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new
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Dec. 28th, 2006 @ 06:40 pm
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As much as I hate change, my old cell phone just had to be replaced...it wasn't ringing reliably anymore and the battery was having trouble recharging. So, after 6 years, 2514 calls, 13314 minutes and 17 seconds, my old Qualcolmm cell phone has been replaced.
You should have seen the girl's face in the Sprint store when I pulled out my old phone and asked her if I could upgrade it...she had never even seen it before, and was seriously impressed that it still worked. Naturally, there was no way for them to transfer contacts, so now I've got to enter in all my phone numbers that I've accrued over the years by hand...oh well.
Anyways, I have a brand spanking new Samsung phone now...it's pretty crazy the features and stuff it has...Bluetooth, GPS, camera, games...apparently it can function as an internet connection for my computer. Plus, it has more than one ring tone! (hehehe)
Here's hoping to get another 6 years out of this phone...it doesn't seem quite as sturdy as my last one....no more deterring thieves, I guess. ;-) |
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Yay, I got ranked today!
For those that don't know, I've been doing a martial art, taijutsu, for the past 3 months. Today (well, yesterday technically) after class Sensei called me up in front of the class and gave me a green belt, and 9th kyu (fyi, the lowest rank of green belt). All in all, a good day. :-)
It feels really good to find out that Sensei thinks I'm getting better at taijutsu. Of course, I still think I'd be mostly screwed if I ever got into a fight for my life. And now I can't use the "I'm a beginner" line in class anymore....dang it. ;-) |
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Ed and Jen's wedding was very nice. I was kind of concerned because it was an outdoor wedding, but it was higher up sort of on a mountain, so it was nice and cool. But the ceremony was lovely, there was a bunch of good food, and it all went smoothly, which made my friends who had been helping out very happy.
The weekend was pretty fun too, mainly hanging out with various friends who had come in just for the wedding. For Sunday, I was cooking dinner for people, but got a migraine, ugh. Fortunately everyone, particularly Chris, pitched in and finished cooking dinner, for which I was very grateful. The meds kicked in after a while and I was able to participate in some of the after-dinner festivities...mainly karaoke and DDR. hehe.
Most people left on Monday. I was actually most sad to see Jess leave, for some reason. I guess things between us were ok, so we were able to have fun over the week. But I think I've finally gotten to the point that I don't think she's right for me anymore.
After people left, we decided to go into SF and finally do some touristy things. But for some reason, we managed to get to everything right as it was closing...the Conservatory of Flowers, the Shakespeare theater, this park thing that we could walk though, the de Young museum. But we were able to go into the Japanese Tea Garden for free, which was nice, and go to the Metreon, which was somewhat underwhelming. We also got to drive down this really curvy road right in the middle of the city.
Today we went back and hit up some of the other sites...Conservatory of Flowers (a butterfly landed on Mel, it was cute), Golden Gate Bridge, Exploratorium...pretty interesting.
I'll end with a list of other foods I had...dim sum, a mango freeze boba drink, chinese, Thai, Hawaiian, and american food (from Mel's Drive-in, hehe).
I'm off tomorrow back to home. It'll be sad to leave; it's been fun. |
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cali
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Jul. 14th, 2006 @ 04:40 am
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Well, the first few days in Cali have been interesting...
Bachelor's party: karaoke. I think that's all I need to say about that...
Similar to Oregon, I can look out at the horizon and see hills in the distance. No cool snow-topped mountains though. The weather is pretty good, nice and cool.
There's a crazy amount of asian stores here. They're randomly everywhere, a street full of Korean stores, Sushi restaurants scattered all over...I haven't eaten out so much ages. We've eaten at Japanese, Malaysian, and Korean restaurants already. I miss having good asian restaurants around. Not that I would go out to eat that much at home, though.
We're a bunch of bums. So far all we've done is eat, play board games, play video games, sing, and play poker. Oh, and in my case, cook. I really like shocking my MIT friends with my cooking. :-P
We went to see Cars today (which was interesting in and of itself) but the really interesting thing was that on the way to the theater, we passed these huge office buildings, one was Sun microsystems, another was Yahoo, and the last one was...huh, I can't remember the last one. It was a big company though, I swear! Silicon valley is interesting...
The wedding is tomorrow. Should be fun. |
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Oregon
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Jul. 5th, 2006 @ 11:56 pm
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I finally have a few minutes to sit down and finish this post about my Oregon trip. I'm probably forgetting stuff, but anyways...
Highlights of Oregon trip:
- Strawberries (from a local farm, of course) and ice cream practically every night. Yum.
- Powell's book store. A whole city block of new and used books. Bad for the wallet.
- Little Crater Lake: water so clear, you could see to the bottom of the lake. 45 ft to the bottom of the lake.
- Sailing on Timothy Lake: sailing is much more tricky than one would think. You've got to watch for the winds, keep the sails properly oriented for going the way you want to. We were lucky to have nice winds, so we got moving at a pretty fast clip.
- Going uh...perfectly, yes, exactly, the speed limit in Pat's dad's Porsche 944. Speed is addictive.
- Fry's electronics. Think a store the size of a Super Walmart, but then only with electronics/dvds/games/computer equipment. It's sort of like a Best Buy on steroids.
- Pat's dad's handmade railroad models. The whole system filled their basement.
- Beef tenderloin dinner for Pat and Carrie's families. Pat's dad said I was a keeper...lol.
- Oregon coast, complete with tide pools, Devil's punch bowl, sandy beaches, and freezing water.
- Flying Dutchman winery.
- Fabric Depot. A Walmart-sized store with only fabric and sewing stuff. Every guy's nightmare.
- Crazy last minute wedding preparation, leading to an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony.
- Amazing wedding reception in Stuart's dad's backyard garden.
- Gotta give a special thanks for Pat's family for taking care of me the whole time, and Pat and Carrie for driving me all over Oregon...
My observations of curiosity:
What's with the strip clubs/porn shops? It felt like there was one around every corner.
I found out what the FMV foods at Krogers stands for!
It's amazing that you can be driving out around in the city, look out to the distance, and see snow-capped mountains. |
| » grr, some people |
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Someone put their f---ing leaky garbage in my garbage bin after the trash people came this week. What the heck is up with that? Now I have to reach in there and put the crap in a real garbage bag, and wash out my bin so it doesn't stink...maybe I'm overreacting, but can't people have a little more respect? If I don't know you, it's not ok for you to leave your mess for me to clean up!
Jun. 23rd, 2006 @ 02:32 am
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| » delay |
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I was intending to post some about my trip to Oregon tonight, but getting into the RDU airport at 4:00 AM instead of 1:00 AM isn't so conducive to that...you're just going to have to wait until later. ;-P
Jun. 22nd, 2006 @ 05:14 am
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| » soundtrack - laptop |
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Movie soundtrack for your life. The rules:
1. Put your music player of choice on shuffle
2. Scene one = first song played, scene two = second, etc.
3. No cheating/skipping
4. Pass it on
Unfortunately, it would be near impossible for me to get all of my music onto one computer to do this thing, considering my ~100 regular cds and numerous mp3 cds, and all the music I haven’t burned yet. And all my computers have different music. For example, if I did this on my backup computer, I’d get a bunch of Evanescence and Kill Bill soundtrack songs. My music CDs would give everything from Guns and Roses and Smashing Pumpkins, to Ace of Base and Yanni (yeah....), to Rammstein (German industrial/death metal). Anyways, I was curious about what my laptop would give me currently, and I was astounded at how suitable some of the songs are. I have to admit, I have my doubts about iTunes’ shuffler, it seems like the songs are heavily from a few bands only. I swear, I don’t know how all that girl-pop music got in there. Ok, maybe I do know. :-P
An interesting diversion. I guess it just illustrates how I'm rather nondiscriminatory towards music...I'm always looking for new music to listen to. :-)
Jun. 11th, 2006 @ 01:50 am
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| » hahaha |
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Well, I wasn't intending to post my results, but I just had to, it's too hilarious. Apparently I've got one of those, what do you call them? Ah, right, oral fetishes. ;-P
 | You scored as Tongue Piercing. You're a naughty person aren't you? Being with you is probably lots and lots of fun. You're probably totally pimpin' too. Good for you, good for you.
Tongue Piercing | | 90% | Labret Piercing | | 90% | Dirty Piercings | | 80% | Nose Piercing | | 80% | Earlobe Piercing | | 70% | Cartilage Piercing | | 60% | Belly Button Piercing | | 50% | Nipples | | 40% | Lip Piercing | | 20% | </td>
What Piercing Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com |
Jun. 6th, 2006 @ 01:45 am
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| » winston-salem |
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I'm here at Wake Forest University, for a crystallography meeting. Not going to post much about the actual conference, just a few oddities I've noticed.
They seem to be big on art here. They have these old cigarette vending machines....except they've been converted to vend art. For five dollars you can get a little package of art. From a vending machine. And apparently they're popular, I've seen more than one of these art vending machine.
Tonight's activity was a stroll in downtown Winston-Salem, on their Avenue of Art. A whole bunch of stores, selling art. I dunno about you, but I don't think I would spend $1000 on a digitally created picture of a bird with a man's head.
Of course, I'm going to remark on the food. Yesterday's dinner was the most veggie friendly buffet I've ever been to. Salad, corn, steamed vegetables, black bean patties...in fact, there was only one meat dish, a chicken thing. Contrast with tonight's dinner....hot dogs, chili, hamburgers...in fact, there was only one veggie main course dish, some veggie burgers. I thought the contrast between the two was amusing. I guess I'm easily amused by weird coincidences.
Jun. 2nd, 2006 @ 09:34 pm
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| » ugh |
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In the middle of last night, I had a migraine, my first in over a year, and it was pretty bad. My medication failed to prevent it, for whatever reason. You have no idea what it was like living in fear of the pain all the time, and what a relief it was for that fear to be gone. But for it all to come back now, of all times...give me a break already!
Ok, I'm done ranting. I'm actually pretty glad that I didn't have to worry about them during my prelims...
May. 30th, 2006 @ 11:44 am
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| » yay, Indian food! |
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Grr, livejournal lost version one of this post...
I volunteered today at the cooking school again. Today's class: Easy Indian Cooking.
My first experience with Indian food was at MIT. There was this little restaurant called Bombay Cafe that we used to order delivery from all the time (yes, I never actually went to the place...we didn't get out much ;-P). So my standard for Indian food is Bombay Cafe (which may or may not be authentic). Anyways, nowadays, I don't go out so much anymore (it's expensive), and the Indian restaurants around here just don't seem to be quite the same.
So when I saw there was going to be this class, I signed up right away. The chef turned out to be this short, older, nice Indian woman (a good sign for an Indian food class). She actually came to the kitchen prior to the class and helped us cook, so I got to interact and talk with her a bit. It smelled sooo good while we were cooking.
The menu included:
Saffron Rice: Very fluffy, and very tasty...I hope my rice cooker can duplicate it...
Tandoori Chicken: It wasn't red! but it was good. And I never liked food coloring much anyways.
Chicken Tikka Masala: One of my favorite dishes from Bombay Cafe. This one was a little spicy for me, but this recipe definitely has promise.
Kheer (rice pudding): A little soupy for my tastes...but fresh cardamom smells fantastic.
Saag Panir: For those that don't know, this is a spinach and cheese dish. Now, I don't like spinach so much, and I didn't like cheese until recently. This particular saag panir was fabulous. Homemade cheese. So good. Out of all the recipes, this is the one I'm probably going to try making first. And soon.
All in all, a fun, informative, and tasty class. :-)
May. 18th, 2006 @ 01:07 am
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| » thoughts |
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From a news post I was reading: "True love can be harder to find than a job." Although I don't think I know what true love is, the statement generally seems true to me right now. I wonder sometimes if I should have just moved out to California...but then common sense kicks in. Annoying, that common sense vs love thing.
Totally unrelated, I was horrified (you know, that OCD and all) to find that I was wearing mismatching socks today. I guess what really worried me was that we don't wear shoes in taijutsu class...I hope no one noticed. ;-P
May. 12th, 2006 @ 01:21 am
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| » the circle is now complete...(almost) |
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http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20060503.html
This is what I get for being impatient. I've already got special edition vhs and I've already got special edition dvds. Now I'm going to troop out there like a good fanboy and buy the new set...George Lucas, I hate you.
May. 4th, 2006 @ 03:30 pm
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| » ugh |
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I'm trapped in my own house, by my own cars...I can't move the car in front of the garage, cause it's alarm is set, and we only have one remote. And currently the remote is trapped in class at UNC.
I suppose its not a big deal, but I always feel bad going to work so late...sigh.
Apr. 27th, 2006 @ 11:37 am
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| » volunteering at ASS |
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I volunteered at A Southern Season (doesn't it have the greatest acronym?) cooking school today, the first time in months. It was a fish and seafood cooking class, to promote the chef's new book.
On the menu today:
clam chowder - great, I got to take some extra home.
sea bass with apples, currants, and a spinach salad - really good.
tuna seviche - the only thing I didn't like so much...for those of you who don't know what seviche is, it's a fish dish, but the fish is "cooked" in an acid, instead of with heat. So the fish was essentially raw. Kinda creepy.
baked, stuffed salmon - the dish that I made, the stuffing was cream cheese, marscapone cheese, spinach, and it was really good.
stir-fried shrimp with chili sauce - It was eerily similar to the dish my mom made for Easter. Too bad I don't like shrimp so much.
Of course, they had a bunch of other leftovers from other classes that us volunteers got to try. Unknown green soup that was really good, sweet potato which I got to take but haven't tried yet, beef tenderloin which was amazing, tiramisu which is always good. Mmm, food...
Apr. 23rd, 2006 @ 11:45 pm
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| » magnolia grill |
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I had dinner at Magnolia Grill today; it was my third time at the restaurant. No, I didn't have to pay for it, it was my dad's way of thanking (i.e. introducing himself to) the professor who gave my sister a job for this semester.
I guess their menu is printed out new everyday (for today, not so veggie friendly, unless you like pea cakes...sorry jessie). For appetizers we had a shrimp risotto, a grits souffle (better than it sounds), and an octopus spinach salad. For my entree, I had almond crusted flounder, with a shrimp/chorizo paella. Dessert was a strawberry rhubarb sorbet, with whipped cream, baked meringue, and fresh strawberries.
Anyways, it's been a few years since I've been there. I don't know what it is, whether my memory is deceiving me, or whether it's cause I'm so much more of a food snob now (sigh), but I wasn't that impressed by the food. I mean, it was all cooked well, but the tastes were nothing too special, certainly not for the price. Well, except for the dessert, it was really good. But even in that case, I could probably make a close approximation. And for a lot cheaper.
I suppose it might depend on when you go, though, today's menu was pretty fish heavy. I seem to remember a duck dish that was good, that wasn't on the menu today. Seems to me like it's a place that people have to go to at least once so you can say that you've been, but I still like my food better. ;-)
Apr. 13th, 2006 @ 01:04 am
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| » grrr |
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Because my neighborhood does not allow people to park in the street for an extended amount of time, and the fact that my sister is living with me for this semester, one of us has to park in the garage, and one has to park in the driveway. This causes us to have to exchange cars every once in a while, since our schedules are vastly different.
It's been fine up until today. I forgot to take my parking pass last night, so she has it now (and I can't get a hold of her). Naturally, today is the day I actually have really important things to do in lab...grrr.
Apr. 6th, 2006 @ 12:28 pm
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| » cooking conquests |
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recipes i've made recently:
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake - I really have to find a new source of cocoa powder; my chocolate goods keep turning out a really weird black color. Tasty, but disturbingly dark.
Hearty Beef Stew - 6 oz of tomato paste seemed a little excessive, but it turned out pretty good. And I cooked parsnips for the first time...not too bad. They taste like a potato-y carrot.
Chilled Lemon Souffle - Although I have concerns about eating raw egg whites, the souffle was pretty good. Kinda like eating lemon flavored foam. Admittedly, it's a nice change from the super-guilty desserts I've make all the time. :-P
Broccoli - I suck at buying/cooking vegetables, which leads me to never eat fresh vegetables (which in turn makes me guilty every time I see those food guidelines saying we need to eat like 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily). But I've finally found a good procedure for cooking broccoli.
Green Bean Succotash - See above note about fresh veggies. Although, somehow, I think drowning the green beans in heavy cream diminishes their health benefits a little. ;-)
Upcoming: Skillet Lasagna. I'm pretty excited about trying this recipe; lasagna in 20 minutes sounds good. Naturally, that means that it will take me 3 hours, and I'll splash tomatoes all over. ;-P
Mar. 28th, 2006 @ 11:40 pm
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