5 Things.....

I saw this little exercise on Stephanie's Life-Unexpectedly and thought that it would be fun to do. So here we go.... in no particular order

5 Things I have a passion for:

• family
• music
• lyrics
• computers/gadgets/graphics (that's the geek in me)
• cooking

5 Things I'd like to do before I die:

• enter a dance competition (Tango all the way!)
• learn another language - Italian or French --- or better yet, both
• write a book and have it published
• see my children grow up to be happy, responsible adults
• learn how to really code & start my own web design company

5 Things I say lot:

• Uh-huh....
• Did you hear what I just said?
• Hurry up!
• Love you honey (this is from my Baltimore days)
• I'm tired (because it's true)

5 Books I've recently read:

• Inferno by Dan Brown 
• Divergent by Veronica Roth (yes...... I heart teen paranormal romance books)
• The Host by Stephanie Meyer (better written than the Twilight series - I'm Team Edward!)
• Defending Jacob by William Landay
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (hated the ending!)

5 Favorite Movies:

• Under The Tuscan Sun (probably my all time favorite)
• Dirty Dancing
• Pretty Woman
• Independence Day
• Gladiator

5 Places I'd like to travel to:

• Italy - Tuscany
• Morocco
• Croatia
• Germany
• France

5 Blogs I'll tag: Like Stephanie, I would like to open this fun little game to everyone....so let me know if you decide to partake. I would love to see some of your 5's!!!!

My First Liebster Award!

This weekend, Ida from  Second Chances Girl nominated me....ME for a Liebster Award! You can't see me right now, but I'm doing back flips and singing.....

I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it......(Can you name the group?) 

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers by their peers in the blogging world....hey, we've gotta start somewhere, right? What does Liebster mean? I'm told from the blogging world that it's German....and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.


Don't you just love it! Thank you Ida so much!

Eleven Facts About Me:

1.  I love Snickers. I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2.  I'm a Sagittarius....December is a great month for gifts!

3.  I really dislike the taste of lamb....yuck! 

4.  I'm a Trekkie, can't wait for the new movie to come out!

5.  I'm a night owl....average time I go to bed: 2am

6.  I'm an incurable romantic (I believe this is linked to #2)

7.  I have the worst memory ever! (possible link to #5)

8.  I use to dream that I would marry Simon LeBon from Duran Duran

9.  I truly enjoy reading Shakespeare

10.  I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was younger

11.  I have a weakness for fries...all kinds, Cajun, chili cheese, etc...

Had these yummy fries @ Broome Street Bar in Soho 2 weeks ago

Eleven Questions From My Nominator (Second Chances Girl):

1. What is your dream vacation destination? Morocco! No doubt in my mind....ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about going there....I want to visit the markets, smell the spices and drink Mint Tea.

2. What is your favorite family tradition? I love them all, but one in particular is our Chinese Style Thanksgiving dinner. When my "family" gets together, we are easily 30+ people and then there is always one mystery guest that has been invited. We eat your basic Thanksgiving fare and then on top of that we have several dishes of yummy Chinese food, prepared by my mom and her sisters! Sooooo good!

3. Do you collect anything? If so, what? I am a Cook Book Collector! AGHHHH.....my bookshelf is on the verge of collapsing....my bedroom floor has piles of books stacked in every corner....people tell me to go digital, but I just can't help myself....there is something so beautiful about a cookbook.

4. What is your favorite quote? Never regret what once made you laugh

5. Who is your hero? My Grandmother on mama's side....She was truly amazing. They sure don't make them like they used to. She loved, forgave, sympathized, taught and didn't have a selfish bone in her body. She endured so many hardships in her life....she was truly tested....but she never gave in. She was strong and loving and she was so loved by all who met her. She was and will always be my hero.

6. If you had thirty minutes of free time, what would you do? I would probably be blogging.....it's so addictive!

7. Do you believe in second chances? YES. We are human. I tell my children everyday that we all make mistakes...it's what you learn from them that matters and that's what makes you a better person. I still make mistakes....some big and some small.....I hope one day, if I need it, I will be given a second chance.

8. Why do you blog? I blog to release all that is locked up inside me....my thoughts, loves, creations, addictions and obsessions. 

9. Do you believe you have found your passion in life? If not, what are you waiting for? So funny you asked this question, because I just posted I Missed My Calling on Monday! So....I believe that I have found my passion (now that I'm 43) and I've decided to do something about it!

10. What is the one thing you wish for your children? If you don't have children, then for any young child in your life. The one common thing I with for my three children is for them to be HAPPY. I realize that the only thing that really matters is that you're happy with your life.....don't regret things....learn....move on....be happy.

11. Do you consider yourself happy? Yes, I'm happier now that I used to be....I think, like most people, life is full of ups and downs....a non-stop roller coaster that is totally unpredictable. Right now....I'm happy....ask me again when Game of Thrones season ends....

I Nominate The Following Blogs:

• The Owl's Skull 
• Dina Farmer Photography
• Sarah Croft
• SDBaird
• Withlove-Rachel
• Bear and Lion
• The Milk Machine
• Firefly Tales
• oh just stop already
• Crazy Little Love Birds
• Faded Ginger

Please don't feel pressure to do this....I personally was sooo excited, I couldn't wait to write this post. If you have already been nominated that's awesome....it's always so nice to be recognized by your peers.

My Eleven Questions to You:

1. What's your favorite book to give as a gift?
2. What is your favorite song right now and why?
3. Is there one thing that you can't live without?
4. If you had a chance to go back and do a redo, what would it be?
5. What is the greatest lesson you have learned thus far?
6. Of the people you know, who possess a quality that you most admire and what is it?
7. Do you sleep on the right side, left side or smack dab in the middle of your bed?
8. What's your hidden talent?
9. What's a topic you wish people would just come out and talk about?
10. What is your current obsession?
11. What do you want to accomplish through your blog?

Let me know if you decide to participate....it'll be fun....I can't wait to see your answers!

I Missed My Calling

Yes, I missed my calling. It has taken me 43 years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

huh? Let me explain.

Now, some of you might already know this, but I am a pharmacist by trade. Well, I hate it. I absolutely, 100% hate being a pharmacist.

How did I end up with a RPh behind my name? Well, thanks to my stereotypical Asian upbringing, I falsely thought that the only job options out there for me were to either become a physician, an engineer or a lawyer. Since I couldn't stand the sight of blood, Physics would literally make my head explode and I never ever won an argument..... I decided that the reasonable choice was to became a pharmacist.

Big mistake. Big. Huge. (Do you know what movie this is from?)

Don't get me wrong, pharmacy is a great profession, especially for a mom.....but it's soooo NOT me.

I'm not the type that gets all giddy over drug interactions, glomerular filtration rates or what's new in the drug market....and this is not for the lack of trying.

If you were to take a look at my resume, you would see that I have done almost everything. I have worked in retail....I have worked in mail order....I have worked in a psych hospital....I have worked in a regular hospital....I have worked with insurance drug data and I have worked as a long term care consultant pharmacist....and guess what? I still hate it!

Nope, pharmacy is not for me.

So.....what tickles my fancy if not drugs and pharmacokinetics?

Simply put......computers and all things techie.

Geek? Yes, I'm a geek. I can spend hours upon hours on the computer looking at codes figuring things out and playing with different tools I come across when surfing the web.

Codes are so pretty.... :)

When I read about some new cool technology that's coming out......I get all giddy!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I listened with envy, as people talked about taking the Startup Bus to Austin with other techie entrepreneurs (it's 48 hours of brainstorming and development of possible startup ideas).....pouting....I wanted to go on that bus.....I wanted to attend the super techie South by Southwest convention.....I wanna be a techie!

SXSW 2013

Unfortunately for me, my interest in computers didn't occur until later in life. I grew up in the age of floppy disks and prime computers (you remember them right? ...the black screen and bright green flashy cursor that moved at a snails pace.....) I even remember my dad having stacks and stacks of the hole punched computer cards! Yuck! Computers back then just didn't do it for me.....

So, here I am years later... a reluctant pharmacist, who wishes she was a  techie, hacker computer gal....

Now that I know what it is I want to do when I grow up, I think I might look into taking some computer courses. Until then, I'm gonna start a new segment on my blog highlighting all things techie that I come across which piques my interests. So, keep an eye out for All Things Techie...you might find out you are a closet techie too!

Are you doing what you love?

Defining My Blog

Today my post is actually my About Me page.

I spent a good amount of time, in between cooking, driving and laundry trying to define my blog and why I'm writing one.

Blogs are fluid pieces of work. They are constantly being reshaped and molded and I know that there will be changes in my goals and expectations for my blog as the months and years pass. However, for now, I think that I have defined what A Dose of Jules means to me and what I would like to accomplish through it.

Take a look and read About Me ..... let me know your thoughts.

If you're interested, here is my Who Am I post I wrote awhile back....not much has changed, so it will give you good insight into my crazed and dazed life.