So, What's New?

I have midterms coming up in January, as well as my SATs. If I don't do well on the midterms I won't get into the right classes for my freshman year, and then my whole high school schedule will be out of whack. If I don't do well on the SATs, I can just delete my score, but I'll have to face the disappointment of my parents and humiliation from my peers.

Yesterday a boy that I kind of sort of maybe like proved that he didn't like me at all. I feel really stupid because, the way he said it sounded like he had found out about my feelings and was worried that I might like him. It definitely hadn't been easy for me to admit to myself that I liked him, though, and I don't even become friends with boys that often. I feel like I stuck my head out of my metaphorical turtle shell, and it got chopped off.

I also hate that whenever I see him, I just feel too sad to talk to him. I feel sad when I see him, and I feel sad when I don't get to talk to him. Now I'm just depressed all the time.

Urgh. I wasn't planning on becoming like one of those flaky girls who crush after boys all the time in school and get all depressed when they don't return their feelings.

 

Boys (and girls) can be weird about stuff like that. Who knows what he's really thinking, but who cares. Don't take it personally, 123, and remember, this is just junior high. It seems like the whole world now but when you're older you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

That boy is just immature, and crazy if he doesn't see what a great person you are. To heck with him. Try not to be so sad, honey. I'm a little worried about you.

I'm not Asian, so I'm not sure exactly what kinds of cultural pressures you're facing, but doing just so-so on the SATs at 13, for crying out loud, is no big deal. Honestly. You'll have another chance at them, and in the meantime you're making yourself sick. Plus, I know you're going to do well, anyway. You're a very bright girl.

Try not to worry so much, OK? Go do something fun. That's an order, Missy. Go hang out with friends who do like you. Do something silly. Cop a punk attitude. Sing karaoke. Dye your hair green (but don't tell your mom I said to do it ... LOL).

You're only 13 once, thank god, but it can be fun, too, if you let it.

 

SATs in middle school does seem to be a bit much. When I was in high school, people didn't start to worry about them until sophomore year, at the earliest. ACTs were a worry starting in junior year. I took the latter test so I could go to the university I wanted to, and I made a decent score. I don't take tests very well, but at least I didn't bomb it. I didn't want to take the test again, though. 'Twas too much of a hassle to do it once!

I wouldn't worry too much about finals and tests and whatever if I were you, 123. The more stressed you become, the sicker you will be and the worse you will do on them. I do believe you'll do fine.

In the meantime I have survived my first semester of university and I have finished taking all the finals. One was "Ack! " and the rest were "Phew easy! " One I was exempt for, thank goodness.

There are two gifts under the tree so far. The rest are probably going to be surprises. The gift that I sent to my bf has reached him, and he's turning around and sending me the gift he'll give me.

 

Congratulations, Chee-Z.

The last big exam I took was the CPA exam. It's all done on computers these days but when I took it in 1987 it was pencil and paper for 2 and 1/2 days. Multiple choice and essay problems and questions.

I felt unprepared and terribly nervous when I went to take it, then dumb as a brick when I finally finished it. Really, I felt like the dumbest person on the planet. I was depressed for the next several months until I got the results. My hands shook when I opened the letter because I was afraid I'd have to take that dreadful test all over again.

But I passed. All parts! :shocked: Boy, was I surprised!

The best advice I got before sitting for the exam was not to give up on it. No matter how dumb and stupid you feel, keep going and finish the test. Do your best and think positive no matter what.

(p.s. CPA is short for Certified Public Accountant and the exam is required for a license from the state government. I just realized that overseas friends won't know what I'm talking about. )

 

Hi.

Hi, Everyone Im new, Im Ariel, aka Rie-Rie. lol dont ask, and I love all the sims. I have all the sims 1 and all the sims 2, and I wanted to join so I could get some ideas on what to do, like make a sim have triplets. lol

 

Honestly, I don't care if I only get 200 for writing my name. It's that my parents will be disappointed in me. If I got straight B's all through high school, I'd be perfectly content, but my parents, and basically the entire Asian community, expect me to get a 4.0+ GPA and be in a million extracurricular activities. I have to get in a great college (not Ivy League, at least. My parents aren't that demanding) and I have to get a great job when I graduate.

Here's an excerpt from a website called bitterasianmen.com, which talks about all the things that make Asian men bitter. It basically sums up the life of all second-generation Asian children.
"Academics Over Social Life
The first factor is the pressure. Oh, the pressure. If you think you know what parental pressure is, and you're not Asian, you are wrong. Asian kids are consistently expected to do more and do better than their peers, and heck, even kids twice their age. Therefore, almost all Asian children 1) will play an instrument (a dignified classical instrument at that, and certainly not electric guitar) 2) will study math at an accelerated pace - I was doing calculus in middle school 3) will participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible (all academic though, never sports) and 4) take standardized tests early and as many times as necessary to achieve a perfect score.

Asian parents instill the notion of 'you must succeed' (by which they mean academic success, not social success) so early that by the time they reach high school, Asian kids are walking zombies reciting scientific facts like gospel. This problem is only exacerbated by the Asian trait (so common I swear it must be genetic) to compare children. Inevitably in any Asian child's life, they will hear a line similar to "Why aren't you taking calculus yet? Jim Wong's son is a year younger than you and he is!", or "You only got a 1550 on the SAT? Sally Lee's daughter got a 1590!" or "What, you mean you're not valedictorian!?" Though all Asian kids are driven by their parents to be geniuses, of course, only a few of them are actually capable of being geniuses. Those that aren't live constantly under the vague impression that their parents wish their kids were better, while those who ARE, of course, live constantly under the vague impression that their parents believe they COULD be doing better.

Obviously such academic pressure leaves no time for a social life. Dating isn't mentioned in the Asian household, and girls only come up as a topic of discussion if they're horrifically smart and if your parents want to compare you to them. If dating is allowed, of course, the girlfriend must be Asian and must be smart (though not as smart as you, of course, as that would hurt the Family Honor). The end result is that Asian kids are disproportionately Book Smart over Street Smart. They can explain to you the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus but never grasp the fundamental rules of dating. Of course, there are Asian kids who don't listen to these parents. They might go out, switch girlfriends monthly like they're football players, and never study and always party. These kids are disowned and never mentioned to the relatives.

This trend continues into college somewhat, until about the age of 21 or so. By this point the Asian child's path in life is relatively clear, and the Asian parents begin the OTHER inevitable lines that every Asian child hears in their lifetime: "Why haven't you met a nice Chinese/Japanese/Korean girl yet and given us grandchildren?" Asian parents are usually oblivious to the fact that they've systematically destroyed the social competence of their children, yet they expect them to be smooth maverick playboys as young adults, charming women all around. An Asian son who fails to maintain a steady girlfriend and fiancee faces increasingly irritating 'advice' on how to find women and insinuations that he might be gay. This vicious one-two punch of social emasculation and later social expectation pretty much means that the Asian son is under constant pressure from the time he enters grade school to the time he's produced grandchildren.

Despite it all, Asian kids generally love their parents very much. We respect family and our relatives. We don't go out getting drunk and knocking up some random girl, not only because it's a generally Bad Thing to Do, but also because of how much it would hurt our parents. Asian kids take care of their parents long after other kids have shuffled their parents off to nursing homes. In short, despite all the grief Asian parents are capable of dishing out, their kids still love them - a fact Asians don't get enough credit for."

Although my parents are not quite so demanding as the average first-generation Asian parents, this is still what most of us go through. And yes, it may seem at times like the writer of the article is exaggerating a bit and just trying to sound funny and/or sarcastic, but this is truly what happens with us.

 

Oh my, 123. I'd heard the stories but I can see it's worse than I thought. But please understand, no one here, certainly not me, thought that you were exaggerating. Pressure from family and peers can be horrendous. We're just worried about you, and want to help.

I know what it's like to be embarrassed and mortified. My first year in college was as a major in music. Piano. I'd get so nervous when playing in front of people that I'd completely forget the music I had memorized. I'd hyperventilate, too, which, when severe, makes your hands stiffen and curl up. Imagine that, in front of a roomful of people. I gave up music as a major. Didn't have the nerves for it.

This isn't helping you, I know.

I wonder if either of your parents felt the same anxiety when they were your age. Would they admit it? Could you show them that article? Can you talk to your Mom about it? Do any of your Asian friends talk about the pressures?

At least you can talk to us, if that helps. And the only other thing I can suggest is that you try not to worry about things years in the future. Just deal with what's happening next month. My life now does not even remotely resemble anything I imagined it would be when I was 14. And I'm very happy now. You will be, too. I know you will.

 

There are hacks that let you have triplets or quads, but otherwise, unless you make some in CAS, the most you can have is twins. You can "force" twins if you have Open for Business, by having a pregnant sim eat cheesecake.

 

My son arrived last night for a two week visit. I was a little anxious because of the rain and the fog here. The drive to the airport at 10:30 pm was tense, and the crowds there were larger than we'd seen before. Traffc was backed up down the road with a lot of people pulled over and waiting on the shoulders. But we arrived in good time and had no trouble meeting up with my son. The drive back was in the pouring rain, too.

However, all's well. Even though it was the middle of the night and he'd been traveling for 14 hours, I had to show my son the pictures I'd uploaded to Worldsims and tell him what I'd been doing with the game, and get help with the sound system on the computer. He took the X out of one box and Voila! The sound is back to normal. Who put that X there? Not me. I swear!

I hope everyone is having fun this weekend. I'm going to try to squeeze in a little simming. I have this urge to see what Dagmar is up to. She's hard to find. Sometimes it's her coworker Pao who delivers the mail.

 

I'm going to Hong Kong tomorrow morning. We'll be back on the 2nd. Today we did some last-minute shopping, because, according to my parents, the people in Hong Kong are really snooty and will look down at you if you don't wear nice, sophisticated-looking clothes. I bought a new pair of ballet flats. They look nice with all my striped socks. So I guess I'll be MIA for the next week or so. We do have a laptop and we are bringing it, but my siblings will probably be using it the whole time for all their homework.

A nice, relaxing vacation is exactly what I need at the moment. Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

How exciting 123! Have fun and take lots of pictures to post back here!


And have fun with your son Lynet...glad he's a computer wiz and fixed that sound problem!

 

Have a safe trip, 123!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate.

 

Lynet, glad that your son is home for Christmas! The fog here in the UK the last few days has closed our busiest airport (Heathrow) and lots of families won't be together this Christmas. My brother waited in Bulgaria (had been there on business for a month) for almost a week longer to fly home - they too had bad fog last week and when that airport finally re-opened he managed to get a flight to London (his original destination was Manchester but at least he got back to British soil and is now home). I guess we are both glad to have our loved ones home.

Person123 - have a great trip to hong Kong and I hope you get time to relax after all the hustle and bustle of travelling.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

Hi, Gang. It's Thursday and this wonderful week off from work is more than half over.

Tomorrow morning I'm headed for Philadelphia with my son because his passport is falling to pieces (probably went through the wash a couple of times) and he needs to get it renewed pronto. There's a government agency in Philadelphia that will produce one faster than the usual 6 to 8 weeks or whatever.

Driving the 95 interstate from Baltimore to Philadelphia is always a nightmare. I'm not looking forward to this.

But I have squeezed in some simming. Raising my little monster children. They're not so bad as they get older. No pictures yet, but soon.

 

So we got the passport. All in the same day!

The difficult part is that my son does not have a driver's license. Yes, this is strange for a guy his age, but he's always lived downtown, whether in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Phoenix, or Amsterdam. Cars and car insurance are expensive, too.

So if you live anywhere else on this planet, a passport is the number one document of identification. In the United States, however, it is the driver's license. If you don't have one, a passport is insufficient for purposes of identification. We provided the passport we wanted to replace, his birth ceritificate, a form W-2 from his last job in the States, his 2005 tax return, a photo ID license for driving a forklift rolleyes: no kidding,) my affidavit that he is who he says he is (I have a driver's license to prove who I am ,) and finally, *drum roll*, a tattered check he keeps in his wallet as a reference for his checking account number. The clerk was finally satisfied. I think it was that old torn check that did it.

If you don't have a driver's license in this country, the government has a lot of trouble believing you are really a citizen.

The thing is, they're so easy to get, a whole lot easier than a passport. Go figure.

 

Wow. What a lot of trouble. Glad he finally got it, though!

I've been playing Veronaville. My brother was going to help me upgrade the puter this weekend but he caught the nasty bug that's going around, poor guy, so it'll have to wait. I don't mind. I just want him to get better!

It's nasty and rainy in Minneapolis. We're watching our friends' dog, who is our dog's opposite in many ways, even though they're really good friends. Beya was out the rain today going la la la la la and Izzy was standing in the door staring at her, like "Aren't you afraid you'll melt?"

My dog. Some hero. Santa gave her a realistic duck toy that quacks and every time hubby quacks it she runs and hides behind me. Guess it's not a hit.

 

Maybe she'll get used to the toy and eventually chew it to shreds.

No one is sick around here, thank goodness. It's been a very quiet week. No snow, no rain to speak of. We're going to plant daffodils this morning. As a matter of fact, I think my significant other is waiting for me to get dressed and go outside.

 

we were sick here day after Christmas... ugh! missed 2 days of work but finally all better.

broke down and got the other 2 stuff paks... put in body shop fix and was amazed at how fast b.s. booted ... just hope it fixed my phones. waiting for weather... not sure my system will handle it.

floor leveling living room and kitchen are underway, and soon visible progress should be made. maybe I'll send a picture soon.

 

You know, I've actually not installed the latest patches. There's one for OFB I never bothered to install. And now one for Body Shop. Is that because of problems with the Pets EP?

While I was writing my stories I was backing up my game regularly, terrified of losing everything before the story ended. Now, however, I've gotten lazy. I'm thinking that I'll clean up the downloads folder and my neighborhoods and do a good backup to a DVD or CD or something before installing the weather EP.

If things crash before then, I'll be sad at losing Errol and Joe and everyone, but not devastated. I've got other sims in mind for bringing to life.

 

evidently pets bs (that sounds so funny!) was not compatible with the previous versions. you would have thought someone at EA would have thought about that before they released it. anyway there's a whole list of things the patch is supposed to fix. I'll be glad if it fixes my phone glitch. My sims haven't been able to call anyone except for a date or to order out since I got pets and 9/10ths of my downloads don't show up anymore. which was another reason why I decided to get the other 2 stuff packs. that and my bonus from work. So we shall see if anythings better tomorrow.

celebrated N. Y.'s eve with dinner at McGraths and a late movie. I had blacken catfish and it was delicious. It was a great night to go to the movies, I think there were 4 other couples in the theatre. Saw Apocalypto very intense and not for the sqeamish.