A love story - a man who worked in Walmart ...and turns out to be more than that

Several years ago when I was still a graduate student.

"Do you know there is a handsome Russian in our PhD program?" my classmate asked me.
"Nope but I don't like PhDs. They are nerds." 

Weeks later, I went to a happy hour hosted by my school. My friend and I stood in the corner happily judging everyone; she suddenly pointed at one man : "Hey check him out!"

That was a handsome blonde man - I never saw him before.
"hohoho very cute!"
"Yeah but he is so weird. He is not our student; he works in Walmart."
"How do you know he works in Walmart?"
"Last time I was introduced to him and his friends said he worked in Walmart but he shows up in every happy hour."

A freebie for our drinks I sense.

Later that night when I was standing at the bar that blond walked toward me. He spoke with an European accent "Hey, how are you?"
"I am okay."
"What's your name? Are you a MBA?"
"My name is Karen. First year MBA. How about you?"
"My name is Egor; I am a PhD."
Please, first, all PhDs are nerds. As far as I am concerned, this one is nothing like a nerd...Second, I am glad that I have heard you are a bullshitter who works for Walmart "Oh suresuresure, where are you from?"
"Russia."....wow
"Why do you want to come for PhD?"
"Who is your advisor?"
"How do you feel about Walmart?"
.....

Anyway, I did my best to investigate him because I wanted him to reveal his true identity as a Walmart employee. The mission failed - he insisted on himself being a PhD.

The next morning when I woke up, I got an email from him.......suddenly I jumped up "he has my school email address...so he is really in our PhD program." And for fuck's sake, he is a Russian PhD? He IS THE HANDSOME RUSSIAN PHD MY CLASSMATE MENTIONED!

We went out the following night and the following night....
The rest is history and today is our fourth year anniversary.

To my baby, my love, my heart.

kid's clothes

 

I have been shamelessly purchasing clothing from kids department recently. First of all, it came in my size. Second, kid's clothing usually comes in more vibrant colors, the trend of this season. Third, they are way cheaper.

It started as one day I got a Boden kid catalog in which the teen models looked way taller than me - "lets check the measurement" and surprisingly found I could easily fit into the 14-year-old girl clothing. So, I instantly bought three pairs of color jeans. I was looking for color skinny jeans for long time; I had an eye on the ones of Jbrand but couldn't bring myself to spend $176*3 colors because I don't actually know how often I will wear them.

Moreover, yesterday when I shopped in GAP baby for my niece, I picked up a very cute yellow tutu skirt (when I was young, my parents loved to dress me like a carpenter; I think they thought that was adorable) and on my way to pay, voila! I found an exactly the same skirt which came in my size, a tutu skirt which could heal my still-broken heart for lusting for one in my youth while never getting any. As a result, I bought two!

Banana + Tomato

One thing I like about American culture: they don't give a damn about what you wear. Women in their fifties want to wear mini skirts - go ahead! Men want to bear love handles - be my guest! It took me such a long time to adjust to this American concept - you are your own boss: do whatever you want to do; then of course, wear whatever you want to wear. For example, I was unable to comfortably wear a low cut top when I was in Taiwan because I feel people staring at me on the street when I dared to do so. On the same token, I never wore too vivid color in Taiwan. Yeshyesh, as a humble Chinese, I very much embrace my conservative side.

So, today's outfit is a first to me. Maybe too much color...a real banana mixed with tomato..but hey, nobody raised a brow in mall today!

HM top and pants
Gap ballet flats, Jcrew belt 

Some outfits from weekdays.

Zara blazer and sweater
Giordano flats

Jcrew cardigan
BR dress

BR trench, HM top
Uniqlo jeggings, Coach flats

Blackjack Ball

I never had a prom in high school, considering the fact that I attended an all-girl high school. Maybe it's not a good excuse, you still can invite boys from an all-boy high school. Anyway, it was not an IT thing to have proms at that moment. The only thing close was a dance party where I was in my t-shirt.

On Friday, I finally got the chance wearing my long gown with my man who was so handsome in suit. Hell yah!!

 

Spaetzle

I made a cool side dish, spaetzle, last night. Actually I had it first time in Gramercy Tavern the past weekend. It isn't hard at all so you should try it. The recipe I used was from here.

The only difference is that I didn't use colander to push the batter; I used a plastic bag and cut a small hole at the corner and pushed the batter out. According to the recipe, it is unpleasant to push the batter on top of a pot of boiling water but I happen to like it;  it gave me weird pleasure to watch spaetzleblob "pu-tong" drop into water and to me, it was not that hot. After making the spaetzle, I cut bacon into small pieces, fried it, added minced shallots and added it to the fried spaetzle.

Spertzle, marinated pork chop and asparagus salad made a good dinner for my bf while I still had my routine of great snacks.

Theory shirt, Elie Tahari blazer
pants and shoes bought from Taiwan

Bull in heels

I lost my ability to walk in high heels. During my trip back to Taiwan, I wore flats almost everyday except in weddings. This morning when I put on the high-heeled boots, it took me seconds to balance and walk normally. I like to wear high heels not only for lengthening my figure but also for creating a sophisticated image. I walk in a very fast pace. On one hand, it is time saving; on the other hand, it's far away from being elegant. I believe somewhere out there, some women can manage to walk fast and elegantly at the same time but it's just not me.

HM sweater, Hollister shirt
Vintage leather jacket, Theory pants

Back to US

I become super lazy after coming back to US. I blame this on jet lag, spring fever and homesick. I couldn't fall asleep at the first night even after 28-hour flight + wait in the lounge + mean American custom officer tricking me with ambiguous questions ("How long do you plan to stay in US?" "m...as long as your government allows." "You can't. The working visa only gives you 3-year duration one time!" What a fucking asshole!) Anyway, I am in US safe and sound now (oh, I even made a NYC trip the past weekend on top of my laziness).

This Taiwan trip was marvelous. On a scale of 1-10 of how happy I was, I gave it 1000. Though I missed my baby very much the entire trip, it was so nice being with my family, meeting my new niece who liked to grab my hair, hence some hair went missing, and hanging out with my best friends. After getting to certain age, I found myself cherish my family and old friends more and more. These are people to whom I can talk freely and share my deepest feelings with. More importantly, these are people who I can say "remember ......you .....we ....that's so stupid." They are my heart and my soul. I love them so much.

Enough sensitivity, the food in Taiwan was so amazing. Of course it was always great but it tasted even better than it did in my memory because of 5-year living aboard in a rural place where I am the cook. Of course, during these 5 years, I still travel to New York City a lot where as long as you have money, good food is quite accessible. However, some food is hard to replicate aboard so that's why it's called home flavor. Moreover, it is way more expensive to have food of the same quality in US than in in Taiwan.

On a separate note, do you think I will post pictures? With the excess weight gain during the trip, I don't think so. I am still waiting for my friends to send me pictures that was taken in the beginning of the trip (aka, no round face and okay waistline). They promise it will come at any moment...

My dad and I were in the wedding