Asian girl here, with moderate-conservative parents, dating a non-Asian boy.

I don't understand why you are so eager to break the news to her parents. If she's not comfortable with it, then don't. You might do more damage than good.

I lived with my boyfriend for 2 years before breaking the news to my parents. It wasn't because I was scared of my parents or ashamed of my boyfriend but because the timing wasn't right. We were in college, making... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 9:17 PM on June 26, 2008

You can check out here. I went to Arty for my perm but I am not sure if they do loose perm.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 9:00 PM on June 26, 2008

He said it might be atopic dermatitis (eczema) even though I don't fit most of the symptoms nor were the areas exposed to any different chemical than the usual (shampoo, soap, clothes, etc). He prescribed a cream and said to come back in a week if the rashes doesn't disappear.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 10:32 PM on April 29, 2008

docpops -

I'm not on any treatment prior to the break out. The doctor gave me fluocinonide cream but it's not helping. I have no fever or joint pain. I've been pretty much indoors all of last week except maybe to go to the movies or dinner. No traveling. Only contact with animals are with my pets that I've had for over a year now.

The only things I can think of are that I'm exercising more, taking more fiber, and we washed our clothes last... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 9:55 AM on April 30, 2008

Davereed, my younger sister and I are about your kids' age!

I don't have kids but I have talked to my parents and they both wish that they could have another child but can't due to their age. I know having me was financially hard on them for the first 11 years or so of my life but it seems rewarding enough for them to decide to have my sister later on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 10:57 AM on March 12, 2008

It would really help if you extend the 'hard deadline' of the 1st of the month to the 5th or 10th. So the 1st is still ' soft due date' for rent payment but you wouldn't penalized him until after the 5th or 10th. This will help him if he's living paycheck to paycheck or if he's forgetful.

I recently moved from my old apartment (hard deadline is the 5th) to a new place where it's the 3rd and it's really hard for me to remember to pay on time. Mostly because one of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 11:39 AM on March 11, 2008

Try corporations, they seem to be more flexibility on this depending on what division you join and what your job title is. It doesn't have to be IT or Tech. In our group, we have PMs, managers, etc., who have the capability of working from home whenever we feel like it. However, usually those people are also the people who travel a lot too, hence, been given the ability to be able to work from anywhere.

It might be a hit-and-miss though, one person from another team... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 4:49 PM on March 7, 2008

Also, working from home does not necessarily mean working less. I cut out 2 hrs of commute time but I'm also less productive, more stressed, and work odd hours when I do work from home. I actually try to work at the office as much as possible these days and only work from home when the workload is light.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 4:52 PM on March 7, 2008

Not a grad student but LJ UCBerkeley community is a really good resource for you, including questions asked by other prospective students (both undergrad & grad). You can use the search engine, Lj Seek, to find anything. If you don't have a lj account and want to ask the community some questions, feel free to contact me and I can post them up for you.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 7:38 PM on March 3, 2008 marked best answer

I can really relate to your son. I grew up in the Internet age and when I was about 13-14 yrs old, I spent 3 months at home by myself during the day in the summer (due to a family situation).

During that time, I was about to go insane. It didn't matter that I had a lot of stuff to do, that I had schoolwork, that my parents made sure I had things I needed... I was unhappy, bored and frustrated. I felt like I was being tortured in a slow, painful way but can't quite... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 8:51 PM on February 12, 2008

Went there from 2003-2006 and just came back from visiting there this weekend, never saw any cart vendors in front of BART.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 7:36 PM on February 10, 2008

This is particularly difficult because I am in a rather unusual multidisciplinary program that is not really offered at other universities, so it takes me a few sentences to even describe my undergraduate degree, never mind explain my interest in it and why my education is appropriate for the summer school. Furthermore, having a lengthy description of my academic background prevents me from delving into my involvement with research projects, which are very much related to topic of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 11:02 PM on January 21, 2008 marked best answer

I went on ~10 business trips last year and these are the things I learned and/or started doing:
Get a direct flight whenever possible.
Buy separate, 3oz or less toiletries for travel use only.
Always opt for carry-ons whenever possible (minimize time between getting off the plane and getting to the hotel)
Once you find a good, reliable taxi driver, get his/her number. Schedule rides with them ahead of time.
Get a hotel as close to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 12:17 PM on January 15, 2008

I agree with schroedinger - you wouldn't know what it is like to be homeless until you have no choice but to live on the streets.

We have a number of homeless people here in our city, while there are quite a few who are addicts or are just temporarily homeless, most of them are so old that they can't ever get out because of their age and physical health.

So until you're so old and weak that you can't even raise your head due to the lack of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 9:47 AM on January 15, 2008

Thanks everyone!
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 12:56 PM on January 11, 2008

I agree with happyturtle, Yuki is not a thing, she's a living being.

I like the bad cop/good cop idea. Combine it with "here's the bill for all the cost of caring care of the cat --- but since my gf likes the cat, she's willing to waive the cost and pay you for the cat for X amount."
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 12:36 PM on January 11, 2008

This is not a direct answer to your question but have you ever thought about thermal reconditioning? My friend used to have hair like yours but after thermal reconditioning, her hair is really fabulous! It's an one-time process (until your hair grows out) with minimal damage. Here's some examples of before and afters. It's a little pricey but my friend says it's worth it since she doesn't have to do anything more for her hair afterwards.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 2:42 PM on December 30, 2007

My father had a horrible habit of overreacting to every wrong thing I do, no matter how small. I always tell him that he can't keep overreacting like this, he has anger problems, and it was very, very harmful & stressful for me when he does this but he never changed.

Until one Spring Break while at my parents' place a few years ago, my father got mad over a missed phone call and proceeded to yell at me about how useless I am and how it was a big waste for them to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 11:22 PM on December 29, 2007

I don't think the issue is about guys/girls being roommates as much as it's about the bf's current behavior:

he "loves her to death," always talking about what a great roommate she is, often inviting her along with us on dates because she doesn't really have her own friends yet, cooks her dinner when she's had a rough day, calls her daily to 'check in,' etc. He never knew her til she moved in, and now she's one of his... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 12:41 PM on November 20, 2007

After being devastated by the "betrayals" of two of my friends in a short time, I found these to be helpful in getting over the incidents and finding a new social network:

1. Do not think about the old friends and/or pretend they don't exist for awhile. Do this for a few weeks or a couple of months to allow yourself to get over the person and the loss of the emotional attachment.

2. In the meanwhile, schedule a time to meet new people... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 9:06 PM on October 29, 2007

Is there a particular good reason why you want to get a house now? If not, then you should first save enough money to cover 6-9 months of your expenses for emergencies first. During this time, also try to get your credit score up, pay down debt, and save some more. When you saved up enough money for down payment, then you should start to think if buying a house makes sense for you or not. I heard 20% is a good percentage or else banks charge you extra.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 8:27 PM on October 29, 2007

I can't pick one, sorry:

"The chief cause of failure is giving up what you want most in life for what you want at the moment"

"People need loving the most when they deserve it the least."

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him."

"When you meet someone wise, think about becoming his equal. When you see someone inferior, reflect on yourself."
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 2:19 PM on September 26, 2007

1. Form a study group, preferably with people in your class. This helps you network with people you'll be seeing for the next 4 years while helping you with your study. I find that I have a much better understanding of the materials after discussing the concepts with another person. Plus, I made some really great friends along the way.

It might be hard at first to find people to form a study group with but if you go to office hours, midterm reviews, etc, you usually can... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 3:53 PM on September 25, 2007

Oh yeah, you should also see if there's any online group for your college. There's a lj community group for my university and it helped a great deal to talk to people from the school when I first started out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vocpanda at 3:55 PM on September 25, 2007