we push but they swing
I Suck at Math and I Don't Know Karate
Published Monday, February 27, 2006 by MetroDad | E-mail this post
I’m a 37 year-old Asian-American man.
What does that mean to you? Are any stereotypes or images conjured in your head? Do you picture a short, little math genius working in the tech sector? Do you imagine a clean-cut Yuppie professional with glasses and a Volvo? Or maybe you’re thinking about that quiet kid next door who always carried his violin with him?
Well, like the commercial says, “This ain’t your Daddy’s Oldsmobile.” Look around you these days and you’ll find that Asian-American men come in many different flavors. You may not see us on the big screen or on TV that much, but we’re here.
Like my fellow writers here on Rice Daddies, I’m a relatively new father interested in finding some like-minded parents who take their jobs seriously. That’s not to say that we’re all serious people but, ever since my wife gave birth to our beautiful little girl sixteen months ago, I’ve actively sought out people with whom I can discuss various aspects of parenting. I find it both fascinating and interesting to share parenting stories with other people.
For me, blogging is all about community. When I originally started up my own blog, I just wanted a place to throw down some thoughts about my impending journey into fatherhood. I wanted a forum to record the wide array of emotions I was feeling. And most of all, I wanted to find some other cool dads who could relate to what I was saying.
Soon after I started my blog, I received e-mails from both Poppa Large and Soccer Dad, two fellow Asian-American men whose wives were each pregnant with their first child. Sure, they were both from California but I thought it was amazingly cool that these guys reached out to tell me that they enjoyed reading my blog and that they were relating to much of what I was going through.
And though we may be very different from one another in terms of personality and character, there is a shared reality in being a modern-day Asian-American father. Not only is it an important part of who I am, it’s also an important part of raising my daughter. So I’m proud to find this new community of guys whom I can call my friends. I’m honored to be a part of the Rice Daddies group. And I’m looking forward to trying to figure all this shit out.
So let’s throw some rice on the motherfucking pot, bust out the cold sake, and get this party started!
What does that mean to you? Are any stereotypes or images conjured in your head? Do you picture a short, little math genius working in the tech sector? Do you imagine a clean-cut Yuppie professional with glasses and a Volvo? Or maybe you’re thinking about that quiet kid next door who always carried his violin with him?
Well, like the commercial says, “This ain’t your Daddy’s Oldsmobile.” Look around you these days and you’ll find that Asian-American men come in many different flavors. You may not see us on the big screen or on TV that much, but we’re here.
Like my fellow writers here on Rice Daddies, I’m a relatively new father interested in finding some like-minded parents who take their jobs seriously. That’s not to say that we’re all serious people but, ever since my wife gave birth to our beautiful little girl sixteen months ago, I’ve actively sought out people with whom I can discuss various aspects of parenting. I find it both fascinating and interesting to share parenting stories with other people.
For me, blogging is all about community. When I originally started up my own blog, I just wanted a place to throw down some thoughts about my impending journey into fatherhood. I wanted a forum to record the wide array of emotions I was feeling. And most of all, I wanted to find some other cool dads who could relate to what I was saying.
Soon after I started my blog, I received e-mails from both Poppa Large and Soccer Dad, two fellow Asian-American men whose wives were each pregnant with their first child. Sure, they were both from California but I thought it was amazingly cool that these guys reached out to tell me that they enjoyed reading my blog and that they were relating to much of what I was going through.
And though we may be very different from one another in terms of personality and character, there is a shared reality in being a modern-day Asian-American father. Not only is it an important part of who I am, it’s also an important part of raising my daughter. So I’m proud to find this new community of guys whom I can call my friends. I’m honored to be a part of the Rice Daddies group. And I’m looking forward to trying to figure all this shit out.
So let’s throw some rice on the motherfucking pot, bust out the cold sake, and get this party started!
12 Responses to “I Suck at Math and I Don't Know Karate”
Leave a Reply
fellow fathers
mommies and more
- Brain Dump
- Childbearing Hipster
- City Mama
- Emzeedotes
- Kimchi Mamas
- Motherhood Uncensored
- The Speth Adventures
asian rinks
previous posts
- Separated at Birth (or not)
- Foot to Mouth
- Soccer Dad: Life Imitating Dreams Imitating Life
- Kickin' Ass and Changing Lives, Already
- Wearing your ethnic pride on your sleeve—or your o...
- Baby Macks
- The Way of the Rice Daddy
- Five times in two-and-a-half hours
- Asian parenting tips from "Without a Trace," or Je...
- T-Minus 3 Weeks
archives
- March 2005
- September 2005
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
It's all good. Both my husband and I suck at math. Disgrace to the Korean culture, I know...
How will our daughter ever become a brain surgeon?!
MD-
See, I am such a spaz that I will follow you anywhere. Hey, this is a cool site. Some people I hadn't seen before. What do you mean, you don't know Karate? Are you sure? I'm prety sure you told me that. Oh well. -Melissa
Dude - don't go heavy on the saki -I know how Asian men hold their liquor - and it's not pretty.
:)
I'm 5'9", built like the Italian side of my family, talk back to my husband, and don't wash my my rice before cooking it.
My Korean ancestors are all giving me the stink-eye right now.
well....from an anglo-aussie....love the site....well done chaps!
I'm the daughter of a "Rice Daddy" (my Dad is the 6 foot tall Japanese-American non-stereotype who married a white woman and produced 4 kids who look nothing like either of them). We're all so not stereotypically Japanese - sometimes it seems like we're all just here for the sushi. So, I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with!
geez, will you guys (not sure who I am talking to here) give those of us who do know martial arts, work in the tech field, and graduated with a math degree a break? It's not like those things are /bad/ to be good at. I know, stick ASIAN at the end of that list and it somehow turns negative (to the asian, no less). Is that stereotype even remotely true? The fact that I do have a black belt, know math, and program computers has more to do with the fact that I am a DORK than that I am Asian. I don't know if I've ever run into someone else that fits that silly mold. Most Asian Americans I've met are loud, outspoken, and rather hip people (including myself).... how long before that becomes a tiresome stereotype--if it isn't already? Heck saying that "I Suck at Math and Don't know Karate" is really just decrying your American-ness not how un-asian you are.
anyway, I enjoy your personal blog, and I think this blog is going to be great also...
- James
I am the 100% white American mother of 3 (biological) kids who both look and self-identify as Japanese, like their father --- so I`ve learned the meaning of "never say never."
I will be reading with great interest.
Does this mean I can't get you to do my taxes? Bummer.
Congrats on the new blogging platform, MD.
does this include basmati daddies?
basmati, jasmine, sticky, calrose, short grain, long grain, medium grain, whatever ;) welcome...
MD,
One of these days, you're going to have to find a publisher, who will give you a nice, fat contract, cash-up-front, so you can give up your day job. With my financial planning day job, I can help you organize that front, so you can keep writing.
Rice daddies -- I love it.