The way ajoshis checking me out....

Or checking anyone out..
and, any old Asian middle aged men with needlessly conservative values...

It was about 6 months ago. I walked into an authentic Chinese restaurant in California. There was a group of 15 of Chinese people (big family) having lunch. As I was walked in heading towards to my table, this Chinese ajoshi looked at me up-down-up with a super flat face. I mean, with no emotion whatsoever. It almost looks bitter.
Then, my friend said,
"He is checking you out."
Just to be clear, he was a Chinese-American. He had to tell me (a Korean-American) what that Chinese ajoshi just did.
Here's the thing. I lived in Korea for about 1.5 years in my early 20s. I got that look A LOT. I always thought they didn't like something about me. Either my clothes are funny or my hair or my attitude... whatever! I never knew why.
I couldn't believe what I just heard.
"Serious? How is that even flattering? He looks so bitter!"
Then he said,
"Ya, because he is sitting with his wife and grand kids. He wants to hide the fact that he is checking you out."

Wowza. When "normal" people are checking me out, it's actually flattering whether they are actually hot or not. They appreciate my look (or whatever they like about me), and I can feel that. But, I can't ever get used to the way ajoshis checking me out. Mind over matter? Well, I don't think so....

One year of hell

The year of 2011 was, by far, the worst year I've ever had in my entire life.

To sum it up:
1. Cut my hand by an accident. had to get 7 stitches. The emergency room nurse thought I was suicidal. Oh boy..
2. Got a job at Microsoft! (Woohoo!) then I got laid off 2 months later. The worst case scenario was... mine.
3. Met some crazy weird guys. This should be another book on its own.
4. Had the worst nightmare possible with the EDD (Unemployment center) and had to go to court twice. I won, but still... Luckily, I had an awesome friend who is a lawyer, and without his help, I have no idea what I could've done.
5. Technically, I only had a fulltime job for 2 months, part time for 4 months, then the rest, I was a full time job searcher. I was on unemployment for 6 months (well, with some crazy backpay).

In December, I gave up looking for a job in the US, then applied to a university in Korea (well, I sent out about 20 resumes). I got a job. I'm a professor now.

Life is funny sometimes. So, here I go. Now that I don't have to whine so much about my life, I would like to share some stories!