was not very cozy. Co depending on them gave them easier access to ask my dad to house work like mowing the lawn, picking persimmon, or other garden work. I didn't like seeing my dad mowed the lawn, or do the house chores when he was an old man.

I remembered once around midnight when my dad was driving home from work, he was being pulled over by these two so called police officers in front of our house. The officers made the assumption that my dad was using cocaine or other illegal drugs, which was impossible! My dad obediently listened to their orders, and stepped out the car, showing them his lunch box was not any bag of drug. For no reason and no explanation, those officers pushed my poor and English illiterate dad down on the ground. They started to use their sticks to violently hit my dad, who was yelling for help. He knew barely any English to explain that he didn't carry any drugs or to understand what they were trying to do. The officers were unprofessional, unethical, abusive, reckless, and corrupted. My uncle finally came out to stop the hitting caused by the officers alone, but he did not raise any legal entanglements or questions to the justice system. If my family would have known more about the legal system here in America, we would have pursue to sue those two officers and seek for justice and revenge for my dad. Once my dad came in the house, I heard him talking with my grandma, and I peeked through the door. I saw bruises all over my dad's arms as my grandma was rubbing medicated oil on him. When I saw my dad all bruised and battered, I was very sad and I wished there was something I could have done to help him.  Up until today, I still hold a strong prejudice against officers. If I knew who those officers were, I would want them prosecuted, and pay for the consequences of violently hurting an old man who can't understand English.

Unpredictable Life

Life is full of surprises and mysteries, making us wonder how our future will turn out to be. We were always taught to plan our future, and be self prepared to achieve the best in life. From the time we were little, we made several unspoken plans mentally taking notes of it, and hoping we can achieve it. We made plans of what college we hope to go. We made plans of what we hope to one day become. We made plans of the lifestyle we hope to have. We are animals with the genetic ability and skills to strategically plan what we hope will happen. Although we were taught that by careful planning, we can successfully achieve what we set in minds, but we were not told the truth. The truth is, nothing goes the way we plan. We may control our destiny, but we do not control the obstacles and challenges that hinders or changes our plans. With that, we are faced with reality, and the realization that our childhood fantasies are just fantasies.

When I was little, I had hoped and planned on one day being a great neurosurgeon because my mom passed away due to brain tumor or becoming a pediatrician because of my love for babies. When I was little, I wanted to become a doctor to make my family, especially my daddy proud of me. I can tell you now that I'm not a doctor, and I'm not in any medical field at all. Life is unpredictable. I did not know my dislike for chemistry until I went to college, and realized that it was not as easy and self explanatory like high school. I was struggling in college to understand chemistry, and all its confusing components. I remembered staying for tutorials every day, and I still would not understand the materials well enough to be in medical school. I would study the notes day and night, and it gave me so much pressure when exams were coming up. Then came my boyfriend. He changed my plans because since dating him, I realized that I wanted to have a family, the family that I did not have as a child. I wanted to marry young, and I know with school, it will slow down my personal goals. My boyfriend made me understand that I wanted to have a family, spend the rest of my life with life, and go through any struggles together.  I am happy that I met my boyfriend because he made me realized that family is more important than wanting money.

When I was in high school, my best friend and I would always talk about our plans for the future. I remembered how I planned on going to medical school, finishing it when I'm around 30 years old, and then working for a few years to pay off school loans. I planned on becoming an entrepreneur, investing in houses and apartment complexes or open a bakery with a Parisian theme. I wanted to become the Asian version of Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey, and be on the faces of tabloid magazines. Obviously, all of these plans did not happen. I am just a regular lady with hopes of one day getting marry, settling down, and starting a family.

Now as a mature adult, I have plans of my own with my boyfriend. I hoped that we can soon tie the knot, have three or four cute babies, and live a happy and carefree life together. I made these plans since I've been dating my boyfriend, but life is so unpredictable that I worried that this will not happen. Throughout our almost three years of courtship, I have made several plans, but only a small number have been completed. Now with my boyfriend feeling extra nervous about marriage, I think my plan of marrying him is on the back burner. If the day my proposes to me, then I will be so elated that I know that this time, I will tell the world my good news, without being shy to hide the news.

Life is always playing tricks on us. The more we want something, the more we can not have it. I think this is the way for God to show us to be thankful of our blessings, and teach us the value of life. We must understand that life is full of questions, and we all are eager to explore the endless possibilities.

Happy New Year's!!!

As Vietnamese New Year's is nearing, Vietnamese families are quickly preparing for the year of the horse with rituals ceremonies, family visitations, and other traditional confinements. Vietnamese New Year's is the most elaborate holiday for the Vietnamese, differing the date each year, as the lunar calender changes. This year, Vietnamese New Year's falls on January 31,2014, and marking this year as the year of the horse.

Horses to the Vietnamese are intelligent animals who love to talk, easily tempered, cheerful, and popular. The horse is also known to be very sexual and seductive towards the opposite sex. While there are plenty of positive traits about the horse, the horse itself is a very stubborn animal, who tends to be very impatient, and ill tempered. I was born on the year of the horse, and I believe that these traits are true. I am a very happy person, but also have a very bad temper. My ill tempered and my impatience are my weaknesses, hurting my relationship with my boyfriend, but I am learning to control it all.

During the Vietnamese New Year's, Vietnamese families have a few traditional beliefs that they follow to assure that they will have an auspicious year with plenty of happiness and luck. One of the traditions that Vietnamese follow is to pass out lucky money in red envelopes to young children to ensure that they will have luck throughout the year. These lucky money are given when the elders are wished a happy, prosperous, healthy, and lucky year. Besides passing out lucky money, my family believed that on the first day of New Year's, you do not open any doors inside the house, such as closet doors, cabinets, or chest drawers. We believe that by restricting our limitation to open these doors, we will restrict our money flow, and we will not lose any money during that year. Another tradition my family follows is praying and visiting temples to ask Buddha to give us luck for that year, and take away our bad luck.

I like to wish everyone a Happy New Year's fill with happiness, increase in wealth and prosperity, have good health and longevity throughout this year. As the new year's is coming closer, I have a few wishes of my own that I like to share, hoping that it will soon come true.

My first wish is to have a happy year. I wish for my family, my boyfriend, and myself to be happy this whole year, and not have to be sad over anything again.I wish my boyfriend will never be sad again, and never have one of those days when he is sad again. I wish that he will always be happy, and so he can always laugh and be by my side. My second wish is that my boyfriend will propose to me this summer before my birthday. I have been dating him for almost three years now, and I feel more ready than ever to start a new chapter together with him. Time and age can not be rewind, and I am not any younger, but I only age more each passing year. I have been hinting to my boyfriend that I hope he would propose to me this year, but I know that my boyfriend is nervous and afraid of tying the knot with me. I know that he is afraid that I will not be happy spending the rest of my life with him, but he does not understand that he is my world. I have become a different person because of him, and he has made me a better person. I'm not too subtle when it comes to hints because I explicitly tell my boyfriend that I hope this year will be the year for us. Although I have hinted several times to my boyfriend, telling him that this is what I wanted for my birthday this year, but I am very worried. I'm not worry about our future together. I'm not worry about living with his parents or raising our kids together. I'm not worry about doing house chores, and building a family with him. What I am worry about is that he won't propose to me this summer. Sometimes I think that he will propose to me this year, but then sometimes I think he will postpone and not propose to me like he has done before. Therefore, I wish that this wish will come true this summer. My third wish is to have good health. I am afraid that I might be sick this year, as this is what the horoscope said about me. I am worried that I might have a relapse of UTI or some kidney infection. My lower back has been hurting me for so long now, one minute aching so much, and the next minute, I feel normal. According to my horoscope for this year, I will encounter either UTI or kidney infections, which makes me worry because I do not have health insurance at the moment, and I had a UTI history. I am very superstitious because I have a mole that signifies that I will not live long, and I believe that this is the case for my mom has this same mole.

I'm very eager for the new year to come, and I pray that my three wishes will come true this year. Lastly, I wish everyone a happy new year, filled with endless laughter and joy! :)

Happiness

Happiness is an emotion we exert when someone or something has brought us great joy at that moment in time of our lives, yet these moments are defined by our own discretion. Therefore, happiness to everyone signifies something different. To a homeless person wondering around on the cold and dark streets, happiness can purely be receiving a dollar from a stranger. To a child in this technological society, happiness can simply be having his or her own cell phone, and the liberty to use it whenever. We define what happiness means to us, but at some point in our lives, someone or something dictates our happiness, robbing us away from the gift of laughter we cherished the most.

Happiness to me is having my boyfriend besides me. His embrace warms me so much, and every time we are together, all of my problems seem to ease away. I never knew that I could ever love a stranger so much as I love my boyfriend. He has most certainly taught me what love is, and with that, he has changed my meaning of happiness. Before meeting him, I always thought that happiness was simply accumulating money for luxury expenses, but my boyfriend has opened my eyes, and made me realized that love is the key to happiness. He has made me realized that my ultimatum happiness that I yearned for is being with him for eternity, walking the journey of life with him, and sharing our happiness and sadness together. Simply hugging him, hearing him whisper in my ears, "I love you", or having him hold my hands as we strolled down the streets make me happy, but sometimes, the sun stops shining and the giggles ceased. 

I am a very emotional person with a low emotional quality aka EQ, making me vulnerable to being hurt by the slightest things, and consequently stealing my token of happiness when my world starts shaking. My boyfriend is my world, and when he feels down at any point in the relationship, I start to shatter. When my boyfriend shuts down on me, and avoids me for whatever the reason maybe, I feel isolated and unhappy. When he shuts down on me, I feel like my happiness is taken away, paralyzing my emotions slowing. I just asked to be with him, hug him, and love him with all of my heart, but I don't understand why his sadness brings me down so much. When he is sad, I just want to hug him, kiss him, and make him feel love even more, hoping that my presence will heal his sadness. Unfortunately, this is not case. My boyfriend asked to be alone whenever he feels sad, and this happens so frequently, it becomes a routine for us. Every time this happens, I feel to be blamed for his unhappiness in life. I feel incompetent for not being the partner he needs when he is sad. I feel distraught that my own happiness is shattered, and my goal of building a home with him seems unattainable. Whenever this happens, I too shut down, and tears start to formulate, as I tried to force myself to be strong and not cry. I did not know that I have become this weak, and the slightest thing he does can affect my emotions.

Today, for some odd reasons, my boyfriend is sad, and wanted to be left alone. Yesterday we were still happy, laughing and tickling each other, but today the scale turned 180 degrees. I waited for my boyfriend to come home from church, expecting that we would hang out like most Sundays, but today was one of those days. I tried to comfort him, but he didn't want any consolidations. He is the love of my life, and he is my happiness. Who will comfort me now that I am not happy? Who will hug me when I want to feel love to stop these stubborn tears from trickling down? In such a big world as it already it, I feel like a tiny ant, small and unnoticeable by others. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day and the rainbow will shine through, and we will both feel better.

Wholes Food Market

Last week on January 15, Austin welcomed a new addition to the community, a third Wholes Food Market located by the Domain on Domain Drive. Today, my boyfriend and I decided to visit this new place in town, that every Austinite is gossiping about.

Right when we drove through the entryway, we were instructed by the sheriff to park our car on the unpaved and rocky lot adjacent to the store, due to the mass numbers of customers eager to see what's in store for them, literally! After finding a close parking spot, we started our way through the ramp, and as we strolled pass the hungry customers chowing down on their lunch, we sniffed the smell of BBQ being cooked outside given to customers to sample. As we entered the automatic sliding doors, we were amazed by the assembly and the layout of this store. To the left of the store was the so-called food court, lined with plentiful array of cuisines. To the right of the store, was an orderly fashion cash register, featuring many express lanes for fast and easy check out. The store included an upper level, with a baclony for customers to enjoy the scenic view of Austin, while enjoying their nice cup of freshly squeeze fruit juice.

The "food court" offered at this Whole Foods Market, was not your typical food court you find at the shopping mall. The plethora of international cuisines ranging from Japanese Ramen noodles and sushi, Mexican dishes and tacos, American sandwiches and pizzas, and even an oyster bar was a buffet for hungry individuals to sample, and try as much or as little of whatever they were craving for. Many of these foods were made to order, with some already cooked and heated on a tray, as you pack your own serving in a box. Some of the ready made foods were neatly placed in the freezer, including spring rolls, egg rolls, and various rice dishes. As my boyfriend and I walked up and down the food court aisle, we were amazed by the vast numbers of foods, making us confused at what to eat. We wind up eating albacore sushi and BBQ from the Smokehouse. The sushi was good with its crunchy pieces, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I should for my love of sushi. The BBQ was average, but I did enjoy eating the beef brisket. We picked a mango lemonade glass jar from the fridge to drink, and it was refreshing. A sip of sweet mango, blended with the tangy taste of lemon counteracts each taste. What I did find unique at this Wholes Food was an oyster bar, costing about $1.49 per oyster, which was roughly $18 for a dozen. The oyster bar featured different types of ocean bound oysters, for your picky tongues to find the best oysters to suit your seafood cravings. Another unique feature at this store was a inside shop called, Squeeze, where fresh fruits or vegetables are grind and blended into juice right there at your discretion. These juices claimed to offer unique boosts that can tailored to your needs and desires, with no added sugar or artificial. It is supposedly good for you. We ordered the Coco Crazy drink made with a coconut base, mango and peach add ins. Having had Jamba Juice before with its so called boosts, I thought that Squeeze was no difference, but I was wrong. It was not sweet, that was for sure. I did not like it because I prefer something sweet like a smoothie, but this had the look of a smoothie, but a completely different taste, although very refreshing.

This Wholes Food Market is the new "IT" spot for the Austinites, for food lovers and organic lovers alike seeking healthy and diverse foods. If you're looking for something to eat, but you're not sure what to eat, come to the Whole Foods Market, and I'm sure there will be something for you, whether it be a cranberry raisin bagel or a bowl of Mexican rice. I know that this won't be my last time visiting this store. :)

New Orleans, LA

Last week I went on a mini vacation with my boyfriend to New Orleans, LA to explore the historical and flavorful city. Native to Austin, Texas, the drive to New Orleans was a tiring and exhausting eight hour drive, but also a very scenic drive with miles long of beautiful water view of various swamps, bayous, and rivers. Once arriving in New Orleans, it was like arriving in another world filled with history, that even the roads have its own stories.

Being from Austin, I though that being stuck on I-35 was scary enough with people tailgating you, and changing lanes every few seconds just to surpass the slow car in front of them, but New Orleans to me was much worse. The lanes were small, and no matter at what hour we went, there always seems to be traffic. The freeway, I-10 was crazy, and there were many potholes scattered around the city. If you're planning on going to the downtown French Quarter district from Kenner or Metarire, expect about 25 or so minutes delay.

Now although the city has its flaws and blemishes, this city raves in many beautiful and one of a kind spot for tourists to explore and learn. I'll start with the most well known, the French Quarter. It's a must see place for every tourist who is visiting New Orleans. The French Quarter is like another town nestled in the downtown area filled with history, delicacies, antiques, and of course drinks, plenty of it! On our first day in the French Quarter, we paid $35 for nine hours parking in the Premium Parking Lot, located on Chartres Street. To us, that's a pricey price tag to have your car sit in a unshaded and unsupervised area. On our second day, we went to the Mardi Gras World, and paid $10 for parking with no time restriction, and took their free shuttle bus to the French Quarter. What a bargain!!! If you plan on visting the French Quarter, take a shuttle bus. The French Quarter boasts of historic buildings that dates back for probably many centuries old, creating an old theme look, with its cast iron gates, narrow streets, and different colored buildings. On every street, you'll find a variety of hotels ranging from two stars to four stars hotel, as well as cajun restaurants and bars throughout the French Quarter. Some of the streets were dirty, and had a foul smell, partly because garage cans were parked in the fronts of the buildings. Bourbon Street of all the streets on the French Quarter, was very loud, with bars blasting music, and people strolling around with drinks. Of course, all the other streets were less busy and less hectic compared to the partying Bourbon Street.

If you're in the French Quarter, you have to come to August Restaurant. It is five star restaurant co-owned by Iron Chef John Besh. On Fridays from 11-2pm, at August, they offer a lunch Prix menu costing no more than $20.14 for a three course meal, featuring a choice of appetizer, main course, and dessert. This is the bargain price to savor the gourmet foods at an affordable price. My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this lunch, and the service was excellent. Our waiter wore nice tux to serve us, and the chef gave us a free custardy appetizer, along with free truffles once we got our bill. Another must try place at the French Quarter is Cafe Du Monde. The beginets are wonderfully fluffy and soft, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served hot. Be careful while eating this because it can get very messy with the powdered sugar staining your clothes. Another eatery we tried at the French Quarter was the French Cafe, located by the French Market. Now the service is completely different from August. Once you entered the door, there is no hostess waiting to greet you, but maybe you'll get greeted by a busy waiter trying to pick up a few more customers for the day. As my boyfriend and I were standing outside looking at the posted menu, this lady comes up to us and asked us if we want to eat. At first hesitant, but then we decided why not? It was extremely crowded, and we didn't want to walk any longer. After a quick look at the menu, my boyfriend ordered an osyter po-boy, and I ordered the chicken and sauage jambayla. Both of our dishes were very good, and we were very glad we came to try there. One of the restaurant outside of the French Quarter that is a must try is the Acme Osyter House. I loved its seafood etouffee, and its seafood boat is delish. The seafood etouffee there has just the right consistency, with the soup not being too liquidy, and the rice is well cooked. The seafood boat consisted of fried catfish, fried oysters, and fried shrimps served with buttered french bread. 

At the French Quarter, we visited a few places that were walking distances. We visited the Jefferson Square, a beautiful green park with many iron benches for tourists to sip on their hot coffee while munching on their beignets. We visited the French Market, which was much like a flea market with local crafts, foods, and souvenirs. Be prepare to come with cash, as many of these vendors take only cash. Located by the French Quarter was the scenic view of the Mississippi River, a beautiful place to walk around and take pictures. The main pricey attraction that we visited in the French Quarter was the Insectarium and Butterfly located by the August Restaurant. You can buy the package to visit the aquarium and the zoo too, but if you just want to visit the insecturium like we did, price is $16 for adults. Inside you'll discover many types of insects and critters that will amaze you, and the beautiful butterfly garden inspired by the Japanese Zen style is calming and serene.

The one place you should visit when in New Orleans is the Mardi Gras World. It is a fascinating place, where the tour guide will give you an eductaional tour about the history and making of the Mardi Gras floats. This tour lasts for about an hour, starting with a 20 minute video about Mardi Gras. After the video, we were given the traditional King Cake to eat, and then we walked through the warehouse, where the tour guide walked us through the making of the floats. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time afterwards to stay at the warehouse to take as many pictures as you want.

Although we really only visited New Orleans for two days, minus the two days for driving to and from Texas, we had a fun and at the most relaxing time at the French Quarter. I am so happy that my boyfriend agreed to take me to New Orleans because I love to travel. After every trip, I feel like I learn so much more than researching about it online. I'm glad that I had a chance to visit the historical city and try the delicacies of New Orleans. :)