Geek in Heels - Page 84

Jul 14, 2011 • In Funny, Geek, Star Wars

Luke Skywalker Seeks Professional Help

Discipline Styles

J and I grew up in a culture and generation that was all for physical discipline. In fact, it was rare to find a household that did not spank/cane their children.

Our homes were not the only places for punishments either — I still remember how, having attending up to the 2nd grade in Korea, all the teachers kept a separate cane for punishments (the unspoken rules stated that we would “only” get hit on the palms of our hands or our calves)…from not doing your homework to straying from the dress code. One time, the entire class was hit three times on the palms of our hands because someone whistled during a lesson and no one would confess to it!

I have read that corporal punishment in the schools back in my native country has lessened up some, but still exists. Additionally, with the widespread penetration of the internet and video/photo technology, the instances of teachers abusing their power has significantly decreased, as illustrated in this funny GIF from haha.nu:

My sister and I were generally well-behaved kids. So while our parents did hit us on a few occasions, it was only when we were really really bad, and these times were far and few between.

J, on the other hand, was a very rebellious and unruly child. My MIL tells us that he and his brother used to make her cry almost every day with their uncontrollable behavior, and that they were hit quite often with canes of varying sizes. (She jokes that this is the reason she is happy we are having two girls — raising two disorderly boys has traumatized her! 😉 )

With our personalities being so dissimilar, J and I have talked at length regarding the disciplining of our children. The short answer? We are both for physical discipline. This is not to say that we will be hitting our children for every offense. Rather, we will only do so when they are very very bad. We will take care never to take it too far, and only do it in the privacy of our home. (Hopefully our children will grow up to be relatively well-behaved, like my sister and I were!)

We also know that I will act as the every day disciplinarian and that J will only step in for the large wrongdoings. We also believe that after a certain age, physical punishment will not be as effective and so we will need to stop.

We both are fully aware that there are many families who would never lay a hand on their children. And we do not believe that one style of parenting is better than the other — like almost all parenting decisions, we all have to make the best decision for our unique family. And for us, we feel that large offenses deserve physical punishment (of course, our views may change depending on the personalities of our children, underlying circumstances, etc).

I still remember the very last time that my sister and I were about to get hit. Our father had rounded us up after dinner, and we knew that we were most likely in for some hits on our palms due to our recent behavior. However, our father calmly told us that he was disappointed in us…but that he was more disappointed in himself because he had failed as a father. He then went on to hit himself on the palms of his hands with the stick that we thought was meant for us.

That, to us, hurt more than anything else.

We continued to have our rebellious moments (especially during our teenage years), but we were never hit again.

(Seriously. Isn’t my dad the best or what?)

Were you hit as a child? Are you for or against corporal punishment?

Inside the Architecture and Sets of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably well aware that the Harry Potter film franchise will come to a conclusion this Friday. J and I probably won’t be able to watch the movie until next weekend due to a lack of a babysitter, but you can bet that we are eagerly awaiting the last film with great anticipation.

Lucky for us, the web has been jam-packed with Harry Potter tributes and celebrations. One of my favorites thus far is Architectural Digest‘s interview with Academy Award–winning production designer Stuart Craig, the man who helped bring J.K. Rowling’s vision to life.

Here are some of the pictures included in the interview. Click on over for descriptions and even more eye candy.

Learning to Balance (Opposites Attract)

J is finally back from his business trip, and I couldn’t be happier.

This was the first time in years that we had spent a night apart, so being away from each other for three nights was plain torture. We had promised each other that we would video chat every night via Skype, but you know what happened to my computer. 😥 I really wanted to cry when I first saw him this morning, and I’m not just saying this because I know he will read this.

And to show my appreciation for him, J returned home to a…

To-do list on the fridge for him.

I know! Aren’t I such a great wife?

Later in the day, when I jokingly nagged him about the list, he (very rightfully) asked, “Can’t I just get a day to rest on my day off???”

I’m pretty sure that if you ask J what one of his biggest annoyances about me is, he would tell you that I need to chill sometimes. That everything is not imperative, that non-emergency situations can wait, that I need to take things slower and enjoy life once in a while. (That to-do list on the fridge? I would’ve taken care of them myself a long time ago only if I were tall enough to do them.)

I know this, because one of my biggest annoyances about him is that I feel he needs to stop being so relaxed about everything and get things done ASAP, before everything starts piling up and/or we forget about it until it’s too late.

J and I have many, many things in common. We are both computer geeks who are obsessed with Star Wars. We both love professional basketball and football (we have rooted for the same teams — the Knicks and the Ravens — even before we met) but aren’t that into college sports. We are both musicians who play various instruments in addition to belting it out on karaoke with a good beer in our hands.

The list goes on and on.

But personality-wise, we couldn’t be more different. J is a true extrovert through and through, while I am one of the biggest introverts you will ever meet. He is very personable — the type of person who can become your new BFF in just one night — while I have the social skills of a gnat. J loves to joke around, and I am much more pensive and serious. He lives life in a carpe diem manner when I like to plan and think out everything. He sees the glass as half-full while I’m sure most of my readers are well aware that I tend to be a pessimist.

There are certain types of personalities where, if you put two people together with the same type of dispositions, they will mesh very well together. “We are so alike…it’s like I met my long-lost twin AND best friend!”

Then there are types of personalities where two people with similar characteristics may end up hating each other. (I am actually quite certain that if I were to meet someone with the same personality as me, I probably will not like him/her very much.) Or, when two people with completely different temperaments predictably do not get along.

I think that I have gotten very lucky in that J and I have many preferences in common, but our personalities are complete opposites that complement each other very well. He helps me get more out of life and see the bright side. I keep him grounded and focused. And by doing so, we make each other better people.

It’s funny, because J and his brother W are complete opposites…in fact, W’s personality is very very similar to mine. What makes this even more interesting (and perhaps a bit freudian?) is that W’s wife is very much like J. Whenever the four of us get together, it’s not unusual for J and my SIL to be joking around while W and I sit there rolling our eyes at them.

If you are in a relationship, are you in the “opposites attract” type? Or were you and your significant other drawn to each other for your similarities?

(The photos from this post were from our engagement session, shot by our wedding photographer Danny Weiss.)

The Law & Order: SVU Drinking Game

I wonder which would get you drunk faster: this or the “But Um” game from HIMYM?

Via Miss Cellania.

Sleeping Dog

I guess today is a doggy post day!

I have to say that I completely sympathize with the dog’s owner…and I’m sure I will empathize even more after BebeDeux is born.

(Comang feels the same way too. When Claire is being especially loud or obnoxious, he will let out a big sigh and go into our room — where it’s dark and quieter — to take a nap.)

Via Reddit.

Eye Boogers on Our Walls!

Meet Comang.

An old picture of our shih-tzu, before (like my husband likes to say)
his “manhood was taken away”

He may never pee or poop in the house. But he likes to leave his mark in other ways.

How? By smearing his eye boogers all over our walls and moldings.

I present to you exhibits A and B for your consideration:

We first discovered these markings a few months after we adopted him two years ago. It’s a pretty smart move if you think about it — why use his clumsy and sharp-nail-filled paws to remove his eye boogers, when it’s easier to drag the side of your face against the wall and the molding around each door?

But it’s kinda gross too.

I cleaned our walls and moldings the best I could, and in order to discourage him from continuing this nasty habit I started to diligently clean his eyes every day.

But he continues to do this. I don’t know if it’s become a habit or what, but he refuses to stop (and many times, he’ll do it while we are not looking).

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can get him to stop?

And if anyone can chime in with the best way to clean this solidified gunk from our walls and moldings, I’d really appreciate it too. 🙂

Nervously Waiting for #3

In the 24 hours that J has been away on his business trip…

1. My laptop died. 😥

Either that, or it’s tinkering on the edge. The symptoms seem to be similar to what this guy was experiencing, and there does not seem to be a solution. (I do not have Apple Care either.)

I have not been as diligent about backing up — my last was about 2 months ago — so at the moment I am thinking about all the pictures and files I have added since, waiting around and anxiously hoping that it will power back up again.

Luckily J still has his old MacBook lying around the house, so I am typing away on that at the moment. But it obviously does not have my files, apps, etc and it is not exactly mobile since it needs to be plugged in to a power source at all times. (#firstworldproblems)

We were actually thinking about buying a replacement MacBook Pro for me in late August, when J gets his bonus at work, so even if this laptop never starts back up again I will only be without my own personal computer for a month. Be that as it may, I am still quite attached to my 3.5-year-old MacBook Pro because J had given it to me as a wedding present. Yes, it had been acting up here and there for the past year, but I refused a new laptop due to sentimental reasons…and because I’m afraid Claire and/or BebeDeux might ruin a new $2,000 machine.

(I am sure some people are wondering why I need such a pricey laptop. It’s because I am always running power-intensive programs like CS5.)

How does this affect you, my readers? Well, I had been working on the massive spreadsheet which housed all the entries for my Amazon Gift Card Giveaway…and obviously I no longer have access to it. (A spreadsheet was necessary to delete all the multiple entries, and to keep track of all the Facebook entries as well.) So you will have to wait a few more days for me to re-do the spreadsheet, or for my laptop to come back to life. Sorry! (But I swear I will announce the winners by the end of this week. Promise!)

In addition, posts will probably be light until I get my technological issues squared away. (I don’t like writing posts from my phone because it’s falling apart and I’m not eligible for an upgrade until next month.) I know, it’s a travesty, but I’m sure you can all manage. 😉

Now, on to the second bad…

2. Claire got her first bruise.

She was sitting on the floor, playing with her toys…then BAM! She suddenly fell face-down onto a hard plastic music-making contraption.

She immediately started crying, and I was able to calm her down in just 10 seconds. Because she stopped crying so easily, I thought that no harm had been done. But I was wrong.

Aren’t cheeks really difficult to bruise? I mean, a more bony area like the forehead or a knee gets bruised easily, but a cheek? That means that she must have hit her face pretty hard, right?

The worst part about this experience is that I was right there. I was sitting right next to her and I wasn’t distracted by anything either. I just watched her fall into the damn toy and I let it happen.

I know that Claire — as well as BebeDeux — are in for much more serious injuries in the future. But there’s just something about your baby’s first boo boo that breaks a mother’s heart. I wonder how bad I’ll feel when she gets her first cut/scrape. Or a broken bone (knock on wood).

The timing couldn’t have been better, because Claire is being baptized this Sunday. I thought to myself that if the bruise is still noticeable come Sunday, I could just put some makeup over it…but then again, I don’t want to be that mother.

They say that bad things come in threes. Hence, the title of this post.

I really miss my husband too. 🙁

What Costs More in 2011?

Living in an area with fairly good public transportation — in addition to having an infant who does not like car rides much — I hardly ever drive anymore. I even walk to the grocery store, pushing Claire in her stroller (thank goodness our stroller has a huge bottom compartment that fits 5-6 full grocery bags).

So when I took the car out Friday night and saw that I was running dangerously low on gas, I was in for a rude awakening.

$55 for a full tank of gas??!!!

Apparently this wasn’t that bad, either. Friends tell me that gas prices have actually decreased in the past month, and that they were regularly forking over more than $60.

And this was in the state of New Jersey, where gas prices are relatively low compared to the rest of the country (plus you get free full service!). I can’t imagine how bad it is in states like California, where gas prices have historically been the highest in the country.

I then thought back to a few months ago, when I had read a former student’s Facebook status update:

I remember waiting anxiously to turn sixteen and get my driver’s license. Now that I finally got it, all my allowance goes toward gas money. Wtf!

I had chuckled at this and commented, “I still remember how when I had first started driving, gas was $0.99/gallon. Did I just give away my age?”

Back in those days we could easily fill up a tank for less than $20. (I remember only getting Premium gas too. Now, it’s Regular or nothing.)

Even last year, I think that a trip to the gas station “only” cost $35-40.

I couldn’t help but dig through my Google Reader Shared Items to take a look at this chart again:

Courtesy of one of my favorite informational blogs, Flowing Data, the chart compares the costs of living between the dates of March 2010 and March 2011.

Based on what I recalled about gas prices, I wasn’t surprised to see that the cost of transportation had increased the most (9.8%), with gas prices alone going up 27.5%.

The price of food has gone up too — I remember my mother complaining to me that last year, she was able to purchase an entire month’s worth of groceries for $200, but now, $200 worth of groceries only lasts 2-3 weeks.

Do you find anything surprising or particularly interesting about this chart?

Have you found that the cost of living has significantly increased in the past year relative to inflation?

How much does a full tank of gas cost in your area?

Smile Band-Aids

This may be a bit morbid to some, but I have never been bothered by the sight of blood and am personally loving the concept of turning a boo boo into a smile. 🙂 Designed by Da Wei Xing.