Calling all half asians

I attended a seminar in Michigan on “The Art of Adoption” to support my mom who’s involved in the asian adoption community and was totally inspired by the concept of embracing identity.

Many asian babies are adopted into caucasian households where the parents don’t know enough about asian culture to pass it on to their kids. White kids living in asian bodies. Now there’s an identity crisis waiting to happen.

I got to thinking though that many of the same principles apply to half asians.

Many half asians have lived predominantly white lives and view themselves as more white than asian. I think it’s a result of the fact it’s difficult to approach asian activities without feeling like an outsider. We don’t speak the language and other asians view us as white.

Among adoptees, numerous support groups were formed that offer these kids exposure to their culture (language classes, food, music, dance, etc.). In a similar vein, I’m planning on taking the time to explore the concept of identity and celebrate my asian half each month.

I’m also going to plan on hosting a Lunar New Year event in 2010 and all my readers are invited!!

In the meantime, here are common as well as lesser known examples of half and halfs:

My brother TJ with our Halmoni

The truth about Michigan

It’s holiday season and time to go visit the fam. I’m back in Michigan for a few days and it’s given me an opportunity to reflect on what I like and dislike about being here.

yes, i use the mitten when people ask me where I'm from

LIKE: Family- Michigan gives me a great opportunity to see my parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all in one fell swoop.

DISLIKE: There’s no real dish soap in the house. All the dish soap is watered down to save money and therefore rendered completely useless.

LIKE: A house- Whoa, a bedroom door that I can close! Rooms that we don’t even use! A lawn with a birdhouse!

DISLIKE: Value food shopping- Being here brings back memories of a staple we had growing up, frozen vegetable lasagna from Gordon Food Service. It’s a fine institution that services schools, prisons and the Wilkinson household. Also, why does a family of two do almost all their food shopping at costco? Does it really make sense to buy 150 individual serving sizes of cream cheese?

LIKE: Time moves more slowly- Are there more hours in the day in Michigan? Somehow my mom has time to drive all the way to Costco to get her gas.

DISLIKE: Freezer abuse- “Did you just buy a loaf of fresh bread? Great! Put it in the freezer and take the frozen bread out.”

DISLIKE: Microwave abuse- “Dinner will be ready in 3 minutes and 25 seconds!”

LIKE: Getting to know my parents in a new light- Me: “Was it hard to have your 13 year old go to boarding school in CT?” Dad: “No! It made my life easier!”

DISLIKE: Tupperware- Our fridge looks like a plastic jenga game. I witnessed my mother saving a teaspoon of extra sauce after lunch the other day. The scariest part was that she had a piece of tupperware to fit that serving. These Tupperware people really know their market.

DISLIKE: Old photos- originally I had this under the like category. Another look at the family photo albums has left me cringing from the platform sandals, the orange/yellow highlights, the bronzer, the plaid shirts! This is blackmail-worthy material.

TJ, please chime in . . .

Howdy means hello in cowboy

Found some great items on Etsy today, which is never an easy task (hence the absolute need for a site like Regretsy).

Here are the two new additions to my home.

I’m obsessed with my new Howdy print. I see some cowboy boots in my near future.

My new mantra:

Good reminder when my husband's not around to keep me on track

Functional foods

There was an interesting Economist article recently about Nestle and their move into “functional foods.” I believe this is the way the market is heading, although I don’t think a company like Nestle will feel the impact any time soon. However, I think it’s a great sign for our company.

Katie and I have been working hard on finishing up our business plan, and I’m happy with how it’s going. We’re more excited and motivated than ever about the idea and the market. One frustration is that we want things to go faster than they are now so we’re looking at the timeline and budget to outsource some of the labor.

On a side note, the electronics in my life have been on the fritz, including:

My computer (currently using my husband’s + thank goodness for google docs)

RIP Macbook

My Kitchen Aid mixer

RIP kitchen aid

and my stereo system

RIP music at home

I’m beginning to feel like Jack Black in, “Be Kind, Rewind.” Keep me away from Blockbuster.

Running update: I’m running the 17km Pacific Coast Trail Run in Marin this Saturday. Yes, I will be wearing spandex.

The Middle Fingernator

San Francisco is truly the city where dreams come true. It usually happens when hard work meets good luck. However, I have some real concerns with the people in office in this great state of California. During these trying times, let’s just hope The Governator stays focused on the real issues at hand.

We’re screwed from the looks of it.

Bizzzz plans

I’m trying to finish up my business plan this week or at least get a good draft down on paper. Katie and I are trying to make a nutritious and tasty baked snack for pregnant and nursing women. It’s overwhelming at times. There are so many ? marks on the plan, it looks a bit like a D- paper in high school. There should be red ink all over it with comments like, “Please see me after class.” Sigh.

I keep reminding myself why I’m doing this though. Can you hear that ticking? Listen closely.

It’s the collective biological clocks of all us 30 something year olds. Okay, maybe that was overly dramatic (plus, I’m still 27) but something has definitely changed for me in recent months.

It hit me that I’ve spent the past 6 years in what Tim Ferriss describes as a “comfortable but completely uninspiring job. The most insidious kind of all.”

It’s high time I put my facilities to work- before I have kids. As I rapidly approach baby making time, I’ve become completely inspired and enamored with my friends and relatives with children. Family is what it’s all about. I’ve decided to combine my interests in food, health, female issues and motherhood and make the product I would want during my pregnancy. A high protein, high fiber, high calcium, low sugar/calorie snack. I would want to eat that now in fact.

Inspiration has hit again. Back to the biz plan. If all else fails, maybe I can get some extra credit.

Extra Credit

All Hail Spandex

My friend Jennie is running the NY Marathon this weekend and had a dilemma. She always wears shorts when she runs and didn’t want to make the switch to spandex. However, NY temperatures in November aren’t exactly right for that matching Nike tank top/short combo, so I tried to convince her to go with tights.

I’m a spandex convert who’s come out of the closet. I love my Nike running spandex. I mean, I really really love them. They’re comfortable, they help me control my temperature and they’re so much more practical when you’re stretching and moving around. They recently helped me run my personal best at the Nike half marathon in San Francisco (check out this nifty site that tracked my run and watch the animated me run the course. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!).

Watch animated me run the Nike half marathon!

I put them up there with my scooter for top 5 purchases in my lifetime. That’s the line that got Jennie. She’s got a scooter she’s obsessed with also. After one run, she’s now a convert. We’ll see her proudly wearing her spandex this weekend in NY.

I have two pairs of Nike Core Tech Capris. Get involved, people. You won’t regret it.

Nike Core Tech Capri

4 pm snack

My friend Katie and I surveyed 250 women about eating and nutrition and asked them what time they reach for a snack during the day. I was surprised that 10 am was the most popular followed by 3 pm. For me, I reach for a snack every day around 4 pm. By that time in the day, lunch is long gone, I need some distraction from work, and I’m already thinking about dinner.

This blog is my new 4 pm snack. As my friend Katie and I try to start our own line of snack foods for pregnant and nursing women, I’m going to try this as another afternoon indulgence. Part entrepreneurial journey, part food and workout blog, and mostly ramblings, I hope you come along for the ride.

Daily workout: none. One of those days I was up and at am at 6 am. I changed into my workout clothes but decided to skip bootcamp in lieu of scanning Craigslist for lamps. I didn’t find anything, but it certainly was a worthy excuse.