Magnetic Mismatch

Do you remember how when you were just a teenager growing up and you just couldn't wait to become an adult already? Ya, sure you did, fantasizing about living on your own, being able to binge on junk food, staying up as late as you want, playing video games and hanging out with your friends all day, without anyone telling you what to do or a care in the world. Definitely sounds like living the dream right? Except that when you actually graduate into adulthood, many of us weren't really prepared or equipped with the right tools and knowledge.

If only someone had warned us about all the things that come with "adulting", yucky things called "responsibilities" such as finding a job, doing your own laundry, cooking, paying your own bills, managing your finances, etc. On the one hand maybe we could have avoided so many painful mistakes throughout our adulthood, but on the other hand those lessons that we learned are what made us stronger and shaped who we are today.

And although many times it may seem that our peers and other people have it all figured out, that's just simply not the case. The truth is that no matter what stage of life we are in, we will never have it all figured out, but we become more clear about who we are and what we want our life to be.

The reality is that there really is no handbook or instruction manual to tell you exactly what you should do when it comes to being an adult. The beauty of life is in gaining wisdom through your own personal experiences and growing as a person to become the best version of you.

We are still learning and have plenty more mistakes to make. However, we hope that through sharing our own stories, you can use them as a guide to build and improve your own personal journey throughout your adulthood. 

Have you ever been so comfortable with someone that you don't mind burping and farting around them with absolutely no shame? Yep, you must either be married or in a long term relationship! What about using the bathroom with the door open, eating your partner's leftovers without their permission or snooping through their smart phones and devices? Yea, we've definitely been there too, but we also recognized that even though we know each other so well and are comfortable being ourselves, we still have our own needs for space as individuals.

Join us for a fun episode where we talk about the importance of respecting each other's privacy and setting boundaries in marriage and relationships. 

Can men and women really just be friends or is it a recipe for disaster and drama? We’ve definitely seen people on both sides of this question, and in this episode we think out loud about our view on the potential benefits and downsides of having friends of the opposite sex especially when it comes to someone in a committed relationship. 

Have you ever traveled to a place and just absolutely fell in love with the people, culture, food and everything about it? We definitely have many times over the years and even fantasized about moving there permanently, but somehow it just never seemed to work out into reality. In this episode, we play around with the idea of uprooting our entire lives to relocate to a different country and really weigh the pros and cons. Are there valid reasons like family, career, etc that keep us here or are we simply afraid of the unknown or that we're making a mistake and won't truly be happy if we move? Join us in this fun episode as we think out loud and seriously consider the idea of leaving the comfort of our bubble to go on an adventure of a lifetime.

As 2020 comes to an end, we are reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of holding onto our loved ones and squeezing them tight every chance we get because nothing is guaranteed. To say that this past year has been heartbreaking and challenging would be an understatement, but we believe that this year has also given us the gift of truly learning to count our blessings for every thing and every one that we have in our lives. In this episode, we reflect on how much we've grown throughout this quarantine, whether it's learning how to cut hair, honing our cooking skills, practicing a healthier lifestyle through better eating habits and exercise, strengthening our marriage and relationship with friends and family, or taking up things we never would have otherwise ever had the courage to try.

We are truly grateful to all of our listeners and supporters throughout this podcast journey so far. We count our blessings every day that we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to share our stories and experiences and connect with you on a deeper level. Thank you so much, we hope you keep listening and we look forward to creating more content for you soon.

When it comes to your relationship, have you ever felt like you and your spouse speak completely different languages? Well maybe you’re not so crazy to think so because you might actually be speaking different LOVE languages. In fact, as Dr. Gary Chapman points out in the title of his best-selling book The 5 Love Languages, there might be tension and arguments within your relationship because you may simply not be expressing your love in a way that your partner understands.

In this episode, we break down each of the love languages that exist and how identifying our own love languages has helped improve our marriage. What we find most interesting is that having this knowledge has allowed us to better communicate our needs to each other and given us more clarity and understanding of love being a conscious choice that we make every single day.

We highly encourage you to tune in to this episode and read Dr. Chapman’s book if you want to improve your relationship not only with your spouse, but family and friends as well. We had so much fun discussing this topic, and we hope that you enjoy listening in!

Welcome to part 2 of Growing Up With Immigrant Parents! This episode is a continuation of our discussion about our experiences being brought up in the U.S. as the children of immigrant parents.

 As we reflect on our journey now through the lens of adults, we realize how fortunate and privileged we are to be given so many opportunities to make our dreams a reality.

We share stories about our struggles with navigating the education system with little to no guidance, translating for our parents at a young age, and the sense of duty we feel to our family because of their sacrifices to give us a better way of life.

We believe that real progress can only be made by learning, understanding and empathizing with others who may be different from us. It is our hope that through telling our stories we can offer a fresh perspective to people who might not otherwise understand what it’s like to be immigrants and perhaps be kinder and treat them better going forward.

0:00 Intro

1:15 Welcome banter

3:29 Start of topic

6:47 Linda’s Immigrant story

10:44 ESL and learning English

12:40 Lunch time trauma

16:04 Language barrier

21:36 The importance of Chinatown

25:17 Navigating the education system

34:07 Have empathy for others

36:21 Obligation to succeed

41:10 Don’t squander your opportunities

45:56 Pay it forward

50:52 Aging parents

55:05 Takeaways & lessons learned

Have you ever hated the way your body looks or felt insecure about some part of yourself? Ya it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve all had moments of insecurity at one time or another. In this episode, we chat about our own insecurities growing up and learning to accept, love and appreciate the things that make us unique. We know it’s not easy and learning to be kind to yourself or getting out of your own head takes a lot of conscious effort and patience. We hope that by opening up about our own insecurities it will help you realize that it’s OK and normal to feel insecure, but don’t allow those emotions to stop you from having a beautiful and amazing life.

0:00 Intro

1:14 Welcome banter

7:12 Start of topic

9:16 Why are we insecure

13:01 Impostor syndrome

18:21 Proving people wrong

20:21 Not feeling good enough

22:28 Crippling social anxiety

22:41 You’re not special

30:04 Asian eyes

32:59 Linda wanted breast implants

33:52 Body shaming

36:21 Peer pressure

38:19 Social media and unrealistic expectations

38:18 Hate the sound of my voice

41:48 Taking back your power

43:11 Self doubt

45: 36 Takeaways & lessons learned

When we think about the holidays, we usually think about how it's a time of year filled with lots of great food, laughs, joy, food, family and friends and of course presents! But, the end of the year can also bring about tons of stress and anxiety. Whether it's scrambling to find last minute gifts or hosting and planning the family Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner, there always seems to be something that raises the blood pressure. In this episode, we share our experiences, gift buying strategies and lessons with tackling the holiday season, so that you can enjoy the things that really matter instead of focusing on the small stuff.

0:00 Intro

1:15 Welcome banter

4:02 Start of topic

6:41 Gift giving strategies

9:52 Budget & sales

11:01 Forgot to get a gift

14:41 What to buy

17:14 Start early

19:15 Last minute gifts

23:24 Hosting during the holidays

24:53 Potluck

26:47 Coordinating time

28:23 RSVP & etiquette

30:35 Attending multiple events

32:49 Remember to have fun

33:56 Christmas spirit

38:14 Takeaways & lessons learned

Was it external factors that caused your last breakup or were there underlying issues that had been building up, but buried for a long time until things finally exploded? So many times we’ve asked ourselves what if X wasn’t an issue in our lives anymore, would that keep us from arguing and solve the problems we have in our relationship? Or maybe it’s something else. In this episode, we dive into some of the external forces that have put tension on our personal relationships and how we ultimately had to learn to stop putting the blame on everything else and take ownership of our own actions.

0:00 Intro

1:11 Welcome banter

2:33 Start of topic

4:50 Internal vs External

7:40 Is money the issue

9:51 The perfect couple

12:11 Jealousy doesn’t exist

14:14 Stronger together

15:24 Love is a choice

17:11 External factors strengthen us

24:03 Taking a chance

25:56 Working through it together

29:51 Growth through adversity

31:42 Build a strong foundation

35:29 Takeaways & lessons learned