Categories
#amreading

Do you have clutter in your home?

I have just recently cracked open my library book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston. For quite awhile now, I remember how feng shui used to be “super trendy” especially in my teen magazines when I was in high school. I never really got into exploring feng shui until recently; don’t ask me why, but I guess I just never took interest in it until now.

I feel I usually don’t consider myself as someone who has clutter/is messy, but once I began reading this book, I realize that–yes, indeed, I have clutter just like anyone else.

We all have clutter lurking somewhere in our homes, and because of this clutter, perhaps we’re being held back in trying to pursue our dreams.

So, I have begun to really clear out a lot of things I realize I have been keeping for too long for no apparent reason. Some things I keep out of fear of needing use out of them “some day”; some things I have kept because they remind me of people in my past…but these people I now want to forget about.

There’s a big pile of stuff I am going to donate soon; perhaps I wouldn’t have felt motivated to clear this clutter out if I hadn’t cracked open this book.

Categories
travel

Plane Tickets Up in Only a Day…

It’s amazing what a difference a day makes when it comes to buying plane tickets. I’ve been scoping out tickets going to Los Angeles in a few weeks, and yesterday, when I checked (on Southwest), the ticket was $69 one way. Today, when I checked, it was up to $96! I know usually ticket prices do fluctuate depending on the day of the week, but they also fluctuate depending on how soon the flight is.

Since the two week mark has passed for the originally scheduled start of the trip, I guess the tickets are going for a higher price due to the fact that the date is just around the corner. How crazy; this little change has made me have to modify my reservations for the next day instead of the original day intended. Sigh. Well, next time I hope to remember to make reservations well in advance.

Categories
#foodie Chinese Culture feelings My San Francisco Chronicles sweet treats

Clement.

Whenever I walk along Clement Street, I find myself peaking into the Asian bakeries and grocery stores there. I look inside to see the familiar yet foreign things I have grown up with–the Chinese baked goods of buns, egg tarts, red bean paste anything, etc.

Looking at the food, I feel nostalgic for some reason. Despite the fact that I didn’t grow up with these shops near my childhood home, for some reason, I feel “at home” with these shops anyway. They evoke an emotion within me, of the fact that yes, I am indeed a Chinese person.

Categories
change

And that was that.

The process of getting my old apartment inspected and turning in my keys was quick and painless; however, I felt like it all “ended” so fast. There wasn’t any time to lament or be nostalgic about saying good-bye to the first apartment I lived in this past year; I just found myself turning my back and not looking back at the place.

It treated me well this whole past year; now it’s time to look forward to another place.

Categories
customers Hot Dog Days tourists

Rude customers, first thing in the morning.

First thing in the morning, I had some rather rude customers. All they wanted was a bottle of water, so I gave it to them, and as the guy was counting out change, I was trying to discourage him from using his pennies.

Me: “Sorry sir, we do not accept pennies.”
Guy: “I don’t, either.” *goes back to counting out the pennies*
Me: “Sorry, we do not accept pennies, I cannot take pennies from you.”
Guy: “But this is US Legal Tender!”
Me: “Sorry…can’t accept it.”

The guy becomes upset at this point and then looks through his wallet. Meanwhile, his wife was stupid enough to start drinking the water before he had even paid for the drink, which, if she hadn’t done so, would have saved us a lot of dumb drama.

I notice the guy has smaller bills in his wallet, but he decides he wants to be “smart” with me and pull out a $100.

Me: “Sorry, do you have anything smaller than that?”
Guy: “WHAT, are you being smart with me today?!”
Me: *becoming really annoyed* “I cannot accept such large bills for just a bottle of water, okay?”

Then, the guy decides he wants to threaten me.

Guy: “I’m going to report you to the Visitors’ Bureau, get you shut down for being so rude to tourists.”

Hmm…he wants to report to the Visitors’ Bureau that I wouldn’t accept a $100 bill from him for a $1.50 bottle of water.

Honestly, I do not see what caused for the guy to get so upset. I would understand a little more if he were becoming upset because I overcharged him or did something really shady, but really, all I asked was for no pennies (my managers do not like counting out pennies, considering all our prices are set at quarter increments anyway), and for no big bills (for purposes of avoiding counterfeiting). Perhaps I should have explained myself better, but most people would not put up such a fight about those two issues. They would just shrug, walk on, and move on with their life.

Hm, what a way to start off the day.