betty ming liu

Win-win is better than win-lose

March 13, 2012 8:00pm

My parents raised me to believe that the world is filled with winners and losers. By their standards, I was doing pretty good in my early 30s. After all, I had a great career as a newspaper columnist and a husband who was a catch. But something wasn’t right. During that time, I was restless [...]

Tagged as: Divorce, family, Life Skills, love, pet peeves, relationships, self-esteem, therapy

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New places to eat in Manhattan, with photos. Yum.

March 10, 2012 7:27am

My new reporting job has me in the ‘burbs of Westchester County 24-7. I miss Manhattan! So I’m making a point to get down there and explore the city through its food. Taking a bite of the Big Apple has been an education in just how much dining in New York has evolved. Here are [...]

Tagged as: art classes, asian, dining, Loving food, nyc, Restaurants, vegan, vegetarian

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3 ways my dog makes me a happier human

March 6, 2012 8:01pm

That’s right — I have a dog! Up until just recently, we’ve referred to Rosebud as my daughter Gabi’s dog. But our busy teenager isn’t home much. Meanwhile, me and the bow-wow are together practically 24-7. That’s how Rosebud became mine. Yay! Even though there have been several beloved canines in my past, not one of [...]

Tagged as: family, pets, self-esteem

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Pet peeve time: Are you first- or second-generation American?

February 28, 2012 8:52am

I am SO ANNOYED. When will people get this straight??! If you’re an immigrant to this country, then you’re first generation. If your kids are born here, then they are second generation. The logic is very clear… If you call yourself first-generation American, then what happens if your immigrant parents become American citizens? If you [...]

Tagged as: asian, branding, chinatown, Journalism how-to's, pet peeves, self-esteem, social media, students, teaching

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Check out my evolving cartooning style

February 26, 2012 8:20am

I can’t wait for someone to ask me about my weekend. Single, middle-aged me finally has a truly interesting answer: “My weekend? Oh, it was great. I spent it drawing assassin porn.” The continuing quest to find myself has taken me to a series of weekend cartooning workshops. We divide our time between learning about [...]

Tagged as: art classes, books, drawing, teaching

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My kid gets to model again in Seventeen magazine

February 22, 2012 10:23pm

My daughter got into Seventeen magazine for a second time! In addition to the great photo shoot, Gabi has learned some essential life skills. Yay — at age 16, she’s becoming more entrepreneurial. As you might know, Seventeen uses readers as models. Ooooh, dangling a wholesome peek into every girlie-girl’s favorite fantasy is such a brilliant [...]

Tagged as: Creativity, entrepreneur, self-esteem, students, work skills

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Jeremy Lin has scored a few points with me

February 16, 2012 12:01am

The Jeremy Lin phenomenon is such a personal touchstone for me. That statement will shock my friends because they know that I am a sports idiot. But hey, even I can change! During the earlier, happier years of my 18-year marriage, I spent a lot of time sitting courtside at Knicks games because my African-American husband [...]

Tagged as: asian, family, friends, immigrants, Inspiration, self-esteem

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How to be alone on Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2012 12:01am

For the first time in my life, I am quite happy about being single on Valentine’s Day. There’s no whining, no resentment. No sadness or fury either. I am actually seeing my solo state as a blessing, a privilege and…..a status symbol? Yeah. Singlehood, believe it or not, is becoming trendy. That last notion comes [...]

Tagged as: aging, being single, Divorce, friends, love, relationships, romance, self-esteem

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Missing mom

February 9, 2012 12:01am

Today is the second anniversary of Mom’s death. Even though she was an impossible diva for most of her 92 years, she came around in the end. During her very last days, she was even remarkably loving. And because she changed, I truly miss her. I will always be glad that Mom died while holding [...]

Tagged as: aging, death, family, immigrants, Inspiration, love, mom, My Daughter

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Where to go for a fun night on Broadway — with photos

February 7, 2012 12:01am

Want to know how crazy expensive New York City can get? I recently treated two teenagers to a fun, $462 night on the town. And it was glorious to get out of my budgeting head to just throw some money around. It made me feel like a cool mom (for a change). This was the [...]

Tagged as: dining, family, friends, Loving food, nyc, Restaurants

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The power of personal punting

February 3, 2012 9:29am

Here’s the headline: I found a way to survive my first month as a full-time, 21st century journalist. Despite overwhelming exhaustion and personal chaos, punting is helping me to make progress. Actually, I have no interest in Sunday’s Super Bowl game or the half-time ritual of watching the (hopefully) funny commercials that cost millions of [...]

Tagged as: branding, entrepreneur, Journalism how-to's, Work Tips, writing

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Sweet letters from my students: how to write conversationally

February 1, 2012 9:33am

At colleges everywhere, the spring semester has sprung without me! But at least my former students are still around. Some even send nice notes that are great examples of ways to grow as writers. When they email, I weep tears of joy — which is more pleasurable than the frustrated sobbing that comes with grading [...]

Tagged as: blogging, Life Skills, students, teaching, work skills, writing

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Laughing at Asian parents — of course, this isn’t me!

January 27, 2012 9:55pm

“We have to watch this together,” my daughter commanded. Her laptop was open to a YouTube video, “Shit Asian Dads Say.” For the next 2.54 minutes, we laughed like maniacs. This precious bit of parody revealed so much about…me. Ooops, I was busted! When this searing spoof was first posted on Jan. 15, the Asian [...]

Tagged as: asian, dad, family, Inspiration, mom, parenting

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Photos of a 10-course Chinese dinner — yum!

January 23, 2012 6:53pm

This is my first-ever Lunar New Year as a working mom. With a hectic 9-to-7 gig, I now totally relate to friends whose full-time jobs make it impossible for them to pull together a decent holiday dinner on a week night (or any dinner on any night, for that matter). In a few minutes, I [...]

Tagged as: asian, friends, immigrants, kian lam kho, Loving food, nyc

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Learning about relationships from the Year of the Dragon

January 21, 2012 8:03pm

I‘ve always viewed the dragon as one of the coolest symbols of Chinese culture. Then, I learned the unpleasant reality of his relationship to his mate, the glorious, wildly feathered phoenix. Of course, we have every reason to adore the dragon. As the first animal in the 12-creature Chinese zodiac, he represents the ideal time [...]

Tagged as: artist, asian, immigrants, Inspiration, love, my latest paintings, relationships, romance, self-esteem

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