Monday, June 15, 2009
I gleaned this from the mighty dooce a while ago, and since Kevin and I recently celebrated our first anniversary, I thought I'd pull it up.

What are your middle names?
Mine is the romanization of my Chinese name, Xinyu. His is Christopher.

How long have you been together?
Married for one year, together for five.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About seven months.

Who asked whom out?
He did. I think I said no but I really meant yes.

How old are each of you?
I'm 23, he's turning 29 next month.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
His sister, because she lives with us. Followed by my brother, followed by his brother.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Nothing really stands out as being particularly difficult or problematic, but living with his parents and sister tends to keep me on my toes all the time. It forces me to be sensitive to the needs and wishes of three other people to whom I'm not directly responsible.

Did you go to the same school?
No. I've only ever studied in Vancouver; he went to high school in New Zealand.

Are you from the same home town?
No. I was born in Changsha, China but consider Vancouver my hometown. He grew up in Taichung, Taiwan.

Who is smarter?
We're smart in dramatically different ways. I'm the one who can memorize Shakespeare and explain valence shell electron repulsion theory. He's the one who can fix a pair of broken sunglasses with a paper clip. He's also the one who will know what to do if the house is on fire.

Who is the most sensitive?
Not me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
For Taiwanese food and bubble tea we frequent Zephyr in the Sky, a cute café-style place in Richmond.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Montreux, Switzerland for the Canada Life platinum conference 2008.

Who has the craziest exes?
He would, by default, since I don't have any.

Who has the worst temper?
We're both pretty mild. It also seems that we both have really, really long fuses, and so far neither has burnt up.

Who does the cooking?
Um. Incidentally BOTH of his parents are former restauranteurs who enjoy cooking and are fabulous at it. Currently the kitchen is their domain, not mine. Kevin claims to dislike cooking, but I'm convinced it's in his genes. I'll just do the dishes afterward ...

Who is the neat-freak?
Guilty as charged, but he's quite well-organized, for a guy.

Who is more stubborn?
I am, probably, but I'm working on it.

Who hogs the bed?
It's turned out to be me, but I think that's because I simply move more in my sleep. And now that I'm no longer sleeping in a single bed, my body is drunk with the possibilities. I also sleep in weird acrobatic positions. He has a hard time understanding why my foot is up by my ear half the time.

Who wakes up earlier?
We've noticed an interesting phenomenon here. I'm better at getting up on time for planned events and appointments. If there's nothing scheduled, I'll sleep in but he'll inexplicably wake up early.

Where was your first date?
Vanier Park before my volunteer shift with Bard on the Beach, back in the summer of 2004.

Who is more jealous?
I don't know. I've never had cause to be.

How long did it take to get serious?
Not long. We were always serious. I wouldn't have dated him if I weren't serious.

Who eats more?
He does, I suppose, marginally. I can match him when dessert is on the table. Or pasta.

Who does the laundry?
I do. He doesn't seem to miss it.

Who's better with the computer?
He's better with a PC and I'm better with a Mac. Neither of us are IT people but we manage.

Who drives when you are together?
Let's just say I like the chauffeur arrangement.

written at 09:04 p.m.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I hate it when I hear about something, and it makes me angry, even though it has nothing to do with me.

written at 11:04 p.m.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Kevin's one-year-old niece was over the other day. Her parents are lucky; I swear Bethia's the easiest baby I've ever known. She sleeps well! Eats well! And when she cries it ISN'T EVEN LOUD!

Anyway, she was upstairs with me and we were blowing bubbles. They fascinate her. She just tilts her head back and watches them drift about with this awed expression on her face. And when they pop she shrieks with delight.

Then it happens. Somehow - I still can't figure out exactly how - she manages to grab the bottle and totally almost pours the entire thing of bubble soap into her mouth. It dribbles down her chin.

I blot her mouth with the towel underneath us (see, I prepare for disaster) and rush her into the bathroom to rinse up.

She's smacking her lips.

written at 10:39 a.m.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The bass I was playing tonight had crappy strings, and now I have a blister on the middle fingertip of my right hand. Before this, I'd only ever had peeling (leading directly to callouses), and then only on my left hand.

Ironically, what this blister does is make it difficult for me to play the piano ...

This is a dilemma I never quite anticipated.

written at 11:06 p.m.

Saturday, January 3, 2009
This little new year's meme has been cropping up here and there in the blogosphere. Thought I'd start over this way after a long overdue archive.

1. Where were you when 2008 began?

At home, upstairs in the closet talking to Kevin on the phone. That's my best guess.

2. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Get married! I believe that one tops the cake. Also travel, awesome places like Cancun and Montreux.

3. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Well, I did finally get my L and pick up bass guitar. Although those may have been resolutions from a few years back.



4. Go to any concerts this year?

Vienna Teng at the Triple Door in Seattle!



5. Will you be looking for a new job in 2009?

Hard to tell; most likely not. Just focusing on where I'm at right now, anticipating crazy expansions to my job description.

6. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?

No, none. I don't enjoy the taste, nor the smell, nor the inebriation.

7. Did you go on any vacations? If so, where?

Honeymooned in Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Bahamas! Conferenced (yes, it is now a verb) in Toronto, DC, New York, Switzerland. It was the year of Globetrotting 101!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Graduate with my BSc, I suppose.

9. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be?
I would've tumbled in the snow more. And not lost my voice the week I was scheduled to sing six times. I would've made sure Jack PLAYED THE RIGHT MUSIC for the bridesmaids' processional.



10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

The weekend before Christmas I developed a dry cough and lost my voice. But I had no nasal congestion and didn't feel sick and didn't seem to be contagious, so I'm not sure what exactly it was.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My beautiful macbook!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Kevin's, naturally. He merits celebration every hour. But also countless other people.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Not appalled and definitely not depressed; a little disappointed maybe. Not to name any names, however.



14. Where did most of your money go?
I realize I'm a ridiculously light spender. The wedding, probably, and tuition. (And bus fare post-U Pass!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Not having to write an undergrad formal paper or exam ever again. Not being a "miss" or "mlle" ever again.



16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Timbaland's "Apologize" featuring OneRepublic was ubiquitous.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I'd say happier ... the increase being proportional to the difference between husband and fiancé.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Songwriting. I wish I had more time alone with a grand piano in a dim room.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Staying up late and sleeping in.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Cozily snowed in. In the evening we went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.



21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Sure, over and over again with the same person.

22. What was the biggest change for you in 2008?

Living with the in-laws. Having to hang-dry laundry. Learning that townhouses are not very sound-proof.

23. What were your favorite TV programmes?

Haven't had cable since grade 5.



24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No. Hate is a strong word and more often than not an utter waste of emotional energy.



25. What was the best book you read?
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Good question ... the vocals of Priscilla Ahn and Amélie-les-Crayons.

27. What did you want and get?

A Yamaha P-85 to tide me over until we move into our own place and there's enough floor space for a baby grand.



28. What did you want and not get?

A baby grand! A house in Vancouver West with a backyard and basement studio!

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
The Benjamin Button movie was thoughtful and sweet. I was also unexpectedly charmed by Wall-E.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I am 22 years young ... evidently not young enough to recall the details of that day. There was the proverbial candlelit dinner, though.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Going with the AG youth to Thailand for a month instead of with old Chinese businessmen to the States for a week. Unfortunately at the time we were financially recouping from the honeymoon.



32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Less clueless, somewhat more self-conscious. A little more variety and a little more colour. I still fail to see how skinny jeans flatter. I'm not any easier to shop for.

33. What kept you sane?

Singing, laughter, quality conversations, sex.



34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't make it a habit to "fancy" celebrities.

35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

fear is the brightest of signs
the shape of the boundary you leave behind
so sing all your questions to sleep
the answers are out there in the drowning deep
(Vienna Teng, "Harbor")

36. Who did you miss?
I miss late-night iChat sessions with SAMMA!

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Paul McCready from Minneapolis. Kevin's new hero.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Marital intimacy needs to be consciously cultivated. One can't afford to be lazy in the role of husband or wife.

39. What are your plans for 2009?
Orphanage work in Honduras in February. Applying to start an AA in music at PLBC in September. Learning to cook ... not learning to drive.

Bring it on '09 - I'm as ready as I'll ever be! Bonne année à tout le monde!

written at 02:15 p.m.