Yay for another tournament! I personally had not done so well in my first tournament (Smashapalooza) last week, so I was excited to hear that there would be another tournament at Santa Teresa in September.
I will play C and D mixed doubles with Trevor. Haha, haven't played with him in forever, ever since our SJCC days. I hope I don't suck, or at least don't get him mad. In junior year or something, Alex would always get super pissed off at me for messing up in games. There was one memorable time (i posted this on xanga...) he stalked off the court after one of our games, and I refused to talk to him even though he went to my house and tried to apologize. Haha, good times. But yeah.
One time the mixed girls and I were talking, and we were complaining about cocky, chauvinistic male partners who would blame us for messing up a game. Like we were the ones to blame for their shots going out or into the net! Stupid suckers. But yeah, anyway. Didn't mean to go off onto a tangent. I don't think Trevor will get pissed off at me like that, but I'd understand if he did if I'm totally off the mark and hitting out for every shot. Especially in a tournament game. It'll be fun practicing with him for the tourney! Like old times.
Anyway, I want to play girls doubles too, but I can't find a partner. Diane will be in Berkeley and I think Meiyi will be in LA. I don't know about playing with anyone from Piedmont because I've just been playing with guys there whenever there's open gym. Hopefully I'll find a partner soon... the girls doubles entries are capped at 16!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I detest Chinatown.
Before anyone accuses me of going against my roots, I would like to explain.
Perhaps "detest" is too strong of a word... but it would be equally apt to say that I'm extremely averse to Chinatown.
Perhaps I just had a bad experience in Chinatown today...but it seems that most of my experiences have not been on the positive side. I'm usually happy and relieved whenever my family and I depart Chinatown. Perhaps it's because I'm ABC (American-born Chinese), but whatever it is, this is why I can't stand SF Chinatown:
1) The smell and sanitary conditions.
What more can I say? Anyone who has ever been in Chinatown would know what I'm talking about. It's this pervasive, sewer-drain, rotting-meat-in-the-sun, bad-breath odor. Plus, the streets are so dirty. People hack up their spit all over, and there are all sorts of bits of trash strewn about. Years back, I tried to sit on the sidewalk because I was so tired from walking and standing for hours, but my dad told me not to because of all the germs and nastiness and spit and snot and stuff. Yeah.
2) The crowds.
Chinatown is crowded, crowded, crowded. There are people shoving, people cutting in front of others, people showing blatant disregard for traffic regulations, people jostling through crowds... Okay, personally, I hate crowds. Chinatown probably has some of the most crowded streets at optimum traffic time than most.
3) The noise.
Traffic is so bad that people are always honking at each other. And, whatever happened to the guy who kept yelling HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY? He was a little annoying, but funny. Plus he made a good landmark whenever I couldn't tell where I was. Haha. Well, he's gone now, but the noise level is still pretty high... Then there're the portly shop ladies/men who rearrange vegetables and simultaneously scream (at the top of their well-developed lungs) their low, low prices. This is kind of funny watching them, but the main things I really can't stand about Chinatown are:
4) The rude people.
I find that most Asian establishments are like this (99 Ranch, I'm looking at you): lacking in customer service and leaning more toward low prices. Understandable when the price of produce is 1/4 of Safeway's, I guess. It just sucks when I greet and thank the cashier, and she doesn't even look at me--just keeps glaring with a slightly harassed expression on her face. I asked my dad, and he said that's because of the bad working conditions. Understandable as well, I suppose... it's just that this world would be so much nicer with some courtesy. I mean, I can sort of relate to them. When I worked at 99 Ranch, my boss would yell at me for no apparent reason. Little story: When I was training at the register, I had my sheaf of produce+meat codes with me so I could commit them to memory. However, my boss sent someone over to tell me that if I didn't put away my study packet, my boss would immediately stop training me and fire me. Humiliating and degrading. She could have come over quietly and asked me not to use the packet to help me study... but instead she pointed out my supposed wrongdoing to a co-worker and made her warn me. Not logical; if I didn't have the packet, I couldn't check whether or not I was making a mistake with the codes.
Another story: My boss was testing me on the code for a certain type of cucumber. There were three types to memorize and I memorized them by their distinctive sizes. I still remember them: 5051, 5052, and 5053. Anyway, she holds up a bag of cucumbers and I punch in 5051. She says, in her harsh clipped way, "No! Is 5053." I am very sure that the type of cucumber is 5051, and I try to respond modestly (she is my boss, after all): "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure those are 5051." My boss turns to the assistant manager and they both laugh at me. "Who's been here longer than you have? Who manages the front?" they mock. Anyway, after degrading me for a bit longer, they take a closer look and realize that I was right. No apology, nothing.
Asian people are hard, hard bosses; this can lead to some pretty deplorable working conditions. When I started as a freshly trained employee, I tried to kickstart some feelings of courtesy into the Asian cashier reputation. I had noticed that my fellow cashiers, unlike say Safeway's cashiers, barely greeted the customers. Customer service can go a long way into brightening someone's day, at least a little bit, by greeting them and chatting them up a bit. I actually made a few customer friends at 99 Ranch. Weird but true. There was one 20-ish guy who came with his parents, and the parents would try to matchmake us. So awkward, but it certainly broke the monotony of listless customers who expect zero interaction with the Asian cashiers.
Ugh, another story just popped into my head. So one day, after I got a bit further into my training, I was working the register with one of the older ladies. She was a meeeeaaaan one. If you go to 99 Ranch, she's the one with a perpetual scowl on her face, long hair tied with a scrunchy at the nape of her neck, and curly-ish bangs. Anyway, I don't exactly remember the details, but I made a pretty minor mistake (I think it involved bagging, or receipts... don't remember exactly). She smacked me on the shoulder and told me I was a stupid, stupid girl, then turned away disgustedly. I was soooo pissed off after that, I glared at the customers the rest of the day. So I guess I can't really blame the shop employees in Chinatown for horrible customer service... if I had been treated better, I would give better customer service. Not all the cashier ladies are horrible, though; my favorite was a nice older lady named Angela and she still works there. She has short cropped hair, wrinkles, smiling crinkly eyes, and solemn lips that have a trace of a smile around them. She was playful and always nice to me even when I messed up, and if I had a hard day of training, she'd still have a knowing smile and a laugh for me at the end of the day. Sounds so cheesy but it's true. I was just at 99 Ranch last week at Ivy's line, and Angela noticed me and smacked my butt in recognition. Haha. The customers weren't so friendly to us in return, so maybe that was a factor in our lack of customer service... which brings me to another point.
5) The rude customers.
Anyway, Diane and my dad were standing outside a shop today, waiting for my mom to emerge. I go in to hand my mom her jacket and carry groceries for her. The shop is just STUFFED to the corners with people. As I follow my mom out, I'm stopped by a wall of people. I gingerly ease my way through them the best I can, trying hard not to shove into anyone. Well apparently I failed. As I'm going through the crowd, I feel someone leaning on me for a protracted period of time. I turn around to see a middle-aged woman staggering backwards. She turns around and, glaring, starts yelling about people violently shoving her and knocking her over. Then I realize she's glaring at me! I run over the past few seconds in my mind: I hadn't particularly shoved anyone, unless you count brushing by them in an attempt to get through. Then I think: what about my bag? I had sideswiped people before, unknowingly, because of a big bag I'd wear over my shoulder. I check myself: my bag is on my left shoulder and not my right. The woman and her friend are on my right. So had I really just shoved her? I gaze in confusion at them. Maybe I just hadn't noticed, so I stammer an apology. The woman is still loudly and indignantly explaining to her friend about how I had shoved her and made her lose her balance. I decide, thanks to my broken Chinese, that it's not worth standing there and trying to make her understand that I didn't knock into her intentionally, so I shake my head and leave.
Incidentally, that's also why I dislike Chinatown, though it's more my fault:
6) The language issues.
So Diane and I went to a cafe place for cheap milk tea. I asked Diane to make the order for me since she can speak clearer Chinese than I can. She refused, so I decided, Hey. I can speak Chinese too. I know the words. This is what happened: Confident, I stride over to the counter and ask for pearl milk tea. The employee repeats my order. I nod happily and add, "No ice please." Well, apparently we had some communication issues. I had phrased my latter request like this: "Mo bing." Instead of "No ice," she heard "Red bean dessert" ("Hong bing"). So, she gives me two drinks: pearl milk tea and the red bean ice thingie. Diane and I look at them in confusion, and she sets out trying to explain that I just wanted the pearl milk tea. The employees look at each other in confusion, and we resort to crude sign language. Finally, the disgruntled employee whisks away the red bean ice, slams it on the inside counter opposite of the cash register, and barks out the price for just the milk tea. After I pay and thank her, she turns away in a huff. Diane reprimands me for not having spoken clearly enough -- I should have said "I don't want ice" instead of "No ice."
Admittedly this is partly my fault for my crude Chinese, but I couldn't help comparing this milk tea experience to one I would have had at a Quickly in San Jose. All right, so I've never had to correct a miscommunicated order at Quickly... but I have had good enough customer service from that place to state this, with assurance: That mistake would have been rectified quickly and respectfully, with a smile and a "No problem." Then again, I have to give those employees the benefit of the doubt; it was nearing the end of the workday and I don't know if they were working in deplorable conditions or not.
All in all, the only appealing factors about Chinatown are its cheap prices and sentimental connections. But then again... I would rather spend the extra money on having an enjoyable shopping experience in (clean, friendly) Safeway or elsewhere other than Chinatown.
Perhaps "detest" is too strong of a word... but it would be equally apt to say that I'm extremely averse to Chinatown.
Perhaps I just had a bad experience in Chinatown today...but it seems that most of my experiences have not been on the positive side. I'm usually happy and relieved whenever my family and I depart Chinatown. Perhaps it's because I'm ABC (American-born Chinese), but whatever it is, this is why I can't stand SF Chinatown:
1) The smell and sanitary conditions.
What more can I say? Anyone who has ever been in Chinatown would know what I'm talking about. It's this pervasive, sewer-drain, rotting-meat-in-the-sun, bad-breath odor. Plus, the streets are so dirty. People hack up their spit all over, and there are all sorts of bits of trash strewn about. Years back, I tried to sit on the sidewalk because I was so tired from walking and standing for hours, but my dad told me not to because of all the germs and nastiness and spit and snot and stuff. Yeah.
2) The crowds.
Chinatown is crowded, crowded, crowded. There are people shoving, people cutting in front of others, people showing blatant disregard for traffic regulations, people jostling through crowds... Okay, personally, I hate crowds. Chinatown probably has some of the most crowded streets at optimum traffic time than most.
3) The noise.
Traffic is so bad that people are always honking at each other. And, whatever happened to the guy who kept yelling HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY? He was a little annoying, but funny. Plus he made a good landmark whenever I couldn't tell where I was. Haha. Well, he's gone now, but the noise level is still pretty high... Then there're the portly shop ladies/men who rearrange vegetables and simultaneously scream (at the top of their well-developed lungs) their low, low prices. This is kind of funny watching them, but the main things I really can't stand about Chinatown are:
4) The rude people.
I find that most Asian establishments are like this (99 Ranch, I'm looking at you): lacking in customer service and leaning more toward low prices. Understandable when the price of produce is 1/4 of Safeway's, I guess. It just sucks when I greet and thank the cashier, and she doesn't even look at me--just keeps glaring with a slightly harassed expression on her face. I asked my dad, and he said that's because of the bad working conditions. Understandable as well, I suppose... it's just that this world would be so much nicer with some courtesy. I mean, I can sort of relate to them. When I worked at 99 Ranch, my boss would yell at me for no apparent reason. Little story: When I was training at the register, I had my sheaf of produce+meat codes with me so I could commit them to memory. However, my boss sent someone over to tell me that if I didn't put away my study packet, my boss would immediately stop training me and fire me. Humiliating and degrading. She could have come over quietly and asked me not to use the packet to help me study... but instead she pointed out my supposed wrongdoing to a co-worker and made her warn me. Not logical; if I didn't have the packet, I couldn't check whether or not I was making a mistake with the codes.
Another story: My boss was testing me on the code for a certain type of cucumber. There were three types to memorize and I memorized them by their distinctive sizes. I still remember them: 5051, 5052, and 5053. Anyway, she holds up a bag of cucumbers and I punch in 5051. She says, in her harsh clipped way, "No! Is 5053." I am very sure that the type of cucumber is 5051, and I try to respond modestly (she is my boss, after all): "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure those are 5051." My boss turns to the assistant manager and they both laugh at me. "Who's been here longer than you have? Who manages the front?" they mock. Anyway, after degrading me for a bit longer, they take a closer look and realize that I was right. No apology, nothing.
Asian people are hard, hard bosses; this can lead to some pretty deplorable working conditions. When I started as a freshly trained employee, I tried to kickstart some feelings of courtesy into the Asian cashier reputation. I had noticed that my fellow cashiers, unlike say Safeway's cashiers, barely greeted the customers. Customer service can go a long way into brightening someone's day, at least a little bit, by greeting them and chatting them up a bit. I actually made a few customer friends at 99 Ranch. Weird but true. There was one 20-ish guy who came with his parents, and the parents would try to matchmake us. So awkward, but it certainly broke the monotony of listless customers who expect zero interaction with the Asian cashiers.
Ugh, another story just popped into my head. So one day, after I got a bit further into my training, I was working the register with one of the older ladies. She was a meeeeaaaan one. If you go to 99 Ranch, she's the one with a perpetual scowl on her face, long hair tied with a scrunchy at the nape of her neck, and curly-ish bangs. Anyway, I don't exactly remember the details, but I made a pretty minor mistake (I think it involved bagging, or receipts... don't remember exactly). She smacked me on the shoulder and told me I was a stupid, stupid girl, then turned away disgustedly. I was soooo pissed off after that, I glared at the customers the rest of the day. So I guess I can't really blame the shop employees in Chinatown for horrible customer service... if I had been treated better, I would give better customer service. Not all the cashier ladies are horrible, though; my favorite was a nice older lady named Angela and she still works there. She has short cropped hair, wrinkles, smiling crinkly eyes, and solemn lips that have a trace of a smile around them. She was playful and always nice to me even when I messed up, and if I had a hard day of training, she'd still have a knowing smile and a laugh for me at the end of the day. Sounds so cheesy but it's true. I was just at 99 Ranch last week at Ivy's line, and Angela noticed me and smacked my butt in recognition. Haha. The customers weren't so friendly to us in return, so maybe that was a factor in our lack of customer service... which brings me to another point.
5) The rude customers.
Anyway, Diane and my dad were standing outside a shop today, waiting for my mom to emerge. I go in to hand my mom her jacket and carry groceries for her. The shop is just STUFFED to the corners with people. As I follow my mom out, I'm stopped by a wall of people. I gingerly ease my way through them the best I can, trying hard not to shove into anyone. Well apparently I failed. As I'm going through the crowd, I feel someone leaning on me for a protracted period of time. I turn around to see a middle-aged woman staggering backwards. She turns around and, glaring, starts yelling about people violently shoving her and knocking her over. Then I realize she's glaring at me! I run over the past few seconds in my mind: I hadn't particularly shoved anyone, unless you count brushing by them in an attempt to get through. Then I think: what about my bag? I had sideswiped people before, unknowingly, because of a big bag I'd wear over my shoulder. I check myself: my bag is on my left shoulder and not my right. The woman and her friend are on my right. So had I really just shoved her? I gaze in confusion at them. Maybe I just hadn't noticed, so I stammer an apology. The woman is still loudly and indignantly explaining to her friend about how I had shoved her and made her lose her balance. I decide, thanks to my broken Chinese, that it's not worth standing there and trying to make her understand that I didn't knock into her intentionally, so I shake my head and leave.
Incidentally, that's also why I dislike Chinatown, though it's more my fault:
6) The language issues.
So Diane and I went to a cafe place for cheap milk tea. I asked Diane to make the order for me since she can speak clearer Chinese than I can. She refused, so I decided, Hey. I can speak Chinese too. I know the words. This is what happened: Confident, I stride over to the counter and ask for pearl milk tea. The employee repeats my order. I nod happily and add, "No ice please." Well, apparently we had some communication issues. I had phrased my latter request like this: "Mo bing." Instead of "No ice," she heard "Red bean dessert" ("Hong bing"). So, she gives me two drinks: pearl milk tea and the red bean ice thingie. Diane and I look at them in confusion, and she sets out trying to explain that I just wanted the pearl milk tea. The employees look at each other in confusion, and we resort to crude sign language. Finally, the disgruntled employee whisks away the red bean ice, slams it on the inside counter opposite of the cash register, and barks out the price for just the milk tea. After I pay and thank her, she turns away in a huff. Diane reprimands me for not having spoken clearly enough -- I should have said "I don't want ice" instead of "No ice."
Admittedly this is partly my fault for my crude Chinese, but I couldn't help comparing this milk tea experience to one I would have had at a Quickly in San Jose. All right, so I've never had to correct a miscommunicated order at Quickly... but I have had good enough customer service from that place to state this, with assurance: That mistake would have been rectified quickly and respectfully, with a smile and a "No problem." Then again, I have to give those employees the benefit of the doubt; it was nearing the end of the workday and I don't know if they were working in deplorable conditions or not.
All in all, the only appealing factors about Chinatown are its cheap prices and sentimental connections. But then again... I would rather spend the extra money on having an enjoyable shopping experience in (clean, friendly) Safeway or elsewhere other than Chinatown.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A great summer.
Well, summer is drawing to a close... the days are getting shorter and the breeze crisper.
I love the long carefree days of summer. The breezy, perfect nights. The golden light of the setting sun. The floaty sundresses and warm air. But I also can't wait for fall--all those pretty fiery colors, crisp breezes, snuggly scarves...
I would say that this summer was probably my most favorite of all, especially with Smashapalooza, badminton days, hangouts, biking, milk tea, driving, beach days, and Mission Peak. I did everything on my summer to-do list except 1) bike across Golden Gate Bridge and 2) pick cherries. It's okay; I'll save that for next summer, right?
I have a certain person on my mind. And no, Diane, not the plums and branches. -_- Too bad that we won't see each other for a while (I think).
I'm sad to see summer go... but I welcome the coming of fall.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Driving!
Driving is so freeing!
Now that my mom trusts me with the car and I have insurance, I've been driving around every opportunity I can get. :) SO AWESOME. It's just so easy getting from one place to another now. Say for example I had to get myself to Great Mall. I would have to give myself about 45-60 minutes to get there, because I would have to walk to the bus, wait for the next one (and sometimes the buses are waaay off schedule) and sit on it. If I drove, it would only take me like 10 minutes after I'm out the door. So awesome.
"Training" for smashapapoopoo is really fun... I wouldn't have imagined that I would be looking forward to a tourney, but I'm glad I signed up. It's my first one! Plus it's gotten me used to feather birdies. I really hate plastic ones now... I don't know how I ever could have played with plastic in high school! I think I've mentally converted to 21-point scoring now. 15-point scoring seems odd now.
I hope we aren't sandbagging :(. I'm playing D mixed with mikeypoo and D girls doubles with Diane.
Now that my mom trusts me with the car and I have insurance, I've been driving around every opportunity I can get. :) SO AWESOME. It's just so easy getting from one place to another now. Say for example I had to get myself to Great Mall. I would have to give myself about 45-60 minutes to get there, because I would have to walk to the bus, wait for the next one (and sometimes the buses are waaay off schedule) and sit on it. If I drove, it would only take me like 10 minutes after I'm out the door. So awesome.
"Training" for smashapapoopoo is really fun... I wouldn't have imagined that I would be looking forward to a tourney, but I'm glad I signed up. It's my first one! Plus it's gotten me used to feather birdies. I really hate plastic ones now... I don't know how I ever could have played with plastic in high school! I think I've mentally converted to 21-point scoring now. 15-point scoring seems odd now.
I hope we aren't sandbagging :(. I'm playing D mixed with mikeypoo and D girls doubles with Diane.
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