Lately, marriage and children has been on the mind a bit. Unsure about the trigger event.
Before I begin, here's an little peek into my mental life: I constantly mull over conversations I've had with people or articles I've read. And they pop into my head randomly. This is what I do when I'm bored. Hence conversations are an integral fuel source for my mind.
Anyway, So sitting in the car with Luis and thoughts about children came up. There are two factors that will affect my decision to have biological children:
1. The almost universal cultural expectation for women to have children.
2. The need to pass on my genes.
Between the two, I think the first presents a bigger barrier to a decision to not have kids. By default, if a couple has children, people will accept and be happy for them. Eventually, the parents themselves, even if reluctant at first, will come to accept and be thankful for the child. Social expectations help with that and the fact that humans are quite adept at adapting. On the other hand, if a couple/woman chooses to not have children, if seems like they owe most people an explanation as to why. So much judgment.
The latter is easier to overcome. Yes, I'm intelligent, but there are others. Who am I amongst Earth's almost 7 billion people to really say I'm unique enough to warrant passing on my genes? Honestly, I don't care enough about that. Doppelgangers.
This doesn't mean I don't want to have kids. I would like to adopt kids with intelligence within normal range. Not international because I've heard that it can cost about $30K. It feels dirty, like I'm buying a child. Probably domestic. There are plenty of kids here who needs help, why go abroad? Suffering is the same no matter where one goes.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Dog beach
This weekend saw a rise in temperature which made Saturday a mandatory beach day. Took Butters and met John, Lauren and Mona there. The dogs loved it. They chased each other around and round. And Butters learned to leap over water puddles.
So far, I've been to Fiesta Island and OB. Between the two, I love the latter so much more, even though parking can be such a bitch. I love the channel where water is calmer and clearer. In addition, during low tide, I never know what kind of wildlife I might find. Just today, Luis and I found quite a few schools of little fish (I wonder if they are baby fish. Wish we had a wildlife biologist with us to tell us what they are.), a crab, and three hermit crabs. The crab was 4-5 in wide. It had blue legs or whatever the appropriate name is for them and interestingly the back legs were covered by green algae. It waved its big claws at us above the water. Since it issued a challenge, I had to accept and baited it with my flip flops. I was hoping that it will clamp the sandal and I'll be able to lift it out of the water. Dinner perhaps? J/k. Only a little. The hermit crabs we found by following their trails underwater. It was like a little treasure hunt.
Anyway, each time, I'm incredibly thankful for Butters. Because of him, I go to the beach on average about once every two weeks. And I enjoy it. So wonderful and relaxing to be there seeing him happy and excited. He's always nice and tired afterwards as well.
Oh, and on the way to Luis' friends' home, we, as in Luis, Butters, and I, pulled off a family pack howling session in the car. It was awesome.
So far, I've been to Fiesta Island and OB. Between the two, I love the latter so much more, even though parking can be such a bitch. I love the channel where water is calmer and clearer. In addition, during low tide, I never know what kind of wildlife I might find. Just today, Luis and I found quite a few schools of little fish (I wonder if they are baby fish. Wish we had a wildlife biologist with us to tell us what they are.), a crab, and three hermit crabs. The crab was 4-5 in wide. It had blue legs or whatever the appropriate name is for them and interestingly the back legs were covered by green algae. It waved its big claws at us above the water. Since it issued a challenge, I had to accept and baited it with my flip flops. I was hoping that it will clamp the sandal and I'll be able to lift it out of the water. Dinner perhaps? J/k. Only a little. The hermit crabs we found by following their trails underwater. It was like a little treasure hunt.
Anyway, each time, I'm incredibly thankful for Butters. Because of him, I go to the beach on average about once every two weeks. And I enjoy it. So wonderful and relaxing to be there seeing him happy and excited. He's always nice and tired afterwards as well.
Oh, and on the way to Luis' friends' home, we, as in Luis, Butters, and I, pulled off a family pack howling session in the car. It was awesome.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wrangling a concession
Day off.
Was listening to NPR around midday to a show about commonly confused words. Here's something I learned from that:
Wrangle/wangle
Wrangle: The cowboys wrangled with the goats to herd them into corrals. (oh you mean they herd steers?)
Wangle: Wangling concessions/agreement out of someone
I always thought one wrangles concessions out of someone. It sounds like hard work, getting a concession. But no, to "wangle" means "to achieve through manipulative and deceitful methods."
It was odd for me because I've honestly never heard of "wangle." Maybe it's because my eyes might see "wangle" and my brain reads "wrangle." Or, even if it registered, I might've seen it as a typo. Now I'm going to be on the lookout for it.
Was listening to NPR around midday to a show about commonly confused words. Here's something I learned from that:
Wrangle/wangle
Wrangle: The cowboys wrangled with the goats to herd them into corrals. (oh you mean they herd steers?)
Wangle: Wangling concessions/agreement out of someone
I always thought one wrangles concessions out of someone. It sounds like hard work, getting a concession. But no, to "wangle" means "to achieve through manipulative and deceitful methods."
It was odd for me because I've honestly never heard of "wangle." Maybe it's because my eyes might see "wangle" and my brain reads "wrangle." Or, even if it registered, I might've seen it as a typo. Now I'm going to be on the lookout for it.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Getting lost
I think the gene for orienting oneself according to the cardinal directions reside on the Y chromosome. I certainly can't (read can't) figure it out unless it's glaringly obvious like the sun rising or setting on east-west axis. Then, I can find East or West. Tell me North or South, I'll have to think about it.
All that to excuse myself for being 20 minutes late for getting to the Chula Vista branch for my 1st day there. I even gave myself 15 extra minutes leaving home. I got off the freeway and turned left instead of right. For some reason, I left that important detail off the directions I wrote down. It wasn't until things started looking pretty rural that I called Luis and asked him to look at the map for me.
I still would've been on time, if I found parking and the branch with no problem. Parking, had to drive beyond all the spaces marked with a three hour limit. Fine. It wasn't that hard. Then when I came out of the structure, I had no idea where things were. I walked out to the streets and couldn't find any recognizable landmarks (which is how I figure out where I am.) So I started walking. As I continued, it dawned upon me that this whole block is a shopping plaza. In the end, when I finally found the entrance to the CU, I realized that I started at the opposite end of the block! Think of the block as a rectangle with sides 1 and 2, 1 being the length and 2, the width. I started at the middle of 2, walked along 1, and ended at the other 2. I'm not even going to go into details about how I had to walk up and down stairs trying to find the actual entrance to the CU from where I entered from a side door on 1.
The whole time, I knew I was pretty late. I didn't even both looking at my cell phone for time. Such bad luck. I was late to the interview and late to my supposedly "home" branch. However, the manager was super nice. She figured that I couldn't find the place and had me clock in at 10:30 anyway despite my arrival at 10:51.
Lesson of it all? I need to get a Thomas Guide.
And no, I will not get a GPS.
All that to excuse myself for being 20 minutes late for getting to the Chula Vista branch for my 1st day there. I even gave myself 15 extra minutes leaving home. I got off the freeway and turned left instead of right. For some reason, I left that important detail off the directions I wrote down. It wasn't until things started looking pretty rural that I called Luis and asked him to look at the map for me.
I still would've been on time, if I found parking and the branch with no problem. Parking, had to drive beyond all the spaces marked with a three hour limit. Fine. It wasn't that hard. Then when I came out of the structure, I had no idea where things were. I walked out to the streets and couldn't find any recognizable landmarks (which is how I figure out where I am.) So I started walking. As I continued, it dawned upon me that this whole block is a shopping plaza. In the end, when I finally found the entrance to the CU, I realized that I started at the opposite end of the block! Think of the block as a rectangle with sides 1 and 2, 1 being the length and 2, the width. I started at the middle of 2, walked along 1, and ended at the other 2. I'm not even going to go into details about how I had to walk up and down stairs trying to find the actual entrance to the CU from where I entered from a side door on 1.
The whole time, I knew I was pretty late. I didn't even both looking at my cell phone for time. Such bad luck. I was late to the interview and late to my supposedly "home" branch. However, the manager was super nice. She figured that I couldn't find the place and had me clock in at 10:30 anyway despite my arrival at 10:51.
Lesson of it all? I need to get a Thomas Guide.
And no, I will not get a GPS.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Worried, worry, worrying (sounds like some sort of burrowing animal)
Luis lost his job, for extremely trivial reasons. For once in his life, he got on someone who matters' bad side. The story has been told so many times that I will not retell it here and now.
He went in today after a five-day suspension to find out if he still has his job. When he didn't call at 1:10, I knew he was fired. Otherwise he would've gotten his badge and been on the floor and let me know that he's working.
The entire weekend was filled with uncertainty. What course of action do we take? What results do we want to see? When it finally happened, like most other things in life, it was rather anti-climatic.
He's filing for unemployment and will take the opportunity to work on his business. This, compared to other options seem to be the best. Who knows? Everything might work out well.
I wish I had more confidence in his ability to assess situations. I am an optimistic person, but can be harshly realistic when I need to be. I feel like he can't. He's extremely optimistic. When things don't happen according to plan, he doesn't know why nor has a backup. This is a huge worry for me. Yet, when I tried bringing it up, he said nothing, literally, leaving me not knowing if it registered with him at all. When I brought it up again, he spouted his plans for the next few days, but nothing to reassure me of the big picture. This doesn't help. I need evidence that he's thinking hard about it on how to make it work.
Maybe it's just me. I like having a safety net, which admittedly he will have in the form on unemployment. I play things safer than maybe what is necessary for a business to start and succeed or fail. The issue here is less about his plans than my needing reassurances that he's really thinking about it instead of going along with what he thinks everyone around him expects him to do.
Who knows if writing about this here will help or hurt?
He went in today after a five-day suspension to find out if he still has his job. When he didn't call at 1:10, I knew he was fired. Otherwise he would've gotten his badge and been on the floor and let me know that he's working.
The entire weekend was filled with uncertainty. What course of action do we take? What results do we want to see? When it finally happened, like most other things in life, it was rather anti-climatic.
He's filing for unemployment and will take the opportunity to work on his business. This, compared to other options seem to be the best. Who knows? Everything might work out well.
I wish I had more confidence in his ability to assess situations. I am an optimistic person, but can be harshly realistic when I need to be. I feel like he can't. He's extremely optimistic. When things don't happen according to plan, he doesn't know why nor has a backup. This is a huge worry for me. Yet, when I tried bringing it up, he said nothing, literally, leaving me not knowing if it registered with him at all. When I brought it up again, he spouted his plans for the next few days, but nothing to reassure me of the big picture. This doesn't help. I need evidence that he's thinking hard about it on how to make it work.
Maybe it's just me. I like having a safety net, which admittedly he will have in the form on unemployment. I play things safer than maybe what is necessary for a business to start and succeed or fail. The issue here is less about his plans than my needing reassurances that he's really thinking about it instead of going along with what he thinks everyone around him expects him to do.
Who knows if writing about this here will help or hurt?
Monday, September 20, 2010
1st day of in-branch training & Weekend
Thank You for all the colorful people who gives us our daily entertainment.
A man who threatened to shoot the delivery man who might deliver fraudulently purchased items paid COD. Another whom I scared with a story of people unconsciously swallowing spiders during sleep. He had to leave and come back when he regained his composure. He's very nice though.
I think I'm going to like it there. I have time to make small talk with customers. Referrals doesn't seem to be that hard at all. And secretly, I think I count faster because I count in Chinese. I am going to make an awesome teller there.
Weekend:
Was so excited for the weekend on Friday, and then I woke up on Saturday. My week-long crick in the neck has turned in full-blown debilitating pain in the neck, literally. I did some minor errands and found shifting hurts, turning my neck to look in both of my blindspots hurt. I laid down in bed, and any action that required support from my head hurts. It's only when a part of the body is not working do we realize just how important it is. This muscle apparently is involved in lifting arm, any part of 360 degree rotation of head, any time my torso/body deviates from the vertical, it helps to support the head.
Got some Icy Hot which helped to numb the pain a bit. While I relaxed, Luis and I watched The Butterfly Effect. Didn't like the story much because a few key elements didn't feel natural. However, I understand the lesson they are trying to convey. You can control your own actions but not others.
On Sunday, Luis and I went to Orange to visit the Torreses. Baby Gaby looks like her father. Kacie is so awesome a mother. I really admire her patience and devotion. Had a wonderful dinner with their family. It's so great that everyone gets together to eat dinner on Sundays.
A man who threatened to shoot the delivery man who might deliver fraudulently purchased items paid COD. Another whom I scared with a story of people unconsciously swallowing spiders during sleep. He had to leave and come back when he regained his composure. He's very nice though.
I think I'm going to like it there. I have time to make small talk with customers. Referrals doesn't seem to be that hard at all. And secretly, I think I count faster because I count in Chinese. I am going to make an awesome teller there.
Weekend:
Was so excited for the weekend on Friday, and then I woke up on Saturday. My week-long crick in the neck has turned in full-blown debilitating pain in the neck, literally. I did some minor errands and found shifting hurts, turning my neck to look in both of my blindspots hurt. I laid down in bed, and any action that required support from my head hurts. It's only when a part of the body is not working do we realize just how important it is. This muscle apparently is involved in lifting arm, any part of 360 degree rotation of head, any time my torso/body deviates from the vertical, it helps to support the head.
Got some Icy Hot which helped to numb the pain a bit. While I relaxed, Luis and I watched The Butterfly Effect. Didn't like the story much because a few key elements didn't feel natural. However, I understand the lesson they are trying to convey. You can control your own actions but not others.
On Sunday, Luis and I went to Orange to visit the Torreses. Baby Gaby looks like her father. Kacie is so awesome a mother. I really admire her patience and devotion. Had a wonderful dinner with their family. It's so great that everyone gets together to eat dinner on Sundays.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
New place
My hatred of moving escalates each time I move. How do we accumulate all this stuff in our lives? I never think it's all that much stuff, yet it always becomes truckload after truckload of just STUFF. Kitchen: fridge, pantry, utensils, dishes, pots and pans. Closets: stuff and clothes. Bedding. Books. Stuff on desks. How can I whittle STUFF down?
Anyway, the studio is finally starting to feel like home. Like it's mine. I remember the days after my brother and Grant left. With the apartment disfigured by the absence of Grant's stuff, and our things being packed, the quiet of just me, I felt homeless, alone. Home wasn't home. And the new place was not home. I worried that there won't be a "yet" after that last sentence.
Now our little family has settled in. Of course, there are still some persistent boxes that insists upon sitting there unpacked, but we've already entertained, meaning things are at least presentable.
And that makes me happy.
Anyway, the studio is finally starting to feel like home. Like it's mine. I remember the days after my brother and Grant left. With the apartment disfigured by the absence of Grant's stuff, and our things being packed, the quiet of just me, I felt homeless, alone. Home wasn't home. And the new place was not home. I worried that there won't be a "yet" after that last sentence.
Now our little family has settled in. Of course, there are still some persistent boxes that insists upon sitting there unpacked, but we've already entertained, meaning things are at least presentable.
And that makes me happy.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day at shelter
Had my orientation at the shelter the other week with a mentor. She introduced me and took me through most of the procedures. At the end of the day, we took two dogs out for a walk, chosen based on the number of days since their last walk. I picked two little white dogs that looked like Butters. I'll admit it, because of him, I'll always have a soft spot for dogs that look like him.
Both were very excited when we walked in, whining and barking in that little dog voice. The first one I walked was only interested in marking. Three feet, stretch leg up as high as it can go, mark. Walk two feet, mark. Walk, mark. When we sat down for a bit, he finally sat down next to me and calmed down.
One thing stuck in my mind after orientation was that sometimes these dogs really need quiet time more than anything else. The kennels are a high stress environment as the dogs don't pick their neighbors and people constantly walk through the rooms. They really don't have time to sleep, like most dogs do when owners aren't home.
It amazed me to see that in action. Even the second dog I walked did the exact same thing. I liked him from the start. As soon as he reached the end of the leash and felt it pull, he turned around, looked at me, and slowed down. The poor guy seems a bit wary of people and easily startled.
Next to the two poodle mixes was a pitbull whom I loved right away. While the terriers were creating an uproar in the ward, he did not bark at all. He simply sat wagging his tail happily, waiting. No barking, no jumping. Just unreserved happiness and hope (fine, the last part might be anthropomorphizing).
Being there made me very happy to be able to help them but also sadness. What were their stories? Will they find happy homes?
I've confessed in the past that I have an obsession with reading the pets section on CL. Today, after checking the shelter website to see whether Scout the wonderful pitbull is still there (he is), I just couldn't go through the pets section like I normally do, especially while with Butters sleeping with his back pressed up against me. Too many people giving away/rehoming/selling their pets. All these innocent animals who've already bonded with their humans only to be ripped away from them (even if they are going to a good home, they'll still feel the separation) without warning. Most of the time, it's not even their fault. Makes me sad and frustrated at the our irresponsibility.
Both were very excited when we walked in, whining and barking in that little dog voice. The first one I walked was only interested in marking. Three feet, stretch leg up as high as it can go, mark. Walk two feet, mark. Walk, mark. When we sat down for a bit, he finally sat down next to me and calmed down.
One thing stuck in my mind after orientation was that sometimes these dogs really need quiet time more than anything else. The kennels are a high stress environment as the dogs don't pick their neighbors and people constantly walk through the rooms. They really don't have time to sleep, like most dogs do when owners aren't home.
It amazed me to see that in action. Even the second dog I walked did the exact same thing. I liked him from the start. As soon as he reached the end of the leash and felt it pull, he turned around, looked at me, and slowed down. The poor guy seems a bit wary of people and easily startled.
Next to the two poodle mixes was a pitbull whom I loved right away. While the terriers were creating an uproar in the ward, he did not bark at all. He simply sat wagging his tail happily, waiting. No barking, no jumping. Just unreserved happiness and hope (fine, the last part might be anthropomorphizing).
Being there made me very happy to be able to help them but also sadness. What were their stories? Will they find happy homes?
I've confessed in the past that I have an obsession with reading the pets section on CL. Today, after checking the shelter website to see whether Scout the wonderful pitbull is still there (he is), I just couldn't go through the pets section like I normally do, especially while with Butters sleeping with his back pressed up against me. Too many people giving away/rehoming/selling their pets. All these innocent animals who've already bonded with their humans only to be ripped away from them (even if they are going to a good home, they'll still feel the separation) without warning. Most of the time, it's not even their fault. Makes me sad and frustrated at the our irresponsibility.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Stress
August has been a fairly stressful month, dominated for the most part by our search for a new place to live. Who would have thought under $1000 for one bedroom, close to freeways, around Mira Mesa with a 10 mile radius, dog-friendly seems to be impossible requirements to fulfill at one time.
I felt my brain was constantly trying to weigh all the factors and trying to find the best possible combination. Unfortunately, though I knew we weren't desperate, none of our fall back options were pretty. Live separately, give up the dog, live either up by San Marcos/Escondido, or down near Downtown, Hillcrest, Golden Hills (we didn't even give a thought to El Cajon and Chula Vista).
We finally decided to stay within our complex in a studio. Last time we had a one bedroom, we remarked on more than one occasion that the apt was rather lacking in furniture, though I refuse to buy more because I detest moving. So a studio hopefully will fulfill our needs better.
I realized after we came to a decision that a stressed out brain trying to make a decision while factoring in the weight of different criteria and options is very much like a computer stuck in a loop, working on a problem. Almost like not having enough RAM. I really had no mental room to spare for other considerations in life. I found myself slightly more paranoid, unable to care about others' needs, and less able to plan for the less essentials. Interesting experience. I like that now my brain is free to wander to think about other things. Like what others' mental life is like? I would like to have the ability to invisibly camp out in someone else's brain. That would be fun. =)
I felt my brain was constantly trying to weigh all the factors and trying to find the best possible combination. Unfortunately, though I knew we weren't desperate, none of our fall back options were pretty. Live separately, give up the dog, live either up by San Marcos/Escondido, or down near Downtown, Hillcrest, Golden Hills (we didn't even give a thought to El Cajon and Chula Vista).
We finally decided to stay within our complex in a studio. Last time we had a one bedroom, we remarked on more than one occasion that the apt was rather lacking in furniture, though I refuse to buy more because I detest moving. So a studio hopefully will fulfill our needs better.
I realized after we came to a decision that a stressed out brain trying to make a decision while factoring in the weight of different criteria and options is very much like a computer stuck in a loop, working on a problem. Almost like not having enough RAM. I really had no mental room to spare for other considerations in life. I found myself slightly more paranoid, unable to care about others' needs, and less able to plan for the less essentials. Interesting experience. I like that now my brain is free to wander to think about other things. Like what others' mental life is like? I would like to have the ability to invisibly camp out in someone else's brain. That would be fun. =)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Omnivore's Dilemma
In an effort to entertain my brother, we went to B&N. There's something there for everyone.
I wanted to continue reading a book about birth that I picked up last time. The Birth Book did a very good job describing the various interventions used in modern hospitals. In addition to discussing how they work, it also attempted to ascertain their merits based on scientific studies. I got as far as pitocin and electronic fetal monitoring (surprisingly, unnecessary) before forced to leave the store. Unfortunately, when I attempted to find the book again, I couldn't. It was on hold for someone. I know I am selectively reading books that agree with my birth philosophy without giving the same consideration for the other side. However, I am loathe to try and find the opposing side. I will justify this with the excuse that I am trying to find out what average natural births are like.
Disappointed, I wandered around trying to find a book that piqued and held my interest. I chanced upon the much talked about Michael Pollan book The Omnivore's Dilemma (btw, who coined the term "foodie"? What does it even mean?). Perfect. I randomly flipped through some chapters and stopped at his journey in following a typical cow from birth to grill. After reading about the problems steers have with eating corn along with all its associated problems (the one I remember, acidosis, which incubated the much feared e. coli), I am horrified that I eat regular beef at all. Why am I not eating grass-fed beef? What is our diet supposed to be? Are we really supposed to consume so much meat? Obviously, because of corn subsidy and because we don't figure environmental costs in to our food prices, the true price of beef that we currently eat should be much higher. But if not this, then what? I know from experience that with the eating culture that I am familiar, if I don't eat protein during lunch, I will be hungry three hours later, which is a little ridiculous to me.
As I find myself trying more and more to come up with healthy and filling meals, it's quite a mental exercise to come up with variety, figure out cost of food and calculate preparation time. Healthy meals, at least for me, takes a lot of time and effort (which is why I really appreciate it when someone else cleans up afterwards). How do other people eat? How many people are succeeding at this balancing game?
Also, one more book I thought would be interesting to read, Genome, The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. The author was a science journalist. Hence the book seems to be fairly accessible to anyone without a biology degree. Yet, it seems to give a good sense of where genetics stand as the last 5-10 years. It doesn't claim to be comprehensive, that would be too much information. I thought the fun thing about the book was the his structure: 23 chromosomes, 1 gene selected from each chromosome, so 23 genes in 23 chapters.
I wanted to continue reading a book about birth that I picked up last time. The Birth Book did a very good job describing the various interventions used in modern hospitals. In addition to discussing how they work, it also attempted to ascertain their merits based on scientific studies. I got as far as pitocin and electronic fetal monitoring (surprisingly, unnecessary) before forced to leave the store. Unfortunately, when I attempted to find the book again, I couldn't. It was on hold for someone. I know I am selectively reading books that agree with my birth philosophy without giving the same consideration for the other side. However, I am loathe to try and find the opposing side. I will justify this with the excuse that I am trying to find out what average natural births are like.
Disappointed, I wandered around trying to find a book that piqued and held my interest. I chanced upon the much talked about Michael Pollan book The Omnivore's Dilemma (btw, who coined the term "foodie"? What does it even mean?). Perfect. I randomly flipped through some chapters and stopped at his journey in following a typical cow from birth to grill. After reading about the problems steers have with eating corn along with all its associated problems (the one I remember, acidosis, which incubated the much feared e. coli), I am horrified that I eat regular beef at all. Why am I not eating grass-fed beef? What is our diet supposed to be? Are we really supposed to consume so much meat? Obviously, because of corn subsidy and because we don't figure environmental costs in to our food prices, the true price of beef that we currently eat should be much higher. But if not this, then what? I know from experience that with the eating culture that I am familiar, if I don't eat protein during lunch, I will be hungry three hours later, which is a little ridiculous to me.
As I find myself trying more and more to come up with healthy and filling meals, it's quite a mental exercise to come up with variety, figure out cost of food and calculate preparation time. Healthy meals, at least for me, takes a lot of time and effort (which is why I really appreciate it when someone else cleans up afterwards). How do other people eat? How many people are succeeding at this balancing game?
Also, one more book I thought would be interesting to read, Genome, The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. The author was a science journalist. Hence the book seems to be fairly accessible to anyone without a biology degree. Yet, it seems to give a good sense of where genetics stand as the last 5-10 years. It doesn't claim to be comprehensive, that would be too much information. I thought the fun thing about the book was the his structure: 23 chromosomes, 1 gene selected from each chromosome, so 23 genes in 23 chapters.
Friday, August 20, 2010
9/11 mosque controversy
I had to drive John home to register for his Junior year classes. In the evening, we went out to dinner with the two kids rooming with the parents.
On the way over, I thought about the current controversy surrounding a plan to build a mosque close the Ground Zero. I brought that up with my brother (he being surprisingly well versed in current events and politics). In a good mood, I was determined to keep up the conversation at the dinner table so as to avoid awkward moments.
Anyway, though I don't think the plan is very tactful, I fully support their right to do so. If it's legal, then why should we prevent them from doing so? I think a benchmark test of the much touted Americans freedoms and rights is allowing people to do things despite of the repugnance that action elicits from within us.
My mom said that they absolutely should not be allowed to do so because it is insulting and not in good taste. I tried explaining to her that things considered in good taste changes with every generation. Miscegenation. Same-sex marriage. That's not a good standard to prevent people from doing something they want. In addition, just as the sins of the father may not be visited upon the son, we cannot hold everyone of one religion responsible for what their fringe group did.
"...then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up."
-Martin Niemöller
On the way over, I thought about the current controversy surrounding a plan to build a mosque close the Ground Zero. I brought that up with my brother (he being surprisingly well versed in current events and politics). In a good mood, I was determined to keep up the conversation at the dinner table so as to avoid awkward moments.
Anyway, though I don't think the plan is very tactful, I fully support their right to do so. If it's legal, then why should we prevent them from doing so? I think a benchmark test of the much touted Americans freedoms and rights is allowing people to do things despite of the repugnance that action elicits from within us.
My mom said that they absolutely should not be allowed to do so because it is insulting and not in good taste. I tried explaining to her that things considered in good taste changes with every generation. Miscegenation. Same-sex marriage. That's not a good standard to prevent people from doing something they want. In addition, just as the sins of the father may not be visited upon the son, we cannot hold everyone of one religion responsible for what their fringe group did.
"...then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up."
-Martin Niemöller
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Licensing and microchipping for Butters
I finally went to the county's one stop clinic and licensed and microchipped Butters.
During most of my ownership of Butters (last year), I thought the county forcing people to license their pets is tantamount to extortion. I didn't see the purpose of it at all. I don't care to help offset their fees. Afterall, most of their funding already comes from other sources, why should I have to pay some more? The only argument that made sense to me is if Butters somehow got lost (which I can't really imagine), the shelters might be of help.
With that, I periodically get the perverse urge to browse through the pet section of CL. I know I can't adopt or foster any animal. Yet, I like reading about their stories and looking at their pictures. I think it helps me appreciate Butters and want to make his little life the best I can. The stories are a constant reminder to never be one of those people who gives up their pet due to moving, work, school, or other excuses. Humans are infinitely adaptable. I'm sure we can find ways to deal with the problem if we tried hard enough. I get the feeling that mostly people just don't see the dogs as a deserving member of the family. I can't imagine giving up a child just because it takes up too much time, so I don't see why we should give up pets because they've become a burden. If anything, any behavior problems are the human's fault with lack of training and/or exercise. However, with that said, I do want to leave people the benefit of the doubt as owners pass away or are sick and can longer fulfill their obligations towards their pets.
For the past few days, I've been glued to rescue, shelter and CL pet sites. I read one post on CL that has since been deleted (I can't find it again) from someone claiming to work as a manager at a shelter giving a behind the scenes look at what happens when people surrender their pet. S/he described the sadness of dogs left in kennels, some succumbing to illnesses. Comparatively speaking, very few are adopted, despite being purebred or not. S/he went through the process of euthanizing an animal and its disposal after. I don't know how much of this is true. However, it did make me feel that if nothing else, $14/year for licensing that goes towards helping to keep shelter animals alive even just a little bit longer is worth it.
So I took Butters to the Gaines St shelter (had the hardest darn time finding it because it was a tiny street right before the police department that looked like a drive way). The people were very nice, didn't give me any crap at all about why I'm licensing him now, almost four months after his rabies shot. They took Butters away for microchipping, so I don't know if he yelped. When he came out a few minutes later, he looked none the worse for the experience with just a little bit of blood at the injection site. The whole process was fairly quick despite quite a few other dogs there as well.
Since I was there, I filled out an application to volunteer with them, walking dogs, or whatever else they need. My main goal is to make the lives of the dogs/cats there better while they are there. With that, I have an orientation on August 25th. =D I'm quite excited.
During most of my ownership of Butters (last year), I thought the county forcing people to license their pets is tantamount to extortion. I didn't see the purpose of it at all. I don't care to help offset their fees. Afterall, most of their funding already comes from other sources, why should I have to pay some more? The only argument that made sense to me is if Butters somehow got lost (which I can't really imagine), the shelters might be of help.
With that, I periodically get the perverse urge to browse through the pet section of CL. I know I can't adopt or foster any animal. Yet, I like reading about their stories and looking at their pictures. I think it helps me appreciate Butters and want to make his little life the best I can. The stories are a constant reminder to never be one of those people who gives up their pet due to moving, work, school, or other excuses. Humans are infinitely adaptable. I'm sure we can find ways to deal with the problem if we tried hard enough. I get the feeling that mostly people just don't see the dogs as a deserving member of the family. I can't imagine giving up a child just because it takes up too much time, so I don't see why we should give up pets because they've become a burden. If anything, any behavior problems are the human's fault with lack of training and/or exercise. However, with that said, I do want to leave people the benefit of the doubt as owners pass away or are sick and can longer fulfill their obligations towards their pets.
For the past few days, I've been glued to rescue, shelter and CL pet sites. I read one post on CL that has since been deleted (I can't find it again) from someone claiming to work as a manager at a shelter giving a behind the scenes look at what happens when people surrender their pet. S/he described the sadness of dogs left in kennels, some succumbing to illnesses. Comparatively speaking, very few are adopted, despite being purebred or not. S/he went through the process of euthanizing an animal and its disposal after. I don't know how much of this is true. However, it did make me feel that if nothing else, $14/year for licensing that goes towards helping to keep shelter animals alive even just a little bit longer is worth it.
So I took Butters to the Gaines St shelter (had the hardest darn time finding it because it was a tiny street right before the police department that looked like a drive way). The people were very nice, didn't give me any crap at all about why I'm licensing him now, almost four months after his rabies shot. They took Butters away for microchipping, so I don't know if he yelped. When he came out a few minutes later, he looked none the worse for the experience with just a little bit of blood at the injection site. The whole process was fairly quick despite quite a few other dogs there as well.
Since I was there, I filled out an application to volunteer with them, walking dogs, or whatever else they need. My main goal is to make the lives of the dogs/cats there better while they are there. With that, I have an orientation on August 25th. =D I'm quite excited.
Vitamins
I don't know which nerves are crossed in my brain (a Chinese saying that I've translated because I love that it's so great at describing random impulses that we get on occasions), but I suddenly remembered my friend's advice when she was in med school telling me that women stop absorbing calcium at age 35, so we better start taking supplements because it's harder to build bone density when we really need to.
Went to Henry's and bought myself a bottle of Sun Harvest Calcium Citrate with Vit D3.
On the way to the calcium aisle, I browsed through the multi-vitamins, like one-a-day type of thing, just to explore my options. If I can take one with calcium and iron, then why not?
Here's the first thing about multi-vitamins that bothers me: why do I need 2000+% recommended daily value of thiamin? Why do I need more than 100% of any one vitamin? At its most benign, as Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory says, that makes for some expensive (and smelly) pee. At its worst, vitamin toxicity. So no thank you.
Same thing with the calcium aisle. I was surprised to find calcium supplements also sold together as cal-mag-zinc. I feel like they are selling fertilizer and that I'll be ingesting fertilizer (yummy steer manure anyone?). You know, the 10-20-10 or some other ratio of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. Anyway, eventually I settled on one that had 63% daily value of Ca and 100% daily value of vitamin D3. Even though the instructions told me to take 2 tablets once or twice a day, I'm going to ignore that and take one a day with my dinner. I feel like that's safe enough.
Which leads me to the second thing about vitamins that bothers me: I opened the bottle and swallowed a pill, even with water, that was a tad difficult. Really, were it just a bit bigger, it might as well be a suppository. So what is up with the size of the pills? I might be able to understand multi-vitamins needing to be bigger because of the crap that they need to put in them, but Ca and Vit D3? There are fillers. How about less of that?
One cool thing though that I do like about my shiny new jar of suppositories...I mean pills is that it came in a brown glass jar. How cool is that?
Went to Henry's and bought myself a bottle of Sun Harvest Calcium Citrate with Vit D3.
On the way to the calcium aisle, I browsed through the multi-vitamins, like one-a-day type of thing, just to explore my options. If I can take one with calcium and iron, then why not?
Here's the first thing about multi-vitamins that bothers me: why do I need 2000+% recommended daily value of thiamin? Why do I need more than 100% of any one vitamin? At its most benign, as Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory says, that makes for some expensive (and smelly) pee. At its worst, vitamin toxicity. So no thank you.
Same thing with the calcium aisle. I was surprised to find calcium supplements also sold together as cal-mag-zinc. I feel like they are selling fertilizer and that I'll be ingesting fertilizer (yummy steer manure anyone?). You know, the 10-20-10 or some other ratio of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. Anyway, eventually I settled on one that had 63% daily value of Ca and 100% daily value of vitamin D3. Even though the instructions told me to take 2 tablets once or twice a day, I'm going to ignore that and take one a day with my dinner. I feel like that's safe enough.
Which leads me to the second thing about vitamins that bothers me: I opened the bottle and swallowed a pill, even with water, that was a tad difficult. Really, were it just a bit bigger, it might as well be a suppository. So what is up with the size of the pills? I might be able to understand multi-vitamins needing to be bigger because of the crap that they need to put in them, but Ca and Vit D3? There are fillers. How about less of that?
One cool thing though that I do like about my shiny new jar of suppositories...I mean pills is that it came in a brown glass jar. How cool is that?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sexism
I have been reading this incredibly long thread for the past few days on one of my favorite sites, MetaFilter (side link) about the prevalence of sexism in today's society. The blog it links to features real examples of sexism in women's lives. This led to a whole discussion in MF about whether the stories are real and also people sharing their own stories about how frustrating it is when treated differently for having a second X chromosome.
One topic discussed was being talked down to by doctors.
In college, I worked at Summit, one of the on-campus dining halls. After about a year or so of working there, I developed a pain on the bones in my hands. I went to see a doctor at Kaiser about it because my family has always liked them. Not really wanting to base a decision without knowing anything about the doctor, I was ok with the nurses assigning whomever was free to see me. Anyway, the doctor (male), did his exam, looking over my hand this way and that, asking me to move it in different ways. He then made his diagnosis which was a pretty long word. I couldn't catch any part of that word, so I asked him to repeat it. He again, said it at the same speed.Then looked at me. I again, had no idea what he said. He went on to tell me how to treat it and if it gets worse, that he'll have to give me an injection of corticosteroids to help with the pain.
To this day, I have no idea what I have/had (it only flares up occasionally when I've been repeatedly picking up/carrying heavy objects). And I regret not standing up for my needs by asking him to write it on a piece of paper or something. I know I'm not the fastest in comprehending auditory information, but I shouldn't have to feel bad about it.
I am not sharing this as an example of sexism because I don't know if it's just his way of interacting with female patients or if he does it to everyone. And most of the time, I don't really care to see the problem because it makes me depressed when I do. I'd rather just deal with these things on each individual basis and hopefully, I'll have enough self-confidence to know and help myself when something is glaringly not ok with me. Plus, I think a lot of times women use these attitudes from men to their advantage in getting what they want. I've certainly done it on numerous occasions.
One topic discussed was being talked down to by doctors.
In college, I worked at Summit, one of the on-campus dining halls. After about a year or so of working there, I developed a pain on the bones in my hands. I went to see a doctor at Kaiser about it because my family has always liked them. Not really wanting to base a decision without knowing anything about the doctor, I was ok with the nurses assigning whomever was free to see me. Anyway, the doctor (male), did his exam, looking over my hand this way and that, asking me to move it in different ways. He then made his diagnosis which was a pretty long word. I couldn't catch any part of that word, so I asked him to repeat it. He again, said it at the same speed.Then looked at me. I again, had no idea what he said. He went on to tell me how to treat it and if it gets worse, that he'll have to give me an injection of corticosteroids to help with the pain.
To this day, I have no idea what I have/had (it only flares up occasionally when I've been repeatedly picking up/carrying heavy objects). And I regret not standing up for my needs by asking him to write it on a piece of paper or something. I know I'm not the fastest in comprehending auditory information, but I shouldn't have to feel bad about it.
I am not sharing this as an example of sexism because I don't know if it's just his way of interacting with female patients or if he does it to everyone. And most of the time, I don't really care to see the problem because it makes me depressed when I do. I'd rather just deal with these things on each individual basis and hopefully, I'll have enough self-confidence to know and help myself when something is glaringly not ok with me. Plus, I think a lot of times women use these attitudes from men to their advantage in getting what they want. I've certainly done it on numerous occasions.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Breaking bread in La Jolla
Seems like the heat wave is finally on its way out.
Luis and I came home rather late because of Kathryn's birthday party last night. We woke up late to find a message from Butters' "grandma" (in quotes because I am not really comfortable with the dog park convention of calling owners moms and dads. Used here however because it helps more to convey her relationship as the owner of the bitch who gave birth to Butters.) saying that she won't be home, much to our relief. We both needed more sleep.
In the afternoon, we had a lunch/dinner date with Amanda and Syrus at his parents' place in La Jolla. She warned me that Butters might get lost in the yard since it's pretty big. I dismissed it because 1. I couldn't visualize in my mind just how big it is and 2. had no idea it was on a hillside with copious vegetation. I thought a little white dog, if I can find him in the dusk when all other colored dogs have disappeared into the night, then I can find him amongst the greenery.
The house is located on Mt. Soledad. In addition to a gorgeous view (why didn't I bring my camera again?) of the cove, the ocean, pier, and beaches, it had a sloped yard that could've been any child's dream with secret paths, trees, and secret places to play and run in. If a 70 lb black dog can disappear, I'm not even going to keep track of where Butters might go. I trust that he loves us enough to come when we call him.
The other thing she wasn't kidding about was the combination of the meal being lunch/dinner. The dining room, adjacent to the kitchen, presented the entire view the property has to offer. Throughout the whole dinner, the cool ocean breeze never let up through the balcony doors. I felt like I was vacationing in a private beach house, escaping the summer heat of Mira Mesa. When they invited us to sit down, I noticed the table was "informally" laid out with a plate, two glass bowls, two glasses, a knife, two spoons, and a fork. Yeah, don't ask me about the names about any of them. I just remember (was it in Titanic? Or some kind of movie.) to go from outside and work our way in. Plus, the table was so big and I was far away enough from Syrus' parents that I don't think they can see what utensil I was using. Not that they would care, I think.
Anyway, lunch/dinner. The table was laden with food before the main course even arrived. Five different cheeses. Bread, crackers. Many different vegetables. My stoplight salsa. Enough roughage to fill everyone up even before the main course. Syrus bbq'ed different sausages, asparagus, portobello mushrrooms, salmon burgers and corn. Amanda made potatoes with corn flakes, really flavorful.
The whole thing lasted from 2 to 6pm. We were eating the whole time and I loved it. Reminded me of dinner affairs in China. I wish we could have kept going.
At first, I was nervous being in Syrus' parents house, but they were such nice people. In the end, we were comfortable enough where there was even a bit of teasing.
Luis and I came home rather late because of Kathryn's birthday party last night. We woke up late to find a message from Butters' "grandma" (in quotes because I am not really comfortable with the dog park convention of calling owners moms and dads. Used here however because it helps more to convey her relationship as the owner of the bitch who gave birth to Butters.) saying that she won't be home, much to our relief. We both needed more sleep.
In the afternoon, we had a lunch/dinner date with Amanda and Syrus at his parents' place in La Jolla. She warned me that Butters might get lost in the yard since it's pretty big. I dismissed it because 1. I couldn't visualize in my mind just how big it is and 2. had no idea it was on a hillside with copious vegetation. I thought a little white dog, if I can find him in the dusk when all other colored dogs have disappeared into the night, then I can find him amongst the greenery.
The house is located on Mt. Soledad. In addition to a gorgeous view (why didn't I bring my camera again?) of the cove, the ocean, pier, and beaches, it had a sloped yard that could've been any child's dream with secret paths, trees, and secret places to play and run in. If a 70 lb black dog can disappear, I'm not even going to keep track of where Butters might go. I trust that he loves us enough to come when we call him.
The other thing she wasn't kidding about was the combination of the meal being lunch/dinner. The dining room, adjacent to the kitchen, presented the entire view the property has to offer. Throughout the whole dinner, the cool ocean breeze never let up through the balcony doors. I felt like I was vacationing in a private beach house, escaping the summer heat of Mira Mesa. When they invited us to sit down, I noticed the table was "informally" laid out with a plate, two glass bowls, two glasses, a knife, two spoons, and a fork. Yeah, don't ask me about the names about any of them. I just remember (was it in Titanic? Or some kind of movie.) to go from outside and work our way in. Plus, the table was so big and I was far away enough from Syrus' parents that I don't think they can see what utensil I was using. Not that they would care, I think.
Anyway, lunch/dinner. The table was laden with food before the main course even arrived. Five different cheeses. Bread, crackers. Many different vegetables. My stoplight salsa. Enough roughage to fill everyone up even before the main course. Syrus bbq'ed different sausages, asparagus, portobello mushrrooms, salmon burgers and corn. Amanda made potatoes with corn flakes, really flavorful.
The whole thing lasted from 2 to 6pm. We were eating the whole time and I loved it. Reminded me of dinner affairs in China. I wish we could have kept going.
At first, I was nervous being in Syrus' parents house, but they were such nice people. In the end, we were comfortable enough where there was even a bit of teasing.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Janet's visit
Spent Thursday with my Precious Heart.
First order of business: dog beach with her, Butters and Mona. Seeing her in bathing suit, I'll have to ask Grant again what he was talking about with regards to her weight. I thought she looked great. She just have the body type where the lower body is rounder than other parts. Hourglass?
We didn't have enough time to drop off Mona and so took her with us to meet up with her friend for Thai food. Her friend is Thai and gave her stamp of approval to this place, Sab-E-Lee, that's almost literally a hole in the wall, that's how small it is. We had sticky rice with papaya salad, raw beef, fried beef jerky, and a ground pork dish. We also ate with our hands, which is awesome, because I love eating with my hands. I love the licking finger part. Precious juices that just won't adhere to metal utensils. Anyway, raw beef. It was seasoned wonderfully and I loved the precious first few bites when I didn't think about it as raw beef. Then my mind kept circling back to the fact that it's raw beef and the texture came through and I couldn't eat it anymore.
Afterwards we went beer tasting at Alesmith. Janet's friend works there as assistant manager, so we got a very educational tour of the place and barely managed to taste all the beers they listed. We were so buzzed that we had to take only sips of the last three. I am not a fan of beer, however, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the beers as well. I'm surprised that beers can be so different. I see more beer tasting in the future.
Overall, I had an awesome time with Janet and found some more great places to keep coming back to.
First order of business: dog beach with her, Butters and Mona. Seeing her in bathing suit, I'll have to ask Grant again what he was talking about with regards to her weight. I thought she looked great. She just have the body type where the lower body is rounder than other parts. Hourglass?
We didn't have enough time to drop off Mona and so took her with us to meet up with her friend for Thai food. Her friend is Thai and gave her stamp of approval to this place, Sab-E-Lee, that's almost literally a hole in the wall, that's how small it is. We had sticky rice with papaya salad, raw beef, fried beef jerky, and a ground pork dish. We also ate with our hands, which is awesome, because I love eating with my hands. I love the licking finger part. Precious juices that just won't adhere to metal utensils. Anyway, raw beef. It was seasoned wonderfully and I loved the precious first few bites when I didn't think about it as raw beef. Then my mind kept circling back to the fact that it's raw beef and the texture came through and I couldn't eat it anymore.
Afterwards we went beer tasting at Alesmith. Janet's friend works there as assistant manager, so we got a very educational tour of the place and barely managed to taste all the beers they listed. We were so buzzed that we had to take only sips of the last three. I am not a fan of beer, however, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the beers as well. I'm surprised that beers can be so different. I see more beer tasting in the future.
Overall, I had an awesome time with Janet and found some more great places to keep coming back to.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Good deed for today
Took Butters to the dog park in the evening. He spent the entire time trying to hump a female dog. While he was doing that, I noticed a family come in their their tiny little maltese puppy. A frisky husky puppy was picking on it, the maltese got scared and the owner picked him up. I observed them some more and they really seemed like they didn't know what they were doing. So the next time she picked him up, I walked up to her and told her she's basically rewarding his fearful mindset. I told her to leave him on the ground and watch his tail. If his tail is in between his legs, then help him by blocking the bigger dogs but don't pick him up. Otherwise let him figure out how to interact with other dogs. By the time they left, the little one had his tail up and exploring and trying to sniff out other dogs, but came running back and hide between human legs if anything scared him. Yay! One less fearful dog for the future!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Book club: World War Z
Discussed the book today over freshly made deli sandwiches (Luis) and creamy chicken and wild rice soup (me!).
Seems like most everyone who read it enjoyed it.
Before anything else, I don't really understand the popularity of zombies and vampires in today's culture. Ok well, maybe I can see the romanticism behind vampires ala Twilight which I don't think is so different from Anne Rice's vampires. But this thing with zombies baffle me.
As for the book, it definitely made me think about survival in the event of an apocalypse. We agreed it's probably best if we stay in San Diego since knowledge about our surroundings is important. Some sort of transportation that doesn't require fuel would be good too. Emergency food to get through the immediate crisis. If it lasts longer, then we'll definitely look at a more self-sustaining living style. I know from my mom's place that it takes significantly less than an acre to grow enough vegetables for seven people during summer. I don't know about winter though because vegetables tend to grow slower then and fewer things grown during that time. In southern California, finding water for the plants will be a problem.
I remember reading an article about someone's personal experience living in siege like conditions. As I recall, the author said that things s/he missed the most during that time was oil, salt, and others.
That got me thinking about how to prepare. Making my own vegetable oil. A bit of luxury: homemade olive oil. Store tons of salt, pepper. Seeds. Chickens. When I have my own place with a yard, I'm going to make it as self-sustaining as possible.
Seems like most everyone who read it enjoyed it.
Before anything else, I don't really understand the popularity of zombies and vampires in today's culture. Ok well, maybe I can see the romanticism behind vampires ala Twilight which I don't think is so different from Anne Rice's vampires. But this thing with zombies baffle me.
As for the book, it definitely made me think about survival in the event of an apocalypse. We agreed it's probably best if we stay in San Diego since knowledge about our surroundings is important. Some sort of transportation that doesn't require fuel would be good too. Emergency food to get through the immediate crisis. If it lasts longer, then we'll definitely look at a more self-sustaining living style. I know from my mom's place that it takes significantly less than an acre to grow enough vegetables for seven people during summer. I don't know about winter though because vegetables tend to grow slower then and fewer things grown during that time. In southern California, finding water for the plants will be a problem.
I remember reading an article about someone's personal experience living in siege like conditions. As I recall, the author said that things s/he missed the most during that time was oil, salt, and others.
That got me thinking about how to prepare. Making my own vegetable oil. A bit of luxury: homemade olive oil. Store tons of salt, pepper. Seeds. Chickens. When I have my own place with a yard, I'm going to make it as self-sustaining as possible.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tantrum
I threw a few tantrums today. Not proud of it. But it speaks to just how frustrating not being able to do a simple thing is.
I worked out my arms last Wednesday with a trainer. I thought it was getting better yesterday. However, today I woke up, any my triceps are in a special kind of pain. I touch it gently and pain flares up. Luis finally convinced me to take some Advil, which eventually helped a few hours down the line. However, meanwhile, I can't touch the top of my head, much less reach around to the back of the neck...which means I can't tie a pony tail. Unfortunately, today was the day I was supposed to wash my hair because it's rather noticeably greasy and I knew by afternoon it'll be unbearably greasy.
Thus I asked Luis to tie the ponytail for me.
I now harbor a special sort of dislike for any guys preferring girls keeping their hair long without the accompanying appreciation of how much work goes into managing that long hair.
1. How to gather long hair together in a ponytail
2. Knowing the need to smooth/brush the hair so I don't look like a crazy person off my meds when I step outside the apt.
3. Brushing the hair. How?
4. Holding the hair while brushing it.
5. Using a hair tie. How to tie it? How to tie hair with it? Luis looked like Dr. Zoidberg trying to tie a pony tail. No joke.
The first try I stopped him after getting stuck at #2.
I asked him to try again because the hair kept tickling my face and scratching my face was a chore.
We skipped #3 and 4, and threw a tantrum after reaching #5. I showed him how to tie things with a hair tie using the said hair tie and his finger as an example. Apparently translating that act to tying up hair is a different matter entirely.
I feel sorry if he had to do that for any daughters we might have.
Washing hair. Need to use fingers to get to scalp! Otherwise I feel like he got the surface but down the roots, where it matters, it was still greasy.
Combing wet hair. Start from the bottom. There's a reason why combs have teeth. To reach the scalp and comb out everything.
Argh!!!
Who knew such basic knowledge as prevalent among girls as masturbation is among guys has such a massive gender divide?
I worked out my arms last Wednesday with a trainer. I thought it was getting better yesterday. However, today I woke up, any my triceps are in a special kind of pain. I touch it gently and pain flares up. Luis finally convinced me to take some Advil, which eventually helped a few hours down the line. However, meanwhile, I can't touch the top of my head, much less reach around to the back of the neck...which means I can't tie a pony tail. Unfortunately, today was the day I was supposed to wash my hair because it's rather noticeably greasy and I knew by afternoon it'll be unbearably greasy.
Thus I asked Luis to tie the ponytail for me.
I now harbor a special sort of dislike for any guys preferring girls keeping their hair long without the accompanying appreciation of how much work goes into managing that long hair.
1. How to gather long hair together in a ponytail
2. Knowing the need to smooth/brush the hair so I don't look like a crazy person off my meds when I step outside the apt.
3. Brushing the hair. How?
4. Holding the hair while brushing it.
5. Using a hair tie. How to tie it? How to tie hair with it? Luis looked like Dr. Zoidberg trying to tie a pony tail. No joke.
The first try I stopped him after getting stuck at #2.
I asked him to try again because the hair kept tickling my face and scratching my face was a chore.
We skipped #3 and 4, and threw a tantrum after reaching #5. I showed him how to tie things with a hair tie using the said hair tie and his finger as an example. Apparently translating that act to tying up hair is a different matter entirely.
I feel sorry if he had to do that for any daughters we might have.
Washing hair. Need to use fingers to get to scalp! Otherwise I feel like he got the surface but down the roots, where it matters, it was still greasy.
Combing wet hair. Start from the bottom. There's a reason why combs have teeth. To reach the scalp and comb out everything.
Argh!!!
Who knew such basic knowledge as prevalent among girls as masturbation is among guys has such a massive gender divide?
Friday, May 21, 2010
Book club: My Lobotomy
Our little club is chugging along, slowly but surely.
Yesterday, we met to discuss My Lobotomy by Howard Dully. As usual, the conversation went somewhere completely unrelated but highly charged. Somehow we talked about pedophilia, leading to the reading of a Republican candidate statement about the creation of a "self-supporting village" on Santa Rosa Island for pedophiles...leading to the benefits and the harm of legalizing all drugs.
It's scary to me that someone I dismissed completely off-handedly as an obvious lunatic based on his candidate statement actually draws serious comments like "yeah, I think they totally should." Pedophile on an island? With no expense to the taxpayers?
Also blowing my mind: the fact that independently, an attorney general candidate and Erin thinks that it's horrible that prisoners get better healthcare than non-prisoners. I mean, how dare the criminals? It pains me that instead of focusing on improving everyone else's healthcare, they want to lower them to ours. That's just so sad. They would rather suffer than see someone else enjoying something that we should get as well. Why lower the high bar to match the low bar? Why not raise the low one to meet the high one?
It's disturbing to me that there are people like that out there because I don't understand why they think that way. I feel like it's an extremely negative worldview, with little trust in mankind, society, legal system or anything. It all seems to be a system of thought where blatant contradiction exists and facts cannot change anyone's mind. Am I missing something here?
Yesterday, we met to discuss My Lobotomy by Howard Dully. As usual, the conversation went somewhere completely unrelated but highly charged. Somehow we talked about pedophilia, leading to the reading of a Republican candidate statement about the creation of a "self-supporting village" on Santa Rosa Island for pedophiles...leading to the benefits and the harm of legalizing all drugs.
It's scary to me that someone I dismissed completely off-handedly as an obvious lunatic based on his candidate statement actually draws serious comments like "yeah, I think they totally should." Pedophile on an island? With no expense to the taxpayers?
Also blowing my mind: the fact that independently, an attorney general candidate and Erin thinks that it's horrible that prisoners get better healthcare than non-prisoners. I mean, how dare the criminals? It pains me that instead of focusing on improving everyone else's healthcare, they want to lower them to ours. That's just so sad. They would rather suffer than see someone else enjoying something that we should get as well. Why lower the high bar to match the low bar? Why not raise the low one to meet the high one?
It's disturbing to me that there are people like that out there because I don't understand why they think that way. I feel like it's an extremely negative worldview, with little trust in mankind, society, legal system or anything. It all seems to be a system of thought where blatant contradiction exists and facts cannot change anyone's mind. Am I missing something here?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Death
On the drive home today, I thought about my high school French teacher, Mrs. Carr. But that wasn't how she introduced herself the first time I walked into her class. It was something else, but for the life of me, I can't remember. I remember her wedding, her third. She wore a cream colored dress that tapered inwards, ending at the knees and matching hat. Looking back, I am surprised she invited three of her high school French students. I ate a raw oyster for the first time at her wedding reception. Didn't have the class to appreciate the delicacy and still don't. I remember sand, sliminess, and trying really hard to swallow it without spitting it out which I wanted to do. Everyone laughed and cheered when I finally did it and made a face.
One day, she wasn't in class. Absent again the next. By the third day, we wondered if anything happened because it wasn't like her to miss class like this. We should know. We've been with her for three long high school years.
When she finally came back, she looked gaunt and worn. Black blue crescents hung from the bottom of her eyes. Did she wear makeup to try and conceal it? Was it that bad?
In an off-handed way, she told us what happened.
She took her medication earlier, forgot and drank a glass of wine. The combination of alcohol and drugs knocked her unconscious. Her stepson found her lying on the floor. 911. At the hospital, stomach pumped, they put her on suicide watch, even though she insisted it was a simple matter of her forgetting the fact that she took medication and drank some wine.
I believed her. Though she wasn't as bubbly and happy as she was before.
Willis. The ultra liberal English teacher with whom I never interacted. Each time I picture her, a blond energetic and outspoken woman voicing her opinion on some topic comes to mind. My high school best friend was very close to her.
Did you hear? Ms. Willis died of something...What? I don't know...and they didn't find her till a week later when Mrs. Carr went to check on her to find out why she hasn't been coming to class. Oh, how sad. What a lonely life that must have been. The funeral's this Saturday. Are you going? I didn't know her that well. I will. Just to see her.
One day, she wasn't in class. Absent again the next. By the third day, we wondered if anything happened because it wasn't like her to miss class like this. We should know. We've been with her for three long high school years.
When she finally came back, she looked gaunt and worn. Black blue crescents hung from the bottom of her eyes. Did she wear makeup to try and conceal it? Was it that bad?
In an off-handed way, she told us what happened.
She took her medication earlier, forgot and drank a glass of wine. The combination of alcohol and drugs knocked her unconscious. Her stepson found her lying on the floor. 911. At the hospital, stomach pumped, they put her on suicide watch, even though she insisted it was a simple matter of her forgetting the fact that she took medication and drank some wine.
I believed her. Though she wasn't as bubbly and happy as she was before.
Willis. The ultra liberal English teacher with whom I never interacted. Each time I picture her, a blond energetic and outspoken woman voicing her opinion on some topic comes to mind. My high school best friend was very close to her.
Did you hear? Ms. Willis died of something...What? I don't know...and they didn't find her till a week later when Mrs. Carr went to check on her to find out why she hasn't been coming to class. Oh, how sad. What a lonely life that must have been. The funeral's this Saturday. Are you going? I didn't know her that well. I will. Just to see her.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Dog park
Finally decided to take Butters to the dog park after a long hiatus. In truth, I really don't like socializing with the people there. I just like watching my dog. I dreaded meeting the regulars.
When we got there, Butters took off to meet other dogs. In the process, a little black dog with a pug nose came barreling down on him and tried to get him to play. Misto! Amanda must be here. I was really happy to see her because she's probably the only one there I really like and enjoy talking to. Might have something to do with our dog philosophies. This is the first time seeing her since her hip surgery so I was happy to find that everything went pretty well. Seeing that she has a cane with her, I offered to take her dogs out walking around the lake. Again, I felt happy that she was okay with me talking Misto and Kuma. I've walked with Kuma before. He seems to like walking with his nose right behind my knee (I know because at the end of the walk, my knees would always be slightly moist from dog snot). Misto is a bit like Butters, meaning she likes to pull ahead. So we decided that I will be walking them on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
When feeling emotionally drained, seeing a well-liked friend that I haven't seen for awhile really lifted my spirits. Still brings a smile to my face when I think about it.
And I finally took Butters to be professionally groomed yesterday just to even things out and so that I have a template for when I cut him next time. He looks very clean. I love when the groomer did to his tail, ears, and paw. The face takes a bit getting used to. He looks like a different dog who answers to the name "Butters." It's quite a shock. Will post picture.
When we got there, Butters took off to meet other dogs. In the process, a little black dog with a pug nose came barreling down on him and tried to get him to play. Misto! Amanda must be here. I was really happy to see her because she's probably the only one there I really like and enjoy talking to. Might have something to do with our dog philosophies. This is the first time seeing her since her hip surgery so I was happy to find that everything went pretty well. Seeing that she has a cane with her, I offered to take her dogs out walking around the lake. Again, I felt happy that she was okay with me talking Misto and Kuma. I've walked with Kuma before. He seems to like walking with his nose right behind my knee (I know because at the end of the walk, my knees would always be slightly moist from dog snot). Misto is a bit like Butters, meaning she likes to pull ahead. So we decided that I will be walking them on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
When feeling emotionally drained, seeing a well-liked friend that I haven't seen for awhile really lifted my spirits. Still brings a smile to my face when I think about it.
And I finally took Butters to be professionally groomed yesterday just to even things out and so that I have a template for when I cut him next time. He looks very clean. I love when the groomer did to his tail, ears, and paw. The face takes a bit getting used to. He looks like a different dog who answers to the name "Butters." It's quite a shock. Will post picture.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Accident and power outage
Ever since meeting the crew twice a day at the Sorrento Mesa food court, I've been discovering quite a few delicious and delightful little shops. Thanks to my CL's recommendation, I tried Donut Touch. With G's name, I managed to get some fresh muffins as opposed to the ones sitting in the case. I also found some fresh Vietnamese sandwiches at a European bakery. It's owned by a Vietnamese family, though the wife told me that if I wanted an Asian cake, I'll have to describe it and they'll try to make it. Anyway, Luis and I also tried Knockout Pizza. It is so great! I think I'm a bit addicted. They serve NY style pizza and I just love the ones with no sauce or white sauce.
Anyway, so yesterday, I was in our afternoon meeting when all of a sudden a bunch of the workers/owners of the stores came out. Someone spoke in Vietnamese. I asked our Vietnamese speaker, "Are they fighting?" He laughed and said, "No. The power's out." Oh.
I left the meeting 15 minutes later and took my usual way home. Just when I managed to turn out of that plaza, I found myself stuck in traffic, also managing to discover the cause of power outage. A white SUV ran into a green electrical box thing (a transformer, I found out later, the function of which is still unknown to me). The crash was pretty bad. The front part of the SUV looked shortened by half, the windshield was blown, the green box itself looked like something bit a chunk out of it. Grey smoke rose from the contact of the two. The police, firefighters, and paramedics were on the scene.
Found out later on the news that the knocked out transformer killed power for close to 1200 residents. The driver either passed out or had a heart attack, or both. He didn't try to brake at all, crossing the medium and plowing headlong into the transformer. Thankfully, it's not a busy street for pedestrians and a mere box stopped him as opposed to something or someone else.
Luis and I had plans to hang out with the Perkins. In fact, he had already left to pick up John from work when I called him and told him what happened. So we decided to switch locations to the Perkins' place instead. Due to work on both sides, we haven't really talked for two weeks, so we had plenty to catch up on.
When Luis and I got home, power was still out. I thought the whole situation was a bit reminiscent of the earthquake, mostly the procurement of emergency supplies, i.e. light source. Anyway, the whole apartment complex was dark. It never occurred to me how many light sources we take for granted and never notice, such as parking lot lights, little path lights, lights shining through blinds. Without all that, the whole complex was eerily quiet and dark. As we walked back, our surroundings seemed to grow darker and I momentarily regretted living on the ground floor underneath a walkway. Both Luis and I talked rather loudly to stave off nervousness. It did not help that he said, "It seems like a perfect setting for a slasher film." I almost kicked him for that had I not been too busy walking, intent on going inside. My one comfort was Butters. I knew he would bark at whatever we can't see.
When we finally made it inside, we immediately lit a bunch of tea lights and candles. Luis debated whether or not to take a shower by candlelight since he can't see very well. I told him that I have to deal with that all the time because my eyes are bad and I can't see anything in the bathroom anyway since I have to take off my glasses before showering. Mostly it's by feel. At night, he didn't want to go to the bathroom to turn off a dripping faucet after we blew out all the candle light. I scoffed at him, proud that years of my pretending to be blind and walking around in the dark at night is finally paying off. It's mostly memorizing the layout of the room before going to sleep, looking for dark and light contrasts, not stubbing anything and fluttering fingertips lightly to figure out where things are. Blind pride.
Power came back on at 3am. And the whole drama over. Still, the night felt extra intimate without light pollution.
Anyway, so yesterday, I was in our afternoon meeting when all of a sudden a bunch of the workers/owners of the stores came out. Someone spoke in Vietnamese. I asked our Vietnamese speaker, "Are they fighting?" He laughed and said, "No. The power's out." Oh.
I left the meeting 15 minutes later and took my usual way home. Just when I managed to turn out of that plaza, I found myself stuck in traffic, also managing to discover the cause of power outage. A white SUV ran into a green electrical box thing (a transformer, I found out later, the function of which is still unknown to me). The crash was pretty bad. The front part of the SUV looked shortened by half, the windshield was blown, the green box itself looked like something bit a chunk out of it. Grey smoke rose from the contact of the two. The police, firefighters, and paramedics were on the scene.
Found out later on the news that the knocked out transformer killed power for close to 1200 residents. The driver either passed out or had a heart attack, or both. He didn't try to brake at all, crossing the medium and plowing headlong into the transformer. Thankfully, it's not a busy street for pedestrians and a mere box stopped him as opposed to something or someone else.
Luis and I had plans to hang out with the Perkins. In fact, he had already left to pick up John from work when I called him and told him what happened. So we decided to switch locations to the Perkins' place instead. Due to work on both sides, we haven't really talked for two weeks, so we had plenty to catch up on.
When Luis and I got home, power was still out. I thought the whole situation was a bit reminiscent of the earthquake, mostly the procurement of emergency supplies, i.e. light source. Anyway, the whole apartment complex was dark. It never occurred to me how many light sources we take for granted and never notice, such as parking lot lights, little path lights, lights shining through blinds. Without all that, the whole complex was eerily quiet and dark. As we walked back, our surroundings seemed to grow darker and I momentarily regretted living on the ground floor underneath a walkway. Both Luis and I talked rather loudly to stave off nervousness. It did not help that he said, "It seems like a perfect setting for a slasher film." I almost kicked him for that had I not been too busy walking, intent on going inside. My one comfort was Butters. I knew he would bark at whatever we can't see.
When we finally made it inside, we immediately lit a bunch of tea lights and candles. Luis debated whether or not to take a shower by candlelight since he can't see very well. I told him that I have to deal with that all the time because my eyes are bad and I can't see anything in the bathroom anyway since I have to take off my glasses before showering. Mostly it's by feel. At night, he didn't want to go to the bathroom to turn off a dripping faucet after we blew out all the candle light. I scoffed at him, proud that years of my pretending to be blind and walking around in the dark at night is finally paying off. It's mostly memorizing the layout of the room before going to sleep, looking for dark and light contrasts, not stubbing anything and fluttering fingertips lightly to figure out where things are. Blind pride.
Power came back on at 3am. And the whole drama over. Still, the night felt extra intimate without light pollution.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Guy code and...what code now?
I was driving to work and heard the most repugnant phrase ever today.
93.3 interviewed Michelle McGee (who? Jesse James' (who? Sandra Bullock's husband) mistress). Someone called in, saying that as a mistress herself, she is indignant that Michelle broke the "mistress code." That's right. Honor among thieves.
At first I thought it was morally repugnant. On second thought, I don't want to qualify "repugnant." It's not just morally offensive, but any other way possible, including culinary. (j/k. I know "culinary" doesn't make sense in the sentence.)
I feel so strongly about this because during an affair, (let's assume that it's the male cheating in the relationship here since that's the majority of cases) at least one person at any one time is knowingly hurting one person. At any time when his partner learns of the existence and true state of the relationship and yet still chooses (yes, not ending it is a choice and action) to continue the affair, then two people conspire through either cowardice or selfishness to cause another hurt. Hence, affairs, morally speaking, are never a good thing (whereas having sexual intercourse with a dead chicken can be argued as a morally ambiguous).
So to say that there is a code while engaging in this type of behavior is to set in rulebook somewhere that the continuation of the harm of another person is ok. Honor amongst thieves. Perhaps even worse so since we can't put a monetary value on emotional betrayal and angst.
93.3 interviewed Michelle McGee (who? Jesse James' (who? Sandra Bullock's husband) mistress). Someone called in, saying that as a mistress herself, she is indignant that Michelle broke the "mistress code." That's right. Honor among thieves.
At first I thought it was morally repugnant. On second thought, I don't want to qualify "repugnant." It's not just morally offensive, but any other way possible, including culinary. (j/k. I know "culinary" doesn't make sense in the sentence.)
I feel so strongly about this because during an affair, (let's assume that it's the male cheating in the relationship here since that's the majority of cases) at least one person at any one time is knowingly hurting one person. At any time when his partner learns of the existence and true state of the relationship and yet still chooses (yes, not ending it is a choice and action) to continue the affair, then two people conspire through either cowardice or selfishness to cause another hurt. Hence, affairs, morally speaking, are never a good thing (whereas having sexual intercourse with a dead chicken can be argued as a morally ambiguous).
So to say that there is a code while engaging in this type of behavior is to set in rulebook somewhere that the continuation of the harm of another person is ok. Honor amongst thieves. Perhaps even worse so since we can't put a monetary value on emotional betrayal and angst.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Week in summary and catching up
Had a pretty tiring week last week. Worked all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Drove to LA the night of Wednesday. Woke up at 8:15 to take my mom to the LAX for her 3-week trip to China. Of course whenever my mom travels, the whole family (maybe with the exception of my brother) is nervous as hell because 1. my mom doesn't speak English 2. she panics in any deviations from norm. I got her through check-in and tried to make her security check as easy as I can so she doesn't lose anything by telling her to put her electronics/metals in a zip-lock bag at the entrance. As soon as I got the call that everything was ok and she's headed to the gate, I went home. Came back to SD late Thursday night after going grocery shopping with my brother and sharing a limon-lime Jaritos from Valu-Mart just like the old times. Worked almost 9 hours on Friday.
Things are going well as a personal assistant. As I learn more and more about his tastes, I am better able to make decisions on his behalf, something I am also getting good feedback on, which makes me extremely happy. I always feel very productive when I'm working with him. It's a good outlet for all my planning and detail obsessions so I don't have to stress so much about it at home. Interesting I even have that. Something new I learned about myself.
Saturday was Butters day since I didn't have time to take care of him all week. Took him to OB for 2 hours then a 5 mile hike around Miramar lake. The little guy is doing better and better on hikes. He wasn't too tired at all.
Sunday, L & I woke up at 7:15 to meet the Perkins in LA for a day trip. We spent most of the day in downtown exploring Chinatown (where I got some pretty good deals on household goods), the flower district (8th & Wall, between Alameda & Main, found cymbidiums for $11), and the fabric district (a totally awesome store that should be a first stop: LA Alex Inc. 416-418 East 9th St. Between Wall and Maple). Had Chinese food, danger dogs, and fruit box. Because of the traffic, decided to forgo other tourist plans and head to John's place in Orange. We had dinner at Zito's and walked home afterwards. It felt so good to take a leisure after-dinner walk while slowly savoring a chocolate truffle. Old town Orange is filled with quite a few quaint little shops that looked promising for future treasure hunts. The building structures are pleasing, as well as the yards. Most of them are landscaped and well maintained. Definitely a change from Mira Mesa yards.
Today was the first day of non-training. By non-training, I meant that we spent 7 hours filling out paperwork. So it was training, but not really. HQ rescheduled training to next week. Unfortunately, six out of 30 people did not get a call letting us know about the change. At least I'm flexible, so it doesn't affect me too much. Still, one imagines that with so many rules and people, information will at least be consistent. But that I guess that's the problem with bureaucracy. Everyone's overpaid for their narrow duties and no one checks on what's really happening. To give them the benefit of the doubt though, I suppose it is hard to hire and train so many temps and have them train more temps. Nobody really knows what's going on or why we have to do something, just that we have to do it this way. Hopefully, it fulfills someone's well-thought out vision somewhere.
Had a pretty good time meeting different people. Everyone was quite friendly and helpful. I actually got a round of applause during introductions because I told everyone that since naturalization as an American citizen, I wanted to be a part of the political process by at least taking my civic duty seriously. The Census is one way of doing that. I don't want Nebraska, Texas or Utah or another backwards red state to take even a seat from California. Ok, I didn't mention the last part. One of the work came by and told me that she was very proud of what I'm doing and that to her I am "the definition of a true American." I felt like I could fly during that moment. Looking forward to meeting the group again during real training next week.
Since training plans fell through, I suppose I will have a few days this week for rest and time with Butters. It's supposed to rain this week, but hopefully it either doesn't rain too much or it pours. I hate the medium type where it traps me at home, unsure of what to do.
What an awesome week. =)
Things are going well as a personal assistant. As I learn more and more about his tastes, I am better able to make decisions on his behalf, something I am also getting good feedback on, which makes me extremely happy. I always feel very productive when I'm working with him. It's a good outlet for all my planning and detail obsessions so I don't have to stress so much about it at home. Interesting I even have that. Something new I learned about myself.
Saturday was Butters day since I didn't have time to take care of him all week. Took him to OB for 2 hours then a 5 mile hike around Miramar lake. The little guy is doing better and better on hikes. He wasn't too tired at all.
Sunday, L & I woke up at 7:15 to meet the Perkins in LA for a day trip. We spent most of the day in downtown exploring Chinatown (where I got some pretty good deals on household goods), the flower district (8th & Wall, between Alameda & Main, found cymbidiums for $11), and the fabric district (a totally awesome store that should be a first stop: LA Alex Inc. 416-418 East 9th St. Between Wall and Maple). Had Chinese food, danger dogs, and fruit box. Because of the traffic, decided to forgo other tourist plans and head to John's place in Orange. We had dinner at Zito's and walked home afterwards. It felt so good to take a leisure after-dinner walk while slowly savoring a chocolate truffle. Old town Orange is filled with quite a few quaint little shops that looked promising for future treasure hunts. The building structures are pleasing, as well as the yards. Most of them are landscaped and well maintained. Definitely a change from Mira Mesa yards.
Today was the first day of non-training. By non-training, I meant that we spent 7 hours filling out paperwork. So it was training, but not really. HQ rescheduled training to next week. Unfortunately, six out of 30 people did not get a call letting us know about the change. At least I'm flexible, so it doesn't affect me too much. Still, one imagines that with so many rules and people, information will at least be consistent. But that I guess that's the problem with bureaucracy. Everyone's overpaid for their narrow duties and no one checks on what's really happening. To give them the benefit of the doubt though, I suppose it is hard to hire and train so many temps and have them train more temps. Nobody really knows what's going on or why we have to do something, just that we have to do it this way. Hopefully, it fulfills someone's well-thought out vision somewhere.
Had a pretty good time meeting different people. Everyone was quite friendly and helpful. I actually got a round of applause during introductions because I told everyone that since naturalization as an American citizen, I wanted to be a part of the political process by at least taking my civic duty seriously. The Census is one way of doing that. I don't want Nebraska, Texas or Utah or another backwards red state to take even a seat from California. Ok, I didn't mention the last part. One of the work came by and told me that she was very proud of what I'm doing and that to her I am "the definition of a true American." I felt like I could fly during that moment. Looking forward to meeting the group again during real training next week.
Since training plans fell through, I suppose I will have a few days this week for rest and time with Butters. It's supposed to rain this week, but hopefully it either doesn't rain too much or it pours. I hate the medium type where it traps me at home, unsure of what to do.
What an awesome week. =)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Hiking at Miramar Lake
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Went for a walk around Lake Miramar today with Butters in the afternoon. The weather was perfect, cool and cloudy. I am so proud of him for finishing the walk with his tail still waving tall and dignified.I, on the other hand, almost passed out from low blood sugar. Everything was going beautifully before the half-way mark. Before that point, we walked briskly, Butters finally settled into a good pace. After a brief water break at 2.5 mile marker, I felt a bit light-headed. Hoping it will go away and knowing there was no point turning back, we kept going forward. I felt hungrier and hungrier. I began picturing all the food present anywhere in the fridge, pantry, and living room. Then I felt weak in the legs and arm and really light-headed. I regretted not bringing any food. Strawberry jam sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly. Roast beef. Yogurt covered pretzels. Anything. Can't think of anything. I only had water. I pictured me passing out on the trail. I looked around to see if anyone will stop and help. What if I stopped someone to ask for anything with sugar in it? Will they have it? Sports drink? Will they look at me crazy? At the 3.75 mile mark, I once again mentally went through all my backpack contents. Wait, I have dog treats! And the jerky is made ingredients that's all natural. One of them is cane juice. I quickly stopped and took out two small pieces and popped them in my mouth. Not too bad. Much like beef jerky with a sweet aftertaste. At the very least it mentally made me feel better. Needless to say and much to my relief, I made it back to the car and to the house, resisting the temptation to stop at any food place along the way to buy something to eat. Once at the house, I stuffed myself with anything I could find.
I wondered while I was worrying about passing out why we have two types of hunger? I remember going the whole day without eating. I felt hungry, but didn't feel like I would pass out. Then there's hunger that comes on really quickly and makes me feel like I'm going to die if I don't eat. Why the difference? I have fat. If my body lacked blood sugar, then goddamn it take some fat and convert that to sugar. I wonder what the mechanism is for the two?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Funny and stupid stories from IL poison control center
Illinois poison control center updates a blog with stories to raise awareness of their importance in order to save their funding. There are some pretty interesting stories that happens to real people.
If any one party takes drugs, it can be passed on to the other partner through sexual contact with undesirable effects such as allergic reaction or hair in random places.
Coffee with extra kick. (#10)
Lube or toothpaste? (#1)
If any one party takes drugs, it can be passed on to the other partner through sexual contact with undesirable effects such as allergic reaction or hair in random places.
Coffee with extra kick. (#10)
Lube or toothpaste? (#1)
Friday, April 9, 2010
酸菜 (Chinese sauerkraut)
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I'm not sure why, but recently I've been craving 酸菜. It is fermented Napa cabbage made in the northern China style. Cook it with green bean thread and pork in soup...yum! Anyway, I'm not much of an expert in different processes of fermenting cabbages to tell the difference between regional styles, but it is definitely not kimchee nor the Singapore or southern Chinese kind. The real stuff is really hard to find in America, so I thought I will try looking for the recipe on the internet to make it myself.
Here's the recipe I'm going to try (roughly translated, with my own notes added below):
- Prepare a non-metallic container. (The acid released during the fermentation process will affect the metals.)
- Get rid of the bruised leaves. When putting the Napa cabbages into the container, do your best to place them in such a way as to get rid of all the air bubbles. If you have a hard time putting them in, you may half or quarter them.
- Add boiling water, add some salt. Place weight on top of the lid to keep cabbages from floating/exposed to air.
- Place in an area 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 20 days. Try not to disturb it in the first few days.
Here's a site explaining the general concepts of fermenting cabbages.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Law and order: capital punishment
Though capital punishment, like abortion and gun control, seems to be one of those national hot issues, I've never thought enough to have an opinion on it.
I was watching Law & Order: SVU (I love the show. I can write a post on why I love the show.) and capital punishment is brought up a lot for the especially heinous crimes. During those shows, the various detectives argue about why it's a good or bad thing for society.
After thinking about it (maybe I'm still not done thinking about it), I still don't have an opinion on it. On one hand, it costs more to society, in a purely monetary sense, to incarcerate a prisoner for life. However, this way, supposedly, every single day that they are alive, they can think about this punishment of why they are there. Plus, this eliminates the chance of executing an innocent person.
On the other hand, if the convicted is truly a sociopath who doesn't care and won't repent, then it's better for society if we just kill him/her.
It then comes down to what is the nature of crimes? What are the statistics on different type of crimes, especially those that leads to execution? Are there more crimes of passion than premeditated murder? Are there more premeditated murders where the person is not likely to repeat the crime than serial killers? I wonder if those who work in the justice system, including law enforcement and prison guards, have different statistics than the general population on capital punishment?
Is it better to let 1000 criminals off than to kill 1 innocent man or woman?
I say no. Well. I lean towards no. Plus, ever since DNA testing, I find it hard to imagine mistakes of that magnitude making it through the justice system.
Competency for execution
I was watching Law & Order: SVU (I love the show. I can write a post on why I love the show.) and capital punishment is brought up a lot for the especially heinous crimes. During those shows, the various detectives argue about why it's a good or bad thing for society.
After thinking about it (maybe I'm still not done thinking about it), I still don't have an opinion on it. On one hand, it costs more to society, in a purely monetary sense, to incarcerate a prisoner for life. However, this way, supposedly, every single day that they are alive, they can think about this punishment of why they are there. Plus, this eliminates the chance of executing an innocent person.
On the other hand, if the convicted is truly a sociopath who doesn't care and won't repent, then it's better for society if we just kill him/her.
It then comes down to what is the nature of crimes? What are the statistics on different type of crimes, especially those that leads to execution? Are there more crimes of passion than premeditated murder? Are there more premeditated murders where the person is not likely to repeat the crime than serial killers? I wonder if those who work in the justice system, including law enforcement and prison guards, have different statistics than the general population on capital punishment?
Is it better to let 1000 criminals off than to kill 1 innocent man or woman?
I say no. Well. I lean towards no. Plus, ever since DNA testing, I find it hard to imagine mistakes of that magnitude making it through the justice system.
Competency for execution
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Window farms
I saw this really cool concept on NPR, called window farming.
It attempts to alleviate the problem of the lack of fresh food in cities using by growing plants using recycled bottles, air pump, tubing, and hydroponics. It looks like a pretty cool way to grow some small plants. Probably is not effective with bigger plants. I wonder how plants with extensive root systems do?
While we are on the subject of food, NutritionData is fairly comprehensive website on nutritional facts of a lot of foods, such as sunflower seeds (which I've been eating non-stop. Until I ran out. Sad.)
It attempts to alleviate the problem of the lack of fresh food in cities using by growing plants using recycled bottles, air pump, tubing, and hydroponics. It looks like a pretty cool way to grow some small plants. Probably is not effective with bigger plants. I wonder how plants with extensive root systems do?
While we are on the subject of food, NutritionData is fairly comprehensive website on nutritional facts of a lot of foods, such as sunflower seeds (which I've been eating non-stop. Until I ran out. Sad.)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Cute picture of the day
It is soooo cute. I don't know why I like giraffes. I never had a favorite animal before I got my Wild Animal Park pass. I think they look very graceful and serene. Did I mention I have a giraffe mug? It's also very cute. Also from Wild Animal Park.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Update on the earthquake
We found out on NPR that border crossing closed at 5pm that day. If we didn't cross at the time we did, we might not have been able to come back to this side without a lot of frustration and brainstorming. Trapped in Mexico. Scary thought.
Calexico Roadtrip Part II: the 7.2 earthquake
The other three's perspectives:
John's
Lauren's
Luis'
After crossing the border, we picked up a few more items on Calexico's main street before heading home. By this time, most of the stores were closing anyway.
We were walking past the clothing store Benzene and Lauren asked John whether he wanted to go in and check it out. He thought about it and replied, "I do like their stuff...but no." We pondered on the decision as we strolled past the windows. My mind mulled on whether John's tone. Was he being sarcastic? Then, a rumbling and shaking broke me from my thoughts. The next all happened within 40 seconds even though it felt longer.
At first I dismissed it. Then I looked up and saw the two storeys worth of window panes shaking and bouncing light like they don't normally do. That was when my brain decided it was officially an earthquake and a strong one at that. My mind immediately flashed back to elementary school earthquake education to seek cover. No desk or anything to hide under. Fine. Doorway. Nope. Or arch. I see arch. Move sideways a foot or so. Now I'm under arch. Wait. Reservation. Why? Sheets of glass still shaking. Not good. Need to move somewhere else. I looked in the streets. Vision only a half step behind a still-forming mental checklist. No tall buildings. No tall trees. No power lines directly overhead. With the last check complete. (At this point, the brain no longer formed words. Concepts flashed one after another. It barely even bothered forming pictures.) I immediately moved to to the middle of the street. I hear Lauren behind me. I reached for her, grabbed her arm, jacket, hand, I don't know what, and took her with me.
The four of us stood in the streets, breathlessly waiting for the shaking to end. It felt like only the concrete beneath us was solid. Whatever was beneath the concrete behaved like a liquid and was strangely not holding still. I knew I was not moving, yet everything was else was. Alarms went off. People clustered. Glasses crashed. We waited.
When the shaking finally abated, I laughed in relief and bear-hugged Lauren, glad that everyone I cared about right then was okay. In that moment, L ran back in to Benzene to check everyone got out of the store. John followed. I hesitated before walking back and anxiously waited under that archway. He appeared a few seconds later with another man who thought his daughter was inside. He found her outside waiting and ran to hug her.
With everyone together again, I took stock of the scene around. People still gathered in the middle of the street. A few women cried. Many were still hugging their loved ones. Everyone seemed dazed and shaken up by the whole ordeal, including us.
The fateful store.
As we walked back to our car, we took a few pictures of the damages to the shops that lined the street.
JC Penny's
Our parking spot. Thankfully, nothing hit the car.
Luis' home.
His aunt was home alone. The gigantic TV moved. Paintings skewed. Mirrors fell. The thing lying diagonally is a picture wall. On the most left-hand side were pictures and figurines. Most pictures fell also, except for the one of me and Luis in the picture frame from Hawaii.
Even though the power was out and water leaked in the bathroom, the important thing was that everyone was alright.
Luis took off with John to check on his friend's grandmother. Lauren and I stayed with his aunt and rode out the ensuing aftershocks.
We tried checking for emergency supplies as far as El Centro, but everything closed, we weren't the only ones with the same idea.
After coming back from the fruitless trip, we decided to head back to SD with still an hour of sunlight left. Just in case the earthquake shook loose some rocks that blocked the freeway, we will have time to act accordingly.
Instead of taking the scenic 98, we just took the 8. On the way up to the mountains, we had to slow down. It turned out a ditch formed on a small bridge over a finger of Sunbeam Lake. Luis later found that a section of the 8 had to be closed because the bridge later collapsed.
A few things I learned from this whole experience:
1. As soon as possible, Luis and I are going to put together an emergency pack with 15 MRE's, 3 days worth of water, candles, matches, lighters, utility knife, flashlight. Just for starters.
2. Luis is crazy. I can't believe his good Samaritan instinct told him to run in to a store right after an earthquake. At this rate, he just might die before I do.
In laughing about the whole crazy experience, we came up with a theory of why females have a longer life span than males. During the earthquake, both Lauren and I thought about each others' safety and knew in the back of our minds that the boys will be able to take care of themselves. We grabbed each other and went to safety and didn't really think to check on the guys, assuming they followed us. While after the whole thing was over, Luis ran back in to a store, putting his own safety at risk.
Looking back, we were incredibly lucky. Yes, we chose this day to come to Calexico. However, we crossed the border about 10 mins before the earthquake hit. I don't know how long it would have taken us to come back if we just decided to keep walking a bit longer. We left and drove past the ditch on the 8 before it sank and that section had to be closed.
Everything turned out well. Quite a road trip and Easter Sunday.
And random Butters picture. I gave him a haircut last week. He had been playing with Mona the whole day, so excuse the unbrushed look.
John's
Lauren's
Luis'
After crossing the border, we picked up a few more items on Calexico's main street before heading home. By this time, most of the stores were closing anyway.
We were walking past the clothing store Benzene and Lauren asked John whether he wanted to go in and check it out. He thought about it and replied, "I do like their stuff...but no." We pondered on the decision as we strolled past the windows. My mind mulled on whether John's tone. Was he being sarcastic? Then, a rumbling and shaking broke me from my thoughts. The next all happened within 40 seconds even though it felt longer.
At first I dismissed it. Then I looked up and saw the two storeys worth of window panes shaking and bouncing light like they don't normally do. That was when my brain decided it was officially an earthquake and a strong one at that. My mind immediately flashed back to elementary school earthquake education to seek cover. No desk or anything to hide under. Fine. Doorway. Nope. Or arch. I see arch. Move sideways a foot or so. Now I'm under arch. Wait. Reservation. Why? Sheets of glass still shaking. Not good. Need to move somewhere else. I looked in the streets. Vision only a half step behind a still-forming mental checklist. No tall buildings. No tall trees. No power lines directly overhead. With the last check complete. (At this point, the brain no longer formed words. Concepts flashed one after another. It barely even bothered forming pictures.) I immediately moved to to the middle of the street. I hear Lauren behind me. I reached for her, grabbed her arm, jacket, hand, I don't know what, and took her with me.
The four of us stood in the streets, breathlessly waiting for the shaking to end. It felt like only the concrete beneath us was solid. Whatever was beneath the concrete behaved like a liquid and was strangely not holding still. I knew I was not moving, yet everything was else was. Alarms went off. People clustered. Glasses crashed. We waited.
When the shaking finally abated, I laughed in relief and bear-hugged Lauren, glad that everyone I cared about right then was okay. In that moment, L ran back in to Benzene to check everyone got out of the store. John followed. I hesitated before walking back and anxiously waited under that archway. He appeared a few seconds later with another man who thought his daughter was inside. He found her outside waiting and ran to hug her.
The fateful store.
Even though the power was out and water leaked in the bathroom, the important thing was that everyone was alright.
Luis took off with John to check on his friend's grandmother. Lauren and I stayed with his aunt and rode out the ensuing aftershocks.
We tried checking for emergency supplies as far as El Centro, but everything closed, we weren't the only ones with the same idea.
After coming back from the fruitless trip, we decided to head back to SD with still an hour of sunlight left. Just in case the earthquake shook loose some rocks that blocked the freeway, we will have time to act accordingly.
Instead of taking the scenic 98, we just took the 8. On the way up to the mountains, we had to slow down. It turned out a ditch formed on a small bridge over a finger of Sunbeam Lake. Luis later found that a section of the 8 had to be closed because the bridge later collapsed.
A few things I learned from this whole experience:
1. As soon as possible, Luis and I are going to put together an emergency pack with 15 MRE's, 3 days worth of water, candles, matches, lighters, utility knife, flashlight. Just for starters.
2. Luis is crazy. I can't believe his good Samaritan instinct told him to run in to a store right after an earthquake. At this rate, he just might die before I do.
In laughing about the whole crazy experience, we came up with a theory of why females have a longer life span than males. During the earthquake, both Lauren and I thought about each others' safety and knew in the back of our minds that the boys will be able to take care of themselves. We grabbed each other and went to safety and didn't really think to check on the guys, assuming they followed us. While after the whole thing was over, Luis ran back in to a store, putting his own safety at risk.
Looking back, we were incredibly lucky. Yes, we chose this day to come to Calexico. However, we crossed the border about 10 mins before the earthquake hit. I don't know how long it would have taken us to come back if we just decided to keep walking a bit longer. We left and drove past the ditch on the 8 before it sank and that section had to be closed.
Everything turned out well. Quite a road trip and Easter Sunday.
And random Butters picture. I gave him a haircut last week. He had been playing with Mona the whole day, so excuse the unbrushed look.
Calexico Roadtrip Part I: the foods
In answer to that, we took a trip to Calexico because Luis has been itching for some time now to show the Perkins his hometown.
We left around 10 in the morning after dropping Butters off at their place. Since we didn't have any breakfast, we stopped by Los Compadres near El Cajon for some of their delicious pollo asado tacos.
Our first stop was at Luis' house to visit his aunt. Then we walked around downtown Calexico to peek in all the little shops with trinkets, baubles and other shiny objects. The boys found 99 cent airsoft handguns in an electronics shop while Lauren and I visited an accessories store. I then found some lucky bamboo (to replace the ones that I killed) at a big, general all-purpose store.
Off to Mexico. After walking through the two clanging rotating doors, we came up two stop lights and a new sign with the table on the left side. I tried to make out what the sign said, but to no avail. Luis told me to just keep walking. He explained later that the men sitting behind the table were actually Mexican border agents checking bags coming into Mexico. They seemed nowhere as stringent as their American counterparts.
After crossing, we immediately hit up the taco stands and ordered sixteen tacos among us. I love Mexican tacos because they are so simple and fresh. They give you the tortilla with meat and we decide what to put in them, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, lime juice, etc. We payed 200 pesos (a bit less than $20) for the tacos and four drinks.
We continued our strolling along with streets just taking in the sights. Being Easter Sunday, quite a few shops were closed. It seems like whenever I'm in Mexicali, there has never been a time when the majority of the stores were open. However, little vendor carts still lined the sidewalk.
L and I next got some corn in a cup. I couldn't finish mine because of all the tacos. They didn't seem to be the best anyway. Right next to the corn vendor (who also sold cut cacti, fried pork rinds, potato chips, and drinks) was a man who sold freshly made churros and pineapple drinks (along with other flavors, but pineapple caught our eyes). We promised ourselves to come back to taste the two.
Further walking did not lead to novel discoveries, so we decided to start back. Lauren got the pineapple drink and a bag of churros. The man took the freshly fried dough, put them in a paper bag, spooned some of the cinnamon sugar mixture and carefully shook the bag. He then ladled the pineapple juice with the correct proportions of ice, juice and pineapple chunks into a big cup. The churros were sweet, warm and crunchy, with no dryness whatsoever. The juice was incredibly refreshing, not too sweet but tasted of genuine pineapple.
Luis also bought a mango ($1.50), skinned, cut into flower shape, and stuck on a stick. It was so sweet. I loved it. Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish it because on the way back across, the Dept. of Agriculture guy told Luis, who was holding it, that he must throw it away. Immediately. He didn't even get the chance to eat it!
Anyway, on our way back across the border, Luis found an old-fashioned raspado (shaved ice) cart. They had a 1 to 1 1/2 ft by 3 ft block of ice under two layers of cloth. The guy uncovered it and used a metal instrument to manually shave the ice (think planing wood). The ice is held in the metal container until he puts the ice bits into a cup. He then pours whatever flavor you choose on it. Though the texture of the ice is not as soft and flaky as the one on Oahu, I still liked it because it was like eating flavored ice chips. Totally refreshing on a hot day.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Me? Organized?
In fifth grade I went through a phase rolling my eyes at anything that frustrated me which frustrated my teacher to no end so she brought it up during parent-teacher conference and somehow the parent and the teacher concluded that I need to be more organized. Ever since then, and with the birth of my brother, I am the disorganized one in the family. My mom sighs about it to this day.
I have been trying to get better at it. I even bought a book on housekeeping so I can get some tricks on cleaning faster.
(I found that I like using vinegar as a general counter cleaner and degreaser. I mix water and white distilled vinegar 50/50 in a spray bottle. It's easy to use and to wipe. Using bleach, I have to wipe three times before I'm satisfied the bleach is gone. Vinegar, I wipe once. The cleaned surface only smells faintly of vinegar if at all. It's cheaper and less harsh than fancy commercial cleaners at the store.
The only commercial cleaners that I do use are toilet bowl cleaners and Lysol for the toilet rim. I don't really need to state the reason for the latter.)
Anyway, when I came back from my shopping on Friday for B, he told me, "You are more organized than I am. And that's a compliment." I was extremely happy to hear that because I really don't consider myself organized. It's just one of those things that you say in interviews and put on your resumes because it looks good.
I thought about it on the drive home and realized I definitely spend a lot of time planning and trying to anticipate the future in every little thing. This actually keeps me awake in the mornings at times thinking about "What needs to be done? What I should have done? Why haven't I done this yet?" It's tiring because every little noise that wakes me up, neighbors walking upstairs, lawn mower outside, kids going to school...however brief or loud or not, my mind transitions from drowsiness to full tired consciousness running at full speed creating and organizing that list of things to do with all the accompanying details in my head. Yet, I'm too tired to really accomplish anything.
I shared this with G because he was talking about his occasional insomnia. He does the exact same thing except at night. Seriously, sign of mental problem?
I hope it'll disappear once I get my life on track.
I have been trying to get better at it. I even bought a book on housekeeping so I can get some tricks on cleaning faster.
(I found that I like using vinegar as a general counter cleaner and degreaser. I mix water and white distilled vinegar 50/50 in a spray bottle. It's easy to use and to wipe. Using bleach, I have to wipe three times before I'm satisfied the bleach is gone. Vinegar, I wipe once. The cleaned surface only smells faintly of vinegar if at all. It's cheaper and less harsh than fancy commercial cleaners at the store.The only commercial cleaners that I do use are toilet bowl cleaners and Lysol for the toilet rim. I don't really need to state the reason for the latter.)
Anyway, when I came back from my shopping on Friday for B, he told me, "You are more organized than I am. And that's a compliment." I was extremely happy to hear that because I really don't consider myself organized. It's just one of those things that you say in interviews and put on your resumes because it looks good.
I thought about it on the drive home and realized I definitely spend a lot of time planning and trying to anticipate the future in every little thing. This actually keeps me awake in the mornings at times thinking about "What needs to be done? What I should have done? Why haven't I done this yet?" It's tiring because every little noise that wakes me up, neighbors walking upstairs, lawn mower outside, kids going to school...however brief or loud or not, my mind transitions from drowsiness to full tired consciousness running at full speed creating and organizing that list of things to do with all the accompanying details in my head. Yet, I'm too tired to really accomplish anything.
I shared this with G because he was talking about his occasional insomnia. He does the exact same thing except at night. Seriously, sign of mental problem?
I hope it'll disappear once I get my life on track.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Lady Gaga's Telepone parody by Key of Awesome
This is hilarious and so well done.
From JM, I thought it was too good to not post.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Lasagna recipe
This is the recipe I based the lasagna on with a few changes in the future.
For the meat sauce
In a big pot,
+ 1 lb ground beef
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (may need to cook first before quartering & slicing)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1/2 onion)
2 cloves chopped garlic
Sweat the onions & garlic till soft. Brown the meats.
+ 28 oz crushed tomato
16 oz tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup water
Stir together.
+ 2 Tbs white sugar
1 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Cover & simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours.
Do a final seasoning.
Can be made the night before.
Ricotta mixture
23 oz ricotta cheese
1 container of cottage cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
Mix with spoon.
Cook 11 lasagna noodles according to instruction.
Other ingredients
1 lb shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
Putting everything together
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
In a 9 x 13in dish, layer (x2)
2 cups of meat sauce
layer of noodles (5-6)
ricotta
mozzarella
Parmesan
Top with rest of meat sauce, rest of cheese.
Bake covered for 25 min.
Bake uncovered for 25 min.
Let rest 15 mins., before serving.
Serves 12 people.
For the meat sauce
In a big pot,
+ 1 lb ground beef
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (may need to cook first before quartering & slicing)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1/2 onion)
2 cloves chopped garlic
Sweat the onions & garlic till soft. Brown the meats.
+ 28 oz crushed tomato
16 oz tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup water
Stir together.
+ 2 Tbs white sugar
1 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Cover & simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours.
Do a final seasoning.
Can be made the night before.
Ricotta mixture
23 oz ricotta cheese
1 container of cottage cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
Mix with spoon.
Cook 11 lasagna noodles according to instruction.
Other ingredients
1 lb shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
Putting everything together
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
In a 9 x 13in dish, layer (x2)
2 cups of meat sauce
layer of noodles (5-6)
ricotta
mozzarella
Parmesan
Top with rest of meat sauce, rest of cheese.
Bake covered for 25 min.
Bake uncovered for 25 min.
Let rest 15 mins., before serving.
Serves 12 people.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
My 1st book club night: Brave New World
For book club, I chose Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
The world created by Huxley has haunted me ever since I read it in high school. I can't help but be sucked in by the invitation to examine our basic values and norms.
What if freedom isn't all it's touted to be? How to maximize happiness in a general population?
This novel is obviously supposed to be a dystopian novel. However, if we all grew up conditioned to like our station in life, never desiring more than what's beyond our reach, with the magical soma as a backup if we feel even slightly unhappy, is that such a bad thing? No disease or aging either.
To be honest, that world does appeal to me. Freedom has its consequences. We can choose happiness but unwittingly choose our suffering as well because we don't know what's best for us (think relationships). In fact, half the time we don't even know our wants. What we hope to achieve in life are all values ingrained within us by society. You need to make lots of money. You need to follow your heart and realize your dreams. You need to take care of your parents, etc. In the book, the society tells the individuals that happiness is not desiring to be a part of the other castes, enjoy your work, enjoy the entertainment available to you, enjoy promiscuity, enjoy consuming, enjoy not worrying about the younger and the older, etc. One has choices, but they are limited. Without knowing what life could otherwise be like (for example, how can a person who's only used a chamber pot all their lives and have never seen a toilet desire a toilet?) I think it's very feasible to have a high percentage of happy people in this type of society. Afterall, what is gained by the freedom to choose?
The only good thing that might come from freedom is the range of existence available for humans to experience. The tragic, the heroic, the dramatic, the comedic. To use my high school English teacher's words, they bring out "the greatness of the human condition" (as he described Frodo in The Lord of the Rings) or the worst. Is this greatness of human condition worth seeing if it means all this suffering in the world?
I'm glad everyone read the book and is now in our common canon. The meeting helped me clarify some thoughts.
Oh and I also made my first lasagna. I'd post pictures, but most of it is gone. I'm happy to report that it was a success. I'll post the recipe with my modifications tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Personalized toner: trial 1
After a lot of reading on the internet. Here are the ingredient that I finally decided on:
Ingredients
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) rose water
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) aloe vera juice
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) green tea
10 drops of jojoba oil
Proportions
This is the recipe I mostly based the proportions upon.
For the green tea portion, I am going to use the 1 cup green tea leaves/1qt of water. Probably not that much water and tea, as per this article.
Explanation of ingredients
To start off, I never even knew there was a difference between different toners and such. This is a pretty good overview of them.
This is customized to my skin which is a bit acne prone during certain times of the month, dry/combination, but tends to be a bit more oily during summer, I think.
I wanted to create a toner because I started wearing makeup again and it'll be nice to have something to help take everything off.
Rose water (found in ethnic section of grocery stores, I found mine in Ralph's. It was better than the ones I found in Henry's): I'm using rosewater as a base because it has mild astringent properties and does not contain alcohol. It's good for dry/sensitive skin. If my skin was a bit oilier, I'd probably use witch hazel hydrosol instead (which also does not contain alcohol, but I have no idea where to get it.)
Be sure to get the kind that says "distilled rose water" as opposed to "water, rose oil" or something to that effect. Distilling is really how one creates rose water. It's also why the one I found at Ralphs was better than the water/oil mixtures I found at Henry's. tsk tsk.
Apple cider vinegar: originally I wanted to use lemon juice. However, the latter is more perishable than vinegar. I wanted the acidic properties of either. Acid is not a good environment for bacteria to grow in. It also helps in exfoliating the skin.
Aloe vera juice: can be gel or juice. Using it just because everyone knows that aloe is good for skin. I'm using juice to make mixing easier. However, it seems to be quite perishable. So that's a drawback.
Green tea: anti-oxidant. Replaces vitamins E, C, and A apparently because it's that much stronger.
Jojoba oil: good for moisturizing and makeup removal since it's an oil. Fairly useful it seems.
Ultimately though, who knows if any of that is effective? Who knows whether some new properties will emerge when all of them are mixed together? Beneficial or detrimental? Perhaps it's all placebo effect. Ah well, it'll be fun.
Ingredients
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) rose water
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) aloe vera juice
4 tbsp (2 fl. oz.) green tea
10 drops of jojoba oil
Proportions
This is the recipe I mostly based the proportions upon.
For the green tea portion, I am going to use the 1 cup green tea leaves/1qt of water. Probably not that much water and tea, as per this article.
Explanation of ingredients
To start off, I never even knew there was a difference between different toners and such. This is a pretty good overview of them.
This is customized to my skin which is a bit acne prone during certain times of the month, dry/combination, but tends to be a bit more oily during summer, I think.
I wanted to create a toner because I started wearing makeup again and it'll be nice to have something to help take everything off.
Rose water (found in ethnic section of grocery stores, I found mine in Ralph's. It was better than the ones I found in Henry's): I'm using rosewater as a base because it has mild astringent properties and does not contain alcohol. It's good for dry/sensitive skin. If my skin was a bit oilier, I'd probably use witch hazel hydrosol instead (which also does not contain alcohol, but I have no idea where to get it.)
Be sure to get the kind that says "distilled rose water" as opposed to "water, rose oil" or something to that effect. Distilling is really how one creates rose water. It's also why the one I found at Ralphs was better than the water/oil mixtures I found at Henry's. tsk tsk.
Apple cider vinegar: originally I wanted to use lemon juice. However, the latter is more perishable than vinegar. I wanted the acidic properties of either. Acid is not a good environment for bacteria to grow in. It also helps in exfoliating the skin.
Aloe vera juice: can be gel or juice. Using it just because everyone knows that aloe is good for skin. I'm using juice to make mixing easier. However, it seems to be quite perishable. So that's a drawback.
Green tea: anti-oxidant. Replaces vitamins E, C, and A apparently because it's that much stronger.
Jojoba oil: good for moisturizing and makeup removal since it's an oil. Fairly useful it seems.
Ultimately though, who knows if any of that is effective? Who knows whether some new properties will emerge when all of them are mixed together? Beneficial or detrimental? Perhaps it's all placebo effect. Ah well, it'll be fun.
Monday, March 29, 2010
1st ever beauty post! The hunt for a perfect toner
While I was home in LA for the weekend, I observed that my mom had awesome skin! I mean, she has her periods. There was one time when her skin looked pliant, radiant and taut and she told me she was using lemon juice diluted with water to rinse her face with every morning. I wanted to try it, but couldn't keep up the regiment. And this time, she told me she had been using Artistry, a beauty brand from Amway (for some reason though, I have an association of Amway with scam. I don't know quite where that came from.)
That and Clinique's bonus days this past weekend got me thinking about toners. With a simple question to google, "Is Clinique's clarifying lotion a toner?" I came upon several cool sites with my mind teeming with ideas for an ideal toner for myself.
First and foremost, Skin Deep, a cosmetic database that evaluates products based on the safety of their ingredients. It compiles a compendium of published research on different ingredients. I've been able to find a fair number of common products that I use on a daily basis. While I take its reviews with a tablespoon of salt (since many scientific studies feed rats a great amount of a particular chemical to amplify the biological effects), I find it useful when used as a relative safety guide.
After being scared by Skin Deep blaring about the dangers of the various chemicals we are committing suicides with, I searched for a decent all natural toner, but I couldn't find one easily available on the market. In my search, I then stumbled upon care2 make a difference. I find some of the articles fairly useful and on the dot, such as using apple cider vinegar as a cleaning agent or a hair rinse, or using baking soda as a clarifying agent to get rid of residues from hair products. Anyway, by logical extension, since they are not crazy green people, their advice might be worth trying. I am particularly interested in making a sugar scrub (pictured, and I already have one as a gift which works totally well, but that's the allure/fun/pitfall of makeup and skin care, it's the novelty of it all), it seems super easy to make, add vinegar to Butters' water as a flea deterrent (from the apple cider vinegar article), apple cider vinegar toner, and a green tea toner.
That got me thinking about my own toner. Initially, someone recommended using just aloe vera juice. In wondering what other properties/goodness I can add to it, I thought about the more traditional witch hazel. So far, a witch hazel hydrosol (one without the standard 14% alcohol, using water instead) has been rather elusive. However, it might not even be necessary because according to this, for my skin, it's better to use a floral water as a base rather than witch hazel. I totally feel like a chemist, trying to navigate the creation of the toner btw. What is the purpose of glycerin in some of these recipes? What is the shelf life of this concoction? Will the different properties even counteract each other? Only time will tell...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Shopping for healthcare
The first call was the worst because I didn't have my scripting down and was testing the waters to see what the standards are for the procedure. I reached a receptionist named Edward, told him about the lack of insurance and need for the procedure, ending with a simple request for a price range (emphasis, again, on range) that includes, office visit, consultation, lab work, procedure, and anything and everything else associated. His first line of defense, "Well, I can't really tell you that. You'll have to come in."
"Well, can you transfer me to someone who can give me an estimate?"
"The nurses assistant (I think that's what he said) would know, but they are all busy."
"Ok, is there anyone else you can transfer me to who can give me a number?"
"Hold on, let me ask." Wait for a few minutes with the nice elevator music. "It's really hard to say without a consultation. Can you come in so we can look at it?"
"I don't have insurance. I understand that a lot of places offer free consultation. Even then, you understand that it's not feasible for me to go around to every office for the free consultation in order to get a quote..."
"Yeah, I appreciate your situation...If you had insurance it would be much easier..." *sigh* Face-palm moment. If I, or anyone else had insurance, I wouldn't be calling you. I'd call my fucking doctor. Anyway. "Well, it'll be *blah blah blah* for the procedure. I urge you to go to a well-known place. It is your health we are talking about." And he went on about how good the practice is, by which time I zoned out.
"Yes, I understand. I picked you first actually because I heard good things about you." Lie. I found them on yelp.com. There were two good reviews.
And so it went on.
Apparently, I became rather well known in the office fairly quickly. When I called back, not five minutes later, a woman answered the phone. I barely started explaining the situation to her when she interrupted, "Oh! You were talking to Edward! Let me transfer you!" Oh! Thanks for your bubbly personality and your unwillingness to talk to me or even listen to my question! Poor Edward. He once again had to bug the doctors to get an answer to my question and once again lamented my lack of insurance and once again urged me to make an appointment.
To be honest, I really did appreciate everything he did for me. I've been on the other side with persistent customers with unusual requests. It's really good service when he left his station to get answers for me.
The rest of the calls went more or less smoothly. I changed my scripting to, "Hi my name is...., and I know this is a difficult question to answer, however, I don't have insurance and I'm looking for a quote for ____ procedure that includes, consultation, procedure and lab work." With that, I got a bit of a spiel of the dependence of the price on the type of procedure (it seems like quite a few people don't really understand the concept of range), but mostly I got the two numbers out of them.
I can't help but think that maybe part of what ails our healthcare is the lack of transparency of prices. Why shouldn't the doctors offices or hospitals know how much a procedure should be? Why shouldn't the patients be able to shop around for an estimate, kind of like car insurance? I can see the pitfalls, such as in an emergency situation, I might not have the time or be conscious enough to make a decision. However, for a majority of procedures, I'd bet that this will help bring down the cost of medical care.
I was listening to a podcast by The Economist talking about two opposing view points on the US health reform bill from two Britons. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be able to respect the opposing view point. He brought up a good argument that the biggest problem is the cost, even Obama acknowledges this because he said that healthcare spendings is taking up 16-17% GDP. However, the present bill does not do enough to control cost. Based on my earlier experience that day, I thought that if we made the market more open and forced consumers to face the numbers of the procedures we are choosing, it'll put a downward pressure on the market prices.
Throughout my talks with various people about healthcare, I've been surprised to learn that my view of the insurance companies as evil was not shared by even a majority of people. In my group of friends, I've been able to learn other likely causes and has been persuaded to change my mind, even about universal healthcare from the federal government. I find it frustrating that we lack exactly this type of productive, educating, and enlightening dialogue furthering the knowledge of both parties at the national level. It's especially sad that the two major Parties cannot even talk to each other to form a compromise that takes the best of both idealogical standpoints, since to my knowledge, implementing one does not necessarily mean the exclusion of the other. That's why it was so surprising and satisfying to listen to these two English guys talking about healthcare, disagreeing with each other on certain points, but ceding others based on common goals, and having a civil debate. When can we move beyond "You lie!" and "Baby killer!" and reach that point in our national dialogue?
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