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(A)musing

~ Humorous thoughts and other things…but mostly humor

(A)musing

Category Archives: (A)musing

A Muse About HGTV’s House Hunters…

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing

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When the Husband and I went house hunting, I actually enjoyed it because I liked looking at the inside of different houses. I think it’s kind of fun to see how people decorate their homes or check out the floorplan of a house.

So you can probably guess I like watching House Hunters. A real estate agent shows her clients three different houses and the clients decide at the end of the show which one they want to buy. Of course, it’s already known that the show is a sham, but I still find it interesting to watch. I also noticed that 9 out of 10 episodes, the real estate agent shows these three options:

1. The house that is under budget but needs major renovations.
2. The almost perfect house that is within budget, but in the wrong location.
3. The absolute perfect house that is waaaay over budget.

At this point, I forget the show is staged, so I always think, “What kind of real estate agent are you? You never even come close to meeting the buyer’s requirements!” Thanks to the magic of cable TV, I can rewind back to when the real estate agent is first introduced and make a note not to use this person if I ever need to move to their area.

But whichever house the buyer picks, they’re always thrilled with their purchase in the followup two months later. And for the ones who picked the houses that were over budget, please let me know where you managed to get that additional $30 to $50 thousand. I can always use extra money.

Fixing DST

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing

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A

Slate.com recently posted an article about how Daylight Savings Time is bad for our health. The time change screws up our sleep cycles and being groggy on Monday mornings while driving in the dark cause more accidents.

I think DST should be moved to Monday afternoon at 4:00pm. Once the clock hits 4:00, we move the clock forward one hour. Now it’s 5:00, people can leave work and go home and they get an extra hour in the sun as a bonus.

My guess would be that this would work just as well on a Friday afternoon too.

Don’t Let the Internet Decide Who You Are

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing

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I noticed my Facebook friends like to share their results from Buzzfeed‘s quizzes. You know, the ones like “Which Character From Shakespeare Are You?” or “Which Period In History Do You Really Belong In?”

I took a few of these myself, and sometimes, the results make me doubt who I really am. I took the “Which NYC Neighborhood Should You Live In?” quiz (which is no longer available on Buzzfeed for some reason). I was expecting the East Village or Union Square, two areas where I would love to live. Instead, I got Forest Hills, with additional suggestions of Flushing or Bayside. I guess I wasn’t too surprised, since the Husband and I had talked about moving to Forest Hills sometime in the future to be closer to the city, and I had grown up in Flushing and Bayside.

Then I also started noticing Facebook friends posting links about how certain types of people behave. I mean like “18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently” or “14 Things Positive People Don’t Do.” I read these lists and I see if they apply to me. I always thought I was creative. I was told I was creative. But wait, I don’t always make time to surround myself with beauty, or I don’t always take risks. Does that mean I’m only 90% creative? Or maybe I’m not as creative as I think? I get bored and I let negative thoughts take over once in a while, so does that mean I’m not a positive person?

I realized this morning that I hate these quizzes and lists. They tried to define me by asking irrelevant questions and they don’t even know who I am. I should live in Flushing just because I like Asian food? I’m a Munchkin cat because I drink non-fat milk? For a while (a lot longer than I should have let it) these stupid lists made me kind of unhappy because I didn’t fit exactly into their specifications of what a certain type of person should be.

So I’m trying to be happy with me no matter what quiz tells me otherwise. And, by the way, I don’t care what Buzzfeed says, I do NOT belong in the French Revolution.

Image

LinkedIn Crushed My Self Esteem

15 Wednesday Jan 2014

I got an email from LinkedIn today. I think they’re trying to tell me that no one will like me unless I upgrade to their premium account.

LinkedIn Premium Email WTF

Posted by Jane Moon | Filed under (A)musing, Job Hunting

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Lies My Fortune Cookies Told Me

09 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing, Fortune Cookie Lies

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Fortune Cookies

If only fortune cookies really did know the future. I eat them mainly for that little slip of paper inside, and I like saving the ones that seem particularly unusual. I like how some of them aren’t even predictions—they’re just statements. I have a collection of them, but these are two fortunes that are different from the usual “You will meet a mysterious stranger” type.

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I got this one about a year ago, while eating out with my family at a Malaysian restaurant. I was job hunting at the time, so, of course, it got me pretty excited. Everyone commented it was appropriate to my situation and it would be great if it came true. Sad to say, this fortune cookie lied.

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I actually considered law school. I did really well in my undergrad logic classes and I was told that would be my advantage if I ever took the LSATs. I went as far as to take introductory law classes just to see if I would like it. (I loved tort law.) My two sisters and a brother-in-law are lawyers so I asked them if they liked law school. This is what I learned: law school and being a lawyer are two different things. In law school, you get to read, write, learn, and analyze cases. When you become a lawyer, all you do is read pages and pages of legal documents and do boring lawyer things (according to my family members). I was told if I wanted to read and write, then do something where I can read and write. So I got a degree in creative writing instead.

These are the only ones I could find for now, but I have more stuffed in an Altoids tin somewhere. When I find them, I’ll post those as well.

Please Excuse My English

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing, Being Asian

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Asian, Korean

I’ve met quite a few people who aren’t familiar with Asians. I know it’s not just me…the Husband once told me about how he had visited Korea about 15 years ago and he brought back Korean cigarettes. He was smoking them at a bar and a woman noticed they didn’t look like the ones she usually saw around New York City, so she asked where he got them. When he told her Korea, she had no idea what he was talking about. He tried to explain Korea is a country in Asia near China and Japan, but she still didn’t get it.

I live in an area where there aren’t many Asians, much less Koreans, but a few weeks ago I went to a local nail salon that are run by Koreans. I know the employees were pretty surprised to find out that I was Korean, but I think they were pretty excited because they kept asking me questions in Korean, like how long I’ve been living in the US and if I live nearby. Since my Korean isn’t that great, I answered in English. One of them commented that I spoke English well and asked, “Are you adopted?”

So just because I’m not bilingual, they assumed I must have been raised by non-Koreans.

When he heard this story, my white brother-in-law asked, “So Koreans are ignorant about each other too?”

Yes…yes we are.

“Where are you REALLY from?”

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing, Being Asian

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Asian, Korean, Weirdos

Being Asian, specifically Korean, I get that question a lot. I know that people are just curious and I don’t mind if you ask, but I do mind when you follow up with something like, “But your English is so good!” or a badly accented “Ahn yeong ha say yo!”

I don’t expect you to have extensive knowledge about Asians, but I’m still surprised at how people can still be pretty ignorant. Example: I was at an office holiday party a few years ago and we had invited a few other departments. I happened to wander over to a co-worker (who I’ll call MP) talking to a new employee I hadn’t yet met. I don’t remember the new guy’s name, but I’ll just assume it’s Jeremy, because I recall thinking he looks like he would be a Jeremy.

Me: Hi, I’m Jane.
Jeremy: Nice to meet you. So, where are you from?
Me (a little confused by the question): I live in Queens.
Jeremy: No, I mean, where are you REALLY from?
Me (finally getting it): Oh, I’m from Korea.
Jeremy (starts to look interested): North or South?
Me (laughing a little): South Korea.
Jeremy: Are you sure?

Wait, really? You actually think I don’t know where I come from?

Me: Very sure. But trust me, your chances of ever meeting anyone from North Korea are VERY slim.
Jeremy: I knew a Korean girl when I lived in Chicago

Okay, this is another one people used to say to me pretty often. “I know a Korean person when I lived in [insert location here]. Maybe you knew them?” Unless that person lived in NYC, went to school with me, and was in my year, it’s highly likely the answer is no.

Me: Oh, that’s nice.
Jeremy: Her name is Jenny Kim. Maybe you knew her?

For those of you who might not realize this, Jenny Kim to Koreans is the equivalent to Jane Smith to Americans. I knew two people who used to live in Chicago, but it’s safe to say they’re not Jenny Kim, because one is a Christine and the other is a Suzannah.

Me: I’m pretty sure I don’t know her. Oh, have you met Jennifer? She’s Korean too.

So yeah, I pushed this guy off onto another co-worker. I found MP later and told him, “You know, that guy Jeremy is a little on the weird side?” MP’s answer nearly made me fall out of my chair: “I know. I couldn’t take it anymore so that”s why I pawned him off onto you.”

A Jane By Any Other Name

28 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing, Names, Sitting in Starbucks

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I’ve had problems with the baristas at Starbucks getting my name right. I order my drink, tell them my name, pay, and wait. I’m always curious to see if they’re able to spell my name right. Some results are better than others.

This is one of the first times I went to Starbucks:

SB name 8

I actually saw the guy write this one. He paused after the first “N,” then decided one wasn’t enough:

SB name 7

Now this one is just laziness:

SB name 4

I don’t even know what this is supposed to be:

SB name 2

I had to travel almost 1,300 miles from New York to Florida for them to get it right:

SB name 6

And this one is my favorite:

SB name 9

Smileys make everything better. 🙂

My Name Is…

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by Jane Moon in (A)musing, Names, Sitting in Starbucks

≈ 2 Comments

hello-my-name-isI always thought I had one of the most common names. Jane. And you hear it all the time: Dick and Jane, “Plain Jane” (even though I hate that term), G.I. Jane starring Demi Moore. Easy to spell, easy to remember, right? Apparently not.

It seems like Jane is becoming less and less common. Now it seems like parents are naming their kids anything that will make them stand out from all the other kids.

David Beckham and Posh Spice (I forget her real name) called their son Brooklyn. Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple. Some Israeli couple named their kid Like after the button on Facebook.

So should I be surprised when I go to Starbucks and they ask my name after taking my drink order? My conversations with Starbucks employees usually goes something like this:

Cashier: Welcome to Starbucks. What would you like?
Me: I would like a tall iced green tea lemonade.
Cashier: And what’s your name?
Me: Jane
Cashier: Jay?
Me: No, Jane.
Cashier: Jean?
Me: No, JANE.
Cashier: Okay. (Calling out to barista) Iced lemonade green tea, tall, for Jen!

Go over to the waiting area, wait for my drink. Stand around for a few minutes. Then I hear:

Barista: Drink for Jan?
Me: A tall iced green tea lemonade?
Barista: Yup, for Jan.
Me: It’s Jane.
Barista: Okay, Jay. Enjoy your drink.

Meanwhile, they have no problem with Fiona, Arwin and Janelle.

Perhaps I need to change my name to something more difficult, so that they can pronounce it properly. Maybe if I started calling myself Eilonwy, like the princess in The Black Cauldron, then I’ll have better luck.

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