A Snowy April Greeting from Boston
No, I am not kidding...we actually got snow here in Boston yesterday. The usual April showers were replaced by big fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. Boy, do I envy you West-Coasters, but alas, I will be here in New England for another 2 more years. In case some of you haven't heard already, I will be going to MIT Sloan Business School starting late August. I'm pretty excited about it, yet at the same time totally stressed out about it. (What else is new?) I know it's supposed to be a really fun yet intense two years, but as usual, I have no idea what I want to do when I "grow up", especially after I get out of business school. But time will tell, and I'll eventually find something or another to do. As for the time before school starts, I'm planning on going to Hawaii for a week or so, which I'm totally psyched about. A friend of mine is spending the summer there, so I'll be able to explore the island and soak up the rays with her. I will be staying on Honolulu Island so if anyone has any suggestions about places to visit, restaurants to eat at, etc., do let me know!
In terms of other news about my life...there really isn't much. There is always the occasional not-so-subtle hints that my parents try to drop about how Calvin and I should get engaged just because we've been going out for so long, but I usually try to ignore them.
Conversation 1:
Mom: I was talking to an old friend a few days ago and she told me that her and her husband got married when he started his residency. Maybe you guys should do that to.
Me: ?!?
Conversation 2:
Mom: So... Calvin's coming up on his fourth year of med-school, right? I heard 4th year is always pretty relaxed. Maybe that might be a good time for you two to get married.
Me: !?!
My mom then tried to explain to me her logic about how men increase in value as they get older, but how women decrease in value as they age. To which I responded, don't worry, Calvin will not dump me over a wrinkle. Well, I didn't really say that aloud, but I certainly thought that.
In other Chen Family Saga news...my parents are finally renovating the house! After years of talk about moving to NJ, then years of talk about moving to Shanghai, they've finally come around to just remodeling our second floor. Construction will begin in May and hopefully end by June, so if anyone is planning on visiting "76 St.", try to plan around those dates. In actuality, there's not going to be much of a remodeling done...just a changing of the red carpet and fixing of the walls and ceilings. They claim that they may turn one of the rooms into a dining room, but I will believe it when I see it. More likely, they will just add more strange "exercise/health-promoting" equipment that resemble medieval torture-machines to the already cluttered room.
One last anecdote before I hurry off to my Taekwondo practice. About a month ago, my boss decided to leave the company and go join a hedge fund. (A very popular trend right now.) Well, he's always been intrigued by the fact that I, such a small-statured girl, hold a red stripe in Taekwondo. So in "celebration" of his last day, I decided to perform a board breaking demonstration in my office. I came dressed to the nines...with my crisp white Taekwondo uniform and my red-striped belt. Everyone in my group, and then some, gathered in the hallways to watch this spectacle. I even had Calvin come to the office to properly hold the 1-inch thick pine boards for me. Before I began my board breaks, I decided to introduce each of the techniques that I was about to do. My first technique was called an ax-kick. Of course, all my coworkers heard "ass-kick" (pardon my french) ... despite my insistence on it being the "ax-kick". And so with that fumbled introduction, I turned to face the board with my fists clenched and my foot stiffened ready to strike down on the board. I made a loud "kiyup!" sound and swung my leg up...only to bounce right off the board and fall on my "ass". How appropriate for an "ass-kick". That didn't phase me, however, as I got right back up and made for a second attempt. Much to my embarrassment, I flew off the board again but this time fell backwards into a wall. By now, my coworkers were really holding their breaths and sweating beads, wondering if in fact I could break the board or would the board break me first? Luckily, the third time was the charm, and I kicked clean straight through the board as my coworkers exploded into applause and whistling. I then finished up with 2 more breaks - a side-kick and an elbow-strike - both of which I was able to accomplish on my first try. By the end of it, my coworkers had formed two lines down the hallway and insisted that I run through it slapping high-fives to everyone. At that moment, I felt like an NBA superstar... my boss even asked me to autograph one of the broken board pieces for him! That day was the highlight of all of my work days...
Anyhow, I've rambled on long enough. I hope this message finds everyone well and I hope I will see all of you sometime soon again. Happy birthday to Harry and Emily!
In terms of other news about my life...there really isn't much. There is always the occasional not-so-subtle hints that my parents try to drop about how Calvin and I should get engaged just because we've been going out for so long, but I usually try to ignore them.
Conversation 1:
Mom: I was talking to an old friend a few days ago and she told me that her and her husband got married when he started his residency. Maybe you guys should do that to.
Me: ?!?
Conversation 2:
Mom: So... Calvin's coming up on his fourth year of med-school, right? I heard 4th year is always pretty relaxed. Maybe that might be a good time for you two to get married.
Me: !?!
My mom then tried to explain to me her logic about how men increase in value as they get older, but how women decrease in value as they age. To which I responded, don't worry, Calvin will not dump me over a wrinkle. Well, I didn't really say that aloud, but I certainly thought that.
In other Chen Family Saga news...my parents are finally renovating the house! After years of talk about moving to NJ, then years of talk about moving to Shanghai, they've finally come around to just remodeling our second floor. Construction will begin in May and hopefully end by June, so if anyone is planning on visiting "76 St.", try to plan around those dates. In actuality, there's not going to be much of a remodeling done...just a changing of the red carpet and fixing of the walls and ceilings. They claim that they may turn one of the rooms into a dining room, but I will believe it when I see it. More likely, they will just add more strange "exercise/health-promoting" equipment that resemble medieval torture-machines to the already cluttered room.
One last anecdote before I hurry off to my Taekwondo practice. About a month ago, my boss decided to leave the company and go join a hedge fund. (A very popular trend right now.) Well, he's always been intrigued by the fact that I, such a small-statured girl, hold a red stripe in Taekwondo. So in "celebration" of his last day, I decided to perform a board breaking demonstration in my office. I came dressed to the nines...with my crisp white Taekwondo uniform and my red-striped belt. Everyone in my group, and then some, gathered in the hallways to watch this spectacle. I even had Calvin come to the office to properly hold the 1-inch thick pine boards for me. Before I began my board breaks, I decided to introduce each of the techniques that I was about to do. My first technique was called an ax-kick. Of course, all my coworkers heard "ass-kick" (pardon my french) ... despite my insistence on it being the "ax-kick". And so with that fumbled introduction, I turned to face the board with my fists clenched and my foot stiffened ready to strike down on the board. I made a loud "kiyup!" sound and swung my leg up...only to bounce right off the board and fall on my "ass". How appropriate for an "ass-kick". That didn't phase me, however, as I got right back up and made for a second attempt. Much to my embarrassment, I flew off the board again but this time fell backwards into a wall. By now, my coworkers were really holding their breaths and sweating beads, wondering if in fact I could break the board or would the board break me first? Luckily, the third time was the charm, and I kicked clean straight through the board as my coworkers exploded into applause and whistling. I then finished up with 2 more breaks - a side-kick and an elbow-strike - both of which I was able to accomplish on my first try. By the end of it, my coworkers had formed two lines down the hallway and insisted that I run through it slapping high-fives to everyone. At that moment, I felt like an NBA superstar... my boss even asked me to autograph one of the broken board pieces for him! That day was the highlight of all of my work days...
Anyhow, I've rambled on long enough. I hope this message finds everyone well and I hope I will see all of you sometime soon again. Happy birthday to Harry and Emily!
posted by Alice Chen at 7:00 AM
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