Alright, I'm a married man, here's the new blog:
Chinglishly in Love
1 week ago
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
goodbye
So it turns out tomorrow I am getting married and I'm super pumped. Not nervous at all. This means it is goodbye for this blog, as Sharon and I will start a new blog together when we get married and I don't think I will update this anymore.
1 more day!
1 more day!
Monday, December 29, 2008
almost married
The past 10 days have at last found me home for the holidays. It has been so nice to be home! My drive home had to be delayed a day because of snow. We decided I should wait for the winter storms to abate before I drove home, and this led to a drive home with clear roads, blue skies, and snow everywhere:
Christmas was amazing. On Christmas eve we drove to Phoenix to spend the night with the Rogers family. With over 50 relatives there, it was fun to see how many people Sharon could remember. She did great, though, and I think she likes our family a lot. They like her, for who doesn't? Then we drove home, and Christmas was spent with Mom, Dad, and Chase and Caitlin and me and Sharon. So much good food and so many nice things. The best part, though, is being with family and having Sharon be a part of it. Leslie and Clay flew in on Saturday, and soon Alison and Brandon will be here making it the first time in years our family will all be together.
Yesterday was Sharon's birthday, and I did my best to make a cake:
Turned out to be pretty tasty. Happy birthday, babe! May it be the first one we celebrate together for years and years to come.
Happy marriage to me in 4 days, too!
Christmas was amazing. On Christmas eve we drove to Phoenix to spend the night with the Rogers family. With over 50 relatives there, it was fun to see how many people Sharon could remember. She did great, though, and I think she likes our family a lot. They like her, for who doesn't? Then we drove home, and Christmas was spent with Mom, Dad, and Chase and Caitlin and me and Sharon. So much good food and so many nice things. The best part, though, is being with family and having Sharon be a part of it. Leslie and Clay flew in on Saturday, and soon Alison and Brandon will be here making it the first time in years our family will all be together.Yesterday was Sharon's birthday, and I did my best to make a cake:
Turned out to be pretty tasty. Happy birthday, babe! May it be the first one we celebrate together for years and years to come.Happy marriage to me in 4 days, too!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
no more a zoobie
Today is my last day in good old p-town, my last day fulfilling the life of a zoobie.
This article explains the origin of the term as thus: "The idea is that you get married at BYU, and then the couple breeds like rabbits. Essentially, it becomes a 'zoo.' Thus, the zoobies." Although I didn't quite fulfill this requirement, I still consider myself as living up to the title, and really enjoyed BYU and my time here. Perhaps I'll buy a shirt to commemorate my time as a zoobie. But probably not.
Good things never come easy, though, and there indeed well may be obstacles to my departure:
1: It has been snowing pretty good lately, and another storm might throw a rock in my shoe
2: I have one more final to take--Physics 105--and I heard it was kind of difficult. It is a no-calculator test, and I admit I have grown dependant on the "solve" feature on my TI-89. Basic algebra might do me in.
3: I need to clean my apartment and get inspected before I leave. Recently, I was to clean the kitchen for an inspection and failed. When she came back, I wrote a note that said: "dear cleaning inspector lady, this time I really did scrub the floor. Please don't fail me." I passed. Will I be required to grovel again?
4. Living in a small apartment with 5 other dirty and smelly boys has tickled me so much this semester that I might find the contrast of going home to see my family and marrying the girl of my dreams too hard to swallow. Haha, just kidding about that one.
So, soon I will be home in Tucson, and Sharon and I will conclude a semester of separation that certainly seemed to last forever.
This article explains the origin of the term as thus: "The idea is that you get married at BYU, and then the couple breeds like rabbits. Essentially, it becomes a 'zoo.' Thus, the zoobies." Although I didn't quite fulfill this requirement, I still consider myself as living up to the title, and really enjoyed BYU and my time here. Perhaps I'll buy a shirt to commemorate my time as a zoobie. But probably not.
Good things never come easy, though, and there indeed well may be obstacles to my departure:
1: It has been snowing pretty good lately, and another storm might throw a rock in my shoe
2: I have one more final to take--Physics 105--and I heard it was kind of difficult. It is a no-calculator test, and I admit I have grown dependant on the "solve" feature on my TI-89. Basic algebra might do me in.
3: I need to clean my apartment and get inspected before I leave. Recently, I was to clean the kitchen for an inspection and failed. When she came back, I wrote a note that said: "dear cleaning inspector lady, this time I really did scrub the floor. Please don't fail me." I passed. Will I be required to grovel again?
4. Living in a small apartment with 5 other dirty and smelly boys has tickled me so much this semester that I might find the contrast of going home to see my family and marrying the girl of my dreams too hard to swallow. Haha, just kidding about that one.
So, soon I will be home in Tucson, and Sharon and I will conclude a semester of separation that certainly seemed to last forever.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
talking to dad
Anyone can tell you how nerve racking it is to talk to the "in-laws" for the first time. It's one of those times when the words just don't seem to come out right and you say stupid things. OK, well imagine doing that in a language not your own and you can imagine me quivering in front of the computer with my headphones on, trying to gather up the courage to press the call button on Skype. Perhaps you can imagine my wide eyes as the phone starts ringing on the other side of the world, and perhaps you can imagine how long it took me to calm down when I hung up the phone after no one answered. Perhaps you can imagine how fast I was breathing from shear nervousness. But perhaps not.
I have tried for some time now to talk to Sharon's dad. With the time difference and busy schedules, I have only managed to talk to Sharon's mom a few times. Yesterday, however, I finally did it. Below I will lay out a brief dialogue of our conversation. Any "blah" you see denotes a part where I completely didn't understand what was said. Any part in parentheses denotes what was actually said, because I misinterpreted.
"Hi, Dad! This is Sam, Sharon's fiance."
"Oh, hi!"
"Sorry it's taken me so long to talk to you, I haven't done a very good job of getting a hold of you."
"blah blah blah"
"Oh, yeah.. Um, you might need to speak really slow. My Chinese isn't that good."
"Oh, haha, OK. blah blah blah"
"Haha, yeah..."
"blah blah blah"
"Sorry, I still don't understand you"
"Oh, blah blah blah"
"Umm..."
"Ok, then how about you talk"
"OK, well, I wanted to apologize to you. In American culture, before a couple gets engaged the boyfriend first needs to ask the girl's dad for permission. I know you don't have this in your culture, but it's a part of my culture and I wanted to apologize."
"blah blah blah blah blah blah blah of course you can! blah blah"
"Oh, thank you! I'll take care of her!"
"blah blah blah blah sorry we can't come to the wedding blah blah blah"
"Oh it's OK, I understand. At least we'll be out next summer to celebrate with you."
"blah blah blah blah"
"Yeah...."
"blah blah"
"Sorry, I don't understand you, can you say that again?"
"blah blah is it snowing there (are you still in school)?"
"Oh yeah, it snowed yesterday"
"..........."
"so how is the weather in ShanDong?"
"Good good. blah blah blah blah blah"
"Oh, great!"
"blah blah blah?"
"Um, say that again?"
"blah blah blah blah?"
There was a bit more rough conversation, and then we said our goodbyes and he gave the phone to Sharon's mom. I heard him tell her, "Haha, we can't communcate at all."
So that is my pathetic but somewhat hilarious story of talking to my future father-in-law. I must say I had a bit higher expectations than that in our ability to communicate, and it temporarily crushed me. Sharon, however, did her best to console me, telling me that her dad really doesn't speak mandarin, so I shouldn't be expected to understand their dialect. I appreciate her effort, but there is not much comfort that can be given after such a pathetic conversation. Alas. Does the future yield improvement? Sam says: Hopefully.
The good news, however, is that I will see Sharon in 8 days! Wow.
I have tried for some time now to talk to Sharon's dad. With the time difference and busy schedules, I have only managed to talk to Sharon's mom a few times. Yesterday, however, I finally did it. Below I will lay out a brief dialogue of our conversation. Any "blah" you see denotes a part where I completely didn't understand what was said. Any part in parentheses denotes what was actually said, because I misinterpreted.
"Hi, Dad! This is Sam, Sharon's fiance."
"Oh, hi!"
"Sorry it's taken me so long to talk to you, I haven't done a very good job of getting a hold of you."
"blah blah blah"
"Oh, yeah.. Um, you might need to speak really slow. My Chinese isn't that good."
"Oh, haha, OK. blah blah blah"
"Haha, yeah..."
"blah blah blah"
"Sorry, I still don't understand you"
"Oh, blah blah blah"
"Umm..."
"Ok, then how about you talk"
"OK, well, I wanted to apologize to you. In American culture, before a couple gets engaged the boyfriend first needs to ask the girl's dad for permission. I know you don't have this in your culture, but it's a part of my culture and I wanted to apologize."
"blah blah blah blah blah blah blah of course you can! blah blah"
"Oh, thank you! I'll take care of her!"
"blah blah blah blah sorry we can't come to the wedding blah blah blah"
"Oh it's OK, I understand. At least we'll be out next summer to celebrate with you."
"blah blah blah blah"
"Yeah...."
"blah blah"
"Sorry, I don't understand you, can you say that again?"
"blah blah is it snowing there (are you still in school)?"
"Oh yeah, it snowed yesterday"
"..........."
"so how is the weather in ShanDong?"
"Good good. blah blah blah blah blah"
"Oh, great!"
"blah blah blah?"
"Um, say that again?"
"blah blah blah blah?"
There was a bit more rough conversation, and then we said our goodbyes and he gave the phone to Sharon's mom. I heard him tell her, "Haha, we can't communcate at all."
So that is my pathetic but somewhat hilarious story of talking to my future father-in-law. I must say I had a bit higher expectations than that in our ability to communicate, and it temporarily crushed me. Sharon, however, did her best to console me, telling me that her dad really doesn't speak mandarin, so I shouldn't be expected to understand their dialect. I appreciate her effort, but there is not much comfort that can be given after such a pathetic conversation. Alas. Does the future yield improvement? Sam says: Hopefully.
The good news, however, is that I will see Sharon in 8 days! Wow.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
sunday morning
Nothing like going to the temple grounds on Sunday morning to bring peace of mind on the sabbath.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)