Gushing

A few things that made today fantastic:

* Officially applied (and approved) for graduation! The advisement counselor teased me about being too uptight about my grades. She was a great cheerleader even when I expressed uncertainty about my future plans and I felt like a winner coming out of her office.

* Found out that the five best thermal baths in Budapest are actually not too pricey. In just three days, I'll be lounging around in one of the hot water spas in Hungary. My only reservation? The sites are not very specific about whether or not bath patrons wear clothes inside. If they are anything like Chinese bath houses, everybody would be (very) naked. You think they will let me in with my swimming suit?

* Justin dropped by last night and surprised me with a mixed CD of his favorite songs and a letter explaining what each one means to him. I listened to it five times since I was up till 6 a.m. writing a paper.

* It is warm even though the mountains are blanketed with snow. Need I say more?

What matters the most

Recently, I've been too wrapped up in my thesis/ PAS/ Golden Key/ Sigma Journal/ classes/ work/ Women in Politics panel/ missionary stuff/ future plans. Even though I was trying to hold everything together, I think I was falling apart at the seams.

Last week in Relief Society, somebody shared with us President Uchtdorf's talk "Of Things that Matter the Most." Here are some lines that struck me:

"It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks."

"love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time."

"If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most. Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light."

His solution for simplifying our lives? Focus on the four key relationships with God, our families, our fellowmen, and ourselves.

1. Relationship with God
I went to the temple yesterday. It's been too long. And sitting there, without looking at the clock, was absolutely wonderful. I learned some important lessons about myself. And on a less serious/ spiritual note, I also found out that I am now officially too tall for the size small and short baptism jumpsuit. It must be the vitamins.


2. Relationship with Family
My family periodically loses a child. And a sister. And a cousin. And a niece. They patiently wait for me to resurface from my piles of work. But while they've always been there for me, I haven't always done the same in return. Sometimes I call Chelsea when I'm rushing to school and she always sounds so surprised. So, this week I made a goal to call a family member every day. Soon, they'll be screening my phone calls.


3. Relationship with Fellowmen
I've made some really good friends this semester. I haven't done so well in hanging onto my old friends though. Last week, I cried when one of my closest friends shared about the depths of her loneliness. I cried because I've seen glimpses of it all along. And yet, I never really spent the time to just sit and talk to her. So then, I grabbed her and we talked. And talked. And cried some more. And then laughed at ourselves and danced in the bathroom.


4. Relationship with Myself
This one is the easiest and the hardest. I'll spare you.

Delay those DTRs!

According to this diagram from Information is Beautiful (love them btw), we're heading into a peak break-up season. Better hold off on the DTRs because it's going to be a climatic buildup of failed relationships.

Feel awkward comforting heart-broken friends? Check out this list of things that you should never say to anybody who just broke up.

Punctuate My Love

Sometimes, reading old love letters is painful. I can't help it - I just linger over every misplaced comma, cringe at all the misused contractions that make me into body parts ("you're beautiful eyes"), and agonize over run-on sentences that could have been easily fixed with elegant semi-colons.

Young Women leaders have drilled into my head that "spouse who understands the necessity of spaces within ellipses (space dot space dot space dot space)" is not appropriate for my future husband list . . .  but surely a comma-conscious man is not too much to ask for?

Fresh off the Boat

I had a minor case of culture disorientation {shock} today. After living in China for the last four months, so many ordinary things in America seemed alien to me.

The sky was not stained grey with smog. Weird.

I've trained myself to squeeze into packed Beijing metro stations and to weave in and out of little gaps in the moving crowds and today it showed: I became a little too competitive for space in the line at the BYU bookstore. Many people probably also thought that I was snuggling up against them when, in my reality, I was just conserving valuable living space.

Cheese also tasted funny. Was it always like that?

Adding to the bucket list

Someday, I'll go horse trekking in Sichuan and learn how to milk yaks.

The body language of emails

I obsess over emails, not necessarily over their content but rather the delivery.

 

Sentences full of shpelling mistaks, LOL, or .....? I instinctively read faster and skip over them, pretending I don't notice so as to spare my sender any imaginary embarassment.

 

A "I hope your work is treating you well" from somebody I just met? I cringe. Perhaps we didn't hit it off as well as I think we did. 

 

A new animated emocon in an email from my mom this morning? I sat there absolutely shocked. I don't even know how to do that myself. 

 

And a sentence highlighted in bold when I wasn't expecting it? I just about cried.

 

 

 

Things you should never say to somebody who just broke up

Hong Kong doesn't have a lot of distinct seasons. But we do here at BYU. There's Spring (the meeting), there's Summer (the dating), and then there's the Fall (the breaking up), and of course there's the Winter (hibernating at home and gearing up for Spring). While talking to my friends the other day, I realize that a lot of couples that I know recently broke up. Some of them are glad, some are broken hearted and some are just plain angry.

So just to laugh about it all, and to poke fun at myself a little (most of these things were said to me!), Chelsea and I came up with this list at 3 am some random morning:

Top 10 things that you should never say to somebody who just broke up

1. Who did it?
2. Interesting. I don't think I've ever met anybody who got engaged and broke up before.
3. Can I have your number then?
4. What on earth are you going to do on Friday nights now?
5. Did she burn you a love CD? You put it into the microwave right now and put it on high for 30 seconds! (This one is actually a good idea)
6. Good. I never liked him anyways.
7. Oh that makes sense. I saw him yesterday with this other girl.
8. But you guys were perfect for each other!
9. That sucks. We broke up last year and I'm still not over it. I totally understand how you feel.
10. I just heard that you got engaged!