simpleton

My husband is so cheap... ......he must be....!!!

2009-08-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Wife:Ouch! Ouch! Oouch!!!! OOOOOUUUUCH!!!!

(5 minutes later)
Husband: What happened baby?

Wife: My fingers!!! I hurt my fingers using this can opener. I need an automatic can opener. Waaaaaah!!!

Husband: Aww poor baby..but no, you don't need it.

Wife: oh ok yay!!!...uhhh what? did u say no?

Husband: Yep, you don't need it. Just shout for me when you need me to open up cans, just make sure I'm not playing Halo!

Holy Crap! What am I going to do?

2009-07-04T00:07:00.000-07:00

First box of produce from Full Belly Farm

2009-06-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

I first heard about CSA at an Asian Fusion Organic restaurant in LA about a month ago. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a part of a growing social movement that forms a partnership between the people eating the food and the people growing the food. This movement is not something new. It started in Japan in the 60's when a number of people became concerned about where their food came from. The way CSA works is, members of CSA agrees to pay a farm in advance for their share of the produce. This way, farmers get a fair share for their labor and members get really fresh produce. It's good for the environment and it's good for the farmer.

So we are giving this a try and see if we can adjust to eating seasonally. The picture above is our share of $17 from Full Belly Farm. The only drawback is that we have no choice in the selection of vegetables and fruit they pack for us. They pack what is in season. But the good part is, it's fresh and organic.

Organic produce

2009-05-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Going organic, should I or shouldn't I? Going organic can be expensive as can be seen at the organic produce section at the local grocery store. Pesticide kills off pests so if it's bad for those organisms, it's got to be bad for us. And Plus, study has shown that going organic is good for your metabolism. So is it worth it? Of course! So what if you can't afford to go all out on being organic? I read an article on this this and it says, that you don't have to go 100% organic to reap the benefits. According to this article, a little goes a long way. The key is knowing what has the most pesticides and going organic on those. You can lower your pesticide exposure by 80% by just avoiding the top 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. Click here for the full list of contaminated fruit and vegetables.

I'm a published photographer!

2009-05-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yay! My photo is somewhere on their site.

She said...then he said...

2009-05-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

She: I really like my friend, E's new glasses. She got it at costco. She said it's $60 or so and they have different colors. Let's go to costco.

He: What? Another pair of glasses you have way too many pairs of glasses.

She: I can't wear contacts, I have chronic dry eyes... glasses are my accessories, I want it.

He: No..no..no...

She: Hmm...you said your xbox live account expired, you needed to get a new one? Hmmm..no to that, you have way too many games, why can't you just play other games that don't require a live account..

He: What? No way!

She: What? It's the same logic...you like games, I like accessories...

He: It's not the same.

She: Hey, you know how you have have PS3, wii, Xbox 360? You don't need all three consoles and plus you also play games on your computer....why don't you sell a few of your consoles...

He: It's not the same...

She: same...

hairy incident

2009-04-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

I put on my tank top and shorts and got to the gym. The gym was pretty empty today, probably because it's Sunday and/or Easter. Anyways, so decided to do some weights and lifted my arms up, yikes, hair...oops..oh my! I forgot to shave....haha...and then i looked at my legs, oh crap......! Good thing there weren't too many people around so I headed out to do something that didn't require me lifting my arms and found a treadmill in the corner where I can hide my hairy legs. I drove all the way to the gym, not gonna let some unwanted hair prevent me getting a good workout. Unwanted hair is so annoying....I wish our society would think that hairy legs or hairy underarm is attractive, then no need to wax or shave....

I love chocolate!

2009-03-23T00:48:00.000-07:00

I just love chocolate! There is so much to love about it. It's pretty, it's got antioxidants, and and and...it's just so yummy!!!! When I was looking at these, I was salivating and was captivated by them, particularly the minty green ones.....but to my surprise and probably yours too, I didn't get any. I was put off by the pretty person behind the counter who rudely told me that I was allowed to take only 1 picture. Hmmm...did she think I was taking a picture of her?

Is it time for breakfast yet?

2009-03-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

What's for breakfast tomorrow? Vegan Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins of course! It's one of my favorite recipes from The Joy of Vegan Baking. One of my favorite gifts of all time. Everything I've tried making in there is so yummy that most people can't tell it's vegan.

Mix together bananas, chocolate chips, walnuts, canola oil,..... flour and... wham! you got banana muffins, it's almost that easy.

Here's a trivia. Did you know that banana is the most consumed fruit in the world? (It's one of Mr. P's favorite because it's the most convenient to eat, of course haha). You're probably thinking, banana farmers must make the most money. Sadly, that is not the case. Most banana farmers receive a low price for their produce because of corporate control. To help these farmers get their fair share of profit, look for a "fair trade" label on your bananas whenever possible! Click here for more details.

I can't stop thinking about food...

2009-03-11T18:32:00.001-07:00

I can't stop thinking about food and it is not surprising that my thoughts are currently on "what's for dinner?", "hmm...what's for dessert?". When I woke up this morning at 9:45 (that's really 8:45!!!!), I was thinking, hmmm..what should I eat for breakfast, but unfortunately, since I was running late so I wasn't able to eat my breakfast (bad audrey! breakfast is good for you!). So for dinner, this is what I'm thinking, Tofu Skin Rolls with Sesame Ginger Dip, and Stir-fried Vegetarian Rice Noodles from my newly bought cookbook, Quick & Easy Asian Vegetarian Recipes. Yes yes, I must have that for dinner.

Let's see, is it really quick & easy? The recipe looks kinda complicated. What's a complicated recipe? It's one where there's lots of ingredients and where most require chopping and slicing. But it's from the quick & easy cookbook, therefore it must be quick right? We'll see... haha

it's been a long time...

2009-03-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I blogged. Let's see, at this moment, I'm sitting in my cube, waiting for my ride home and sliding my chair back and forth to look out the window, and thinking wow the sun is still up! I love daylight saving even though I lost an hour this weekend, it is worth it.

So what I am up to lately? I still love to cook and bake. I still enjoy taking photos (I haven't taken much pictures lately probably because I haven't gotten any inspirations and I want that new camera, Canon 5D Mark II, maybe it'll inspire me to take more pictures ha ha). I'm still learning the violin. Did I mention that I pass the level 1 (performing and written) test? I'm currently preparing for my level 3 test (wish me luck). I'm still playing my MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) but not as much.

And, I'm still a vegetarian. It's been 1 year 3 months and 9 days! I've been craving dim sum, more so recently than in the past year. I've been scouring the internet for vegetarian dim sum recipes (not too many unfortunately) and cookbooks (none). After an exhaustive search, I finally bought a traditional dim sum cookbook by Ellen Leong Blonder. Her book mainly caters toward making traditional dim sum (lots of meat and seafood) but she does have a few vegetarian recipes in there (thank you so much Ellen Leong Blonder) for remembering folks like me. Here's a link to her book, Dim Sum, The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch . I know I know, dim sums are such a hassle to make, why don't I just go satisfy my dim sum craving at a restaurant? Well, the problem is, not too many Chinese dim sum restaurants cater to special diets. So I gotta make it myself. Over the next few weeks, I will be making dim sum (perhaps after work), one recipe at a time, and freeze them for later. And then eat them all in one shot over a weekend! What do you think? Dim sum, desserts and tea anyone? Sounds like a plan eh?

Okie Dokie, looks like I have to end my blog for the day here. My ride should be here any minute.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:25:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Automatic White Balance

2008-07-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which of the above pictures was from using the camera's automatic white balance and which was from using custom white balance? If you guessed that the one on the left was from the camera's automatic white balance, you got it right. When it comes to white balance the camera gets it right most of the time and this is usually when you're taking pictures outside. When you're indoor, like in this example, the artificial light creates a color cast. Your brain, using references (what you know to be gray or white) will automatically adjusts the color you see to what you know to be correct. The camera, which doesn't have such a reference, will try to its best capture the color. So it's best to either use custom white balance or some of the camera's built in white balance (most camera has tungsten, cloudy, shade, etc) to offset color casts than to rely solely on automatic white balance.

2008-07-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

What are some of my favorite things from today's wedding? The view and the Raspberry Sorbet! Wow!

and and my favorite favorite, most favorite part was...the vegetarian entree of course! It's so nice when the bride and groom remember to take care of the vegetarians. I forgot what the name of the entree was, but it was delicious!

Being a vegetarian...

2008-06-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

Being a vegetarian is hard. But being a vegetarian at a Chinese Wedding Banquet as a photographer's assistant is harder. Why is that? Well, if you're a guest, you can simply let the bride and groom know ahead of time and can take care of that for you. Anyways, so what happens when you're a vendor? You're pretty much on your own. That was the scenario today. What did I do today? Starve myself? Hell no! I ordered steamed veggies ($9!) and ate that instead. So I sat there with my steamed veggies while courses after courses (of meat and seafood) were brought out. Then when the waiter brought Stir-Fry Abalone with Bok-Choy and set it down, he said to me, "this is vegetarian, no meat". Whoa, a vegetarian dish? Are you kidding me? Being a vegetarian is hard, but having to explain to a Chinese waiter that abalone is not a vegetable? That is super hard!

Congratulations to Lisa & Sen!

2008-06-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

oh, look, the florist decorating the wedding cake! hehehe

And here's what it looked like afterwards.

The center piece

some pictures from the trip...

2008-06-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

My favorite picture

That's me trying to look like a photographer!

That's me feeding..feeding a deer!!!! Fun!!!

adorable deer!

bejitarian

2008-05-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

5.22.2008
bejitarian muke menyu wa arimasu ka? That translates to "Do you have a vegetarian menu?"

Some cute stuff..

wakari masen

2008-05-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

wakari masen...it translate to I don't understand and to say it politely, it's "sumi masen ga, wakari masen". And, "eigo o hanashi msau ka?", which means, do you speak English? These are probably the most important phrases. And the next important thing is body language, and bow bow and bow. The Japanese are so polite! Image hundreds and thousands of polite people swarming around the city, that's what Tokyo's like. It's kinda scary since I come from a country where the majority of strangers are brutes!

5/21/2008

View of Tokyo from Tokyo Tower

Imperial Palace - Kyokyo

Sensoji Temple

Ginza at night

recital

2008-05-13T11:49:00.001-07:00

I was so nervous about the recital. It was my first recital ever. I think I only played like 60% of the song because I got so nervous, I blanked out. And on top of that, my hands started shaking and the bow kept touching other strings. It was a disaster! Hopefully I'll do better next time.

Birds are funny animals...

2008-05-06T16:21:00.001-07:00

...they are such clowns. I've been watching Scratchy from work over the webcam to monitor her since she is sick. Watching her makes me laugh, they are so funny. Her new treat/food tray has a mirror on it and it looks like she's staring at her face all day long. hehe... well, Scratchy is doing better but not completely back to normal yet. Today's the first day that she can perch. Yay scratchy! The vet said Scratchy's a miracle. He said rarely does he see a bird get better after being in so sick. Keep your fingers crossed!

Poor Scratchy.....

2008-05-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Poor Scratchy has lost 20 grams. We first noticed something was wrong Wednesday night. We brought her to the emergency room that night and was told that she might not make it and that they would call us if that happens. That night, every time the phone rang, my heart would sank. I was mad at myself for not noticing sooner that scratchy wasn't feeling well. I didn't notice that she was losing weight, fluffed up, and was always sitting in the corner. Since she was laying eggs, I thought she just wanna sit by her eggs. The vet said that Scratchy most likely has pneumonia because from the x-rays, it showed that there were fluids in her lungs. We're still waiting for the results from the blood test.

nerves.....

2008-04-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

I stumped over the G major scale and G arpeggio during my level 1 test! Actually, I stumped over lots of other parts of the test. You see, I have this problem, it's call nerves.....I got so nervous. I've been preparing for the level 1 test since late January. 3 months of hard work. I think I might have failed it.....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! Now it makes me wonder if I really should have a recital... I might get on stage, and freeze.

my goldfish lantern

2008-04-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

Did I wake up and that spring has past and summer has arrived? Then did I wake up again and spring has returned? The weather hasn't made up its mind. Hot one day and cold and windy the next. If the weather has a gender, I would say it's a she, so fickle!

Well, the other night, I believe it was Sunday night, it felt like a hot late summer or early autumn night. I flopped myself down onto the bed, which was next to the window with a fan running. Feeling a bit of a cool breeze and hearing people talking outside, I suddenly remembered a night many years ago, if my memory was correct, it was the night of the mid autumn festival. Across the pacific, on the other continent, mid-autumn's day was a big deal. I don't even remember how old I was, probably not more than five. I remember me holding my goldfish lantern with a candle inside. I remember staring at the candle flickering, making the red-orange goldfish bright. I wonder if they sell them here in the US....It was a night like Sunday's, hot and neighbors were talking....

New Spring Project

2008-03-15T15:48:00.001-07:00

Ever cooked something and needed a tiny teeny bit of fresh herbs but ended up with a bunch of them? Happens to me all time. The store forces me to buy more than I need!!! What to do with the rest of herbs? Well, 1 of 2 things happen, I either put in too much, way more than the recipe calls for or I start putting the herbs in everything I make for the rest of the week so I won't waste it. Options 1 & 2 are both no good. So option 3 it is! Option 3 is plant your own herbs! So this spring, my project is just that! Look, it's sprouting!

Some minor road blocks at restaurants

2008-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

Majority of the time, when I'm at a restaurant, there're usually some vegetarian options. This however, isn't always the case when you're at a Chinese or a Vietnamese restaurant, err rather these hole in the wall Asian restaurants (the only exception are Thai and Indian restaurants). "Veggie-terian?", they repeat after me as if it's a word they've never heard of, hmm...maybe not... as most of them don't speak English very well. "Oh you want only veg-git-able, no problem", except that of course, they use chicken/pig broth or they use sauce with chicken or pig flavoring. So, I try to be careful and I ask them what's in a dish or if the dish has meat or dairy or eggs in it and most of the time, these waiters/waitresses get irritable with me, which upsets me, I mean what's so wrong with telling me what's in it and what if I have food allergy? So, to go around this problem, I simply don't want to go to these Asian restaurants (usually these hole in the wall place that I used to love so much cuz they're so good) unless the menu has vegetarian options and that's that!

What a tragedy...

2008-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

This morning as I turned into 24 Hour's parking lot and going down my usual aisle to find my usual spot, 2 pretty new Mercedes were blocking my way. Apparently, they had rear ended each other while backing out of their spots. It's too bad I missed the action. Well, they were arguing over whose fault it was. These 2 people, they could have been a couple, one driving a 340 series and the other a 540 series (??) and both wearing designer sportswear outfits. I really couldn't see any scratches from where I was. But seriously though, if there were some scratches, they should still just stop arguing and suck it up and move on. They can stop buying designer outfits and use their own money to get touch ups and move on with their morning. That way they can stop wasting each other's time and oh, ya, my time as well.

A cold shower

2008-02-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

I am still shaking and my teeth are clattering as I am typing. So 2 mornings ago, I discovered that there was no hot water. I remember coming back from the gym and jumping into the shower and finding the water to be lukewarm. Strange, I thought since we weren't not doing the laundry and the dishwasher wasn't not running, why was the water lukewarm? Then later Mr. P thought that I used up all the hot water. Then yesterday morning, we realized the water heater wasn't working. No no, don't worry, I didn't skip showering yesterday but I won't vouch for Mr. P. I showered at work yesterday! So anyways, an hour ago, I just couldn't stand it anymore as I can't stand not showering for over 24 hours. I believed I jumped into the shower at work yesterday at 10:30 am so naturally I had to shower when 10:30 came (OCD? perhaps). I guess I coulda gone to the gym and shower there, but....eh, it's cleaner at home. Then I thought, oh it can't be that bad (a cold shower that is) after all, I went swimming at an outdoor pool in the winter when it was in the low 50's in the late afternoon before. What a fool! I mean hello?!!! What was I thinking? The pool was heated?!!! Anyways, not only did I want to lather some lavender soap on my body, I wanted to wash my hair too! I came up with a plan. Wash my hair first at the sink and then go into the shower and blast myself with the ice cold water. Surprisingly, washing my hair using ice cold water was kinda pleasant, it wasn't too bad, I kinda liked it. Then, i got in the shower, and ....OH MY GOD!!!! Damn it was ssssssssssooooooo cold. I think I cursed the entire time, screaming some insane profanity that I didn't know I was capable of saying. It was probably the quickest shower ever, record time! No doubt about it. Am I glad I showered? Well, ya, I love that CLEAN feeling! Will I ever do it again? HELL NO! Mr. P better get that water heater working! hehe ^-^

Whoo-hooo vegan ramen!

2008-02-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

Vegan Ramen? Not unheard off but very uncommon. Tonight's dinner was based on the vegan ramen recipe in Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner's Japanese cookbook, Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional. It's pretty close to the real thing. It's a little bit on the salty side, not sure it's err on our part or cuz it's of the recipe. We did add quite a few things here and there to make it the way we like it. I'm gonna try to make it few more times, tweak it here and there to my liking. Once I get the soup to taste just the way I like it, I'll post the recipe at Aud's veggie tale.

Happy Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T00:01:00.001-08:00

Happy Happy Valentine's Day! I don't think we should have a Valentine's Day because it only makes those single people out there more sad! But, since we do have a Valentine's Day, happy Valentine's Day everyone!

2008-02-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

Hot Braised String Beans

This is my best attempt at trying to make Hot Braised String Beans. It kinda looks too healthy to be Hot Braised hehe. Did you know that the typical Hot Braised Strings Beans aren't very healthy? That's cuz to make it, you have to first deep fry the beans and then stir fry it -- GREASY. Anything deep fried is, in my opinion, unhealthy! This is the healthier version of it. To be honest, it wasn't that good, kinda bland.

Baby Corn and Tofu with Cashew

This is made from a recipe in Nancie McDermott's cookbook, The Real Vegetarian Thai. It was yummy but oh so spicy!!!

Nabemono

2008-02-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Nabemono, it means meals in a pot or one pot dish. Tonight's dinner was "Daikon, Atsu-Age (Fried tofu) and Spinach in a Miso Broth from Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner's Japanese cookbook, Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional. This nabemono was mmm...so yummy! Simple and flavorful! Another one of those recipes that I will make again and again and again. Hmm....although, I think I'll add some mushrooms next time umm..well...because I love mushrooms!

mmm......yummmy thai noodle dish!

2008-02-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

I love trying out a new recipe. Tonight, it was vegetarian Paht-see-yu (pan fried rice noodles with broccoli and mushrooms) from my newly bought cookbook, Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott. It was mmmmm yummy! The only thing I changed was not putting in the eggs as directed. Nope, no eggs, boycotting eggs remember? Oh and, ummm being a fan of spicy stuff, I added a Thai chili pepper hehe. It turned out really well. This is one recipe that I will make again!

Pet peeves

2008-02-01T11:27:00.001-08:00

I was sitting on the toilet this morning when I finished a roll of toilet paper and was suddenly reminded of my pet peeves. My pet peeves is not sitting at the toilet and finding out that there is no toilet paper (that is more forgivable because it can mean that the last person simply forgot), but to find that there is 1 or 2 squares of toilet paper left, that is wrong! I mean come on!!!! What can I do with 1 or 2 squares of toilet paper? I can't even blow my nose w/ 2 squares of toilet paper without getting some snot and boogers on my fingers (sorry for the vivid picture). 1 or 2 squares of toilet paper left means one thing, that the last person (I'm going to use he from now on) who used the toilet last knew that if he uses all the toilet paper, he would have to refill it but if there's some left, then he wouldn't have to refill it. Evil!!!!!! See why it's my pet peeves?!!!!

Our Environment

2008-01-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has a good article on the impact meat consumption has on our environment. Click here to read why eating less meat is good for the environment.

28 days later (Alive and kicking and motivated!)

2008-01-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you're thinking about the horror flick, 28 days later but I'm referring to my progress as a vegetarian. It has been 28 days! Woo hoo! Every once in a while though, I would crave for some of my old favorites, the stuff I used to eat when I wasn't a vegetarian. It is hard because meat is tasty. This is where I have to be strong and not let my cravings over power me. Not eating anything with eggs in it is particularly hard because I'm a big fan of pastry and noodles. I've been doing pretty good with not having stuff with dairy in it. Speaking of dairy, I had my first cheese-free pizza last night. It's actually pretty good! All in all, I have failed in my attempt to not eat anything with dairy and/or eggs in it. I have, however, reduce my overall consumption of food with egg and dairy. So I'm pretty happy with my progress. :)

Farm Sanctuary

2008-01-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

I want to go to the 300 acre California Farm Sanctuary located at Orland! It looks like a fun and educational place for little kids as well as adults. Their doors are open from April to November. They have overnight cabins and dining options (vegan selections only). Imagine waking up to the sounds of crowing roosters and pitching in with farm chores. Sounds fun doesn't it? Click here for more information.

I love to eat (my version of Benihana's) fried rice!

2008-01-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

Fried Rice is my specialty. My fried rice is good (it's the healthier version of Benihana's fried rice hehe)! I love good food. It must be a surprise to those who know me that I've become a vegetarian. Saying I love to eat and saying that I love being a vegetarian must sound kinda contradictory to most people because in many ways these 2 statements are kinda the antithesis of each other, especially to all those non-vegetarians. One must think that the love of eating good food means eating/trying everything and everything encompasses food with meat in it. I would like to delve deeply into how there is a variety of vegetarian dishes but that'll be another day. And I would also like to share how being a vegetarian has open up my taste buds, but that'll have be on another day as well. Today, it's about my fried rice!

So, I learned to make fried rice from Benihana (I'm not kidding)! You can learn a lot from watching someone cook. A little over 10 years ago, I was introduced to Benihana's style of fried rice. I was obsessed with making my fried rice just like theirs (minus all the gimmicks and tricks of course - i won't be tossing stuff into my hat or throwing the bowl of rice up and stuff like that). Over the years, I've improved on it and made it healthier. And now, I, yup, you guessed it, I made it vegan (even healthier, although I must add that it now no longer resembles Benihana's)! And to my surprise, I like it even better than when I used eggs, and chicken/shrimp. Click here for the unbenihana vegan fried rice recipe! If you want the meat version, email me.

Consumers be wary of the Egg Industry!

2008-01-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

If I'm going to pay more for eggs because the farm (agribusiness) promises better living conditions, then it better be cruelty-free. Dumb dumb me, I went ahead and bought eggs from Horizon Organic because it says cage-free and roaming-free without first doing some research. It's about $6 a dozen! Then I thought about checking up from on them. From their site, it looks like they really care about the animals and the environment. Very deceptive indeed! Well, everyone, don't be fooled! Don't buy from them! Click here for why.

Eggs & Hens

2008-01-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

America is really really lagging when it comes to the welfare of their farm animals. Just to show some comparisons, Switzerland banned the battery cage system of producing eggs and required the suppliers to provide their egg laying hens free space and a nesting box and that was in 1991. The European Union hopes to, by 2012, require egg producers to provide at least 120 square inches per bird. Now, where do we stand? The typical living space for each hen is 48 square inches! You see what I mean by "lagging"? So, what's my point in this? Well, I'm not trying to convince you to boycott eggs, but to think about what consumers can do. This is where supply and demand comes into play. As consumers, we can choose whose eggs we buy from. When there's enough people wanting to buy eggs from humanely treated hens, then the industry would be more inclined to produce it. When possible, choose to buy from organic certified.

Did you know that 4 years ago, McDonald's started requiring their egg suppliers to make living conditions better for their egg laying hens? They required their egg suppliers to provide 72 square inches for each hen. Compared w/ the European guideline, it isn't that great but compared w/ the rest of the egg farms in the US, it's much better. Also, McDonald's considering requiring it's processors to use more humane methods of slaughtering poultry. Click here and here for more on this story. So, there is still hope in this country.

Eggs & milk?

2008-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

There's this yummy, really really yummy waffle recipe in The Newlyweds' Cookbook, which you can buy at either Amazon or Crate & Barrel. I converted it so that it's vegan. All waffle and pancake recipes are vegetarian. So I'm just a vegetarian, why do I need to convert my waffle and pancake recipes to vegan? So what's my problem? This may sound strange but I would eat stuff with eggs in it like pasta and noodles and once in a while, I wouldn't mind buying some pastry from like Starbucks, which will contain milk, butter, and eggs as long as I'm not doing it all the time. I cannot get myself to buy eggs or milk at the grocery store. Milk is so much easier to substitute. Egg is a different story. I know I know, it doesn't make any sense. I guess all I want to do is lower my consumption of eggs and if I buy a dozen or even 1/2 dozen eggs, I wouldn't be lowering my consumption. The vegan banana almond waffle actually came out pretty well! For the recipe, click here!

I'm preparing for 2 things!

2008-01-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

They are my violin recital (first recital ever) next month and my grade 1 exam in April! Now, I have a problem and that is stage fright. Every time I play in front of anyone other than my violin teacher, I screw up because I get so nervous. As an adult beginner, I tend to be more critical about my playing and I get embarrassed easily as I always feel like people expect me to do better or do more because I'm an adult. Now to get over these fears, I think I have to practice playing in front of people.I'm thinking, maybe I'll go play a few songs in the park once the Sun comes back or maybe invite a few people over and play for them. Now you may wonder why am I doing so much, after all, most adult beginners learn for fun and don't bother with recitals or tests. Well it is because my goal, musically, is to in 4 or 5 years be able to join a community college orchestra or a community orchestra and doing these (recitals and tests) will prepare me or pave the way to that goal! Wish me luck!

the unauthorized biography of tom cruise?!!!!

2008-01-08T17:40:00.001-08:00

HoHoHo...HeHeHe!

Click here for more info.

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Flaxseed oil

2008-01-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

So a little bit about my family's medical history. On my mother's side, my grandfather died of a heart attacked while he was in his mid to late 40's. On my bio father's side, my grandfather died of a stroke and my bio father has had 2 strokes. So what does that tell me? It tells that either I have a family history of heart problems and high cholesterol or bad lifestyles (fatty food and lack of exercise). My guess is that it's a bit of both, but I'm leaning more toward the bad habit side as the root of their health problems. Oh, so why am I giving this little piece of information and what's it got to do with Flaxseed oil? Hmm...., well as most of you remember, about a year ago, I was complaining about my high resting heart rate (always around 90's and sometimes even higher) and how my heart rate would shoot up to 180 (sometimes even higher) when I run at a measly 5 mph for my 1 or 2 mile run. And as most of you know, I'm a pretty health conscious person. I try to eat healthy and I workout regularly. For months, I did what I could but I was unable to bring my resting heart rate down. About a month ago, I went to see an ophthalmologist for dry eyes and she recommended that I take flaxseed oil. A week ago, I went running (and as usual, got my heart rate monitor strap around me) and I was blown away when I saw that my heart rate was between 146 to 156 while running at 5 mph. Seeing the improvement, I measured my resting heart rate and it was at 72!!! What am I doing differently? Exercise wise, I am pretty much still doing the same thing. It's either because I'm taking flaxseed oil supplement or because of my new diet. I think it's the addition of flaxseed oil in my diet!

For more information on flaxseed oil, click here. It turns out, flaxseed's got a whole lot of other benefits!

I can't live without...

2008-01-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Ice cream and Sriracha! The first item mentioned, ice cream, is why it's next to impossible for me to be a vegan. I'll resort to being a near vegan, that is I'll occasionally have to splurge and eat some ice cream. Hmmm... maybe i can replace ice cream with fruit bars...one day. I bought some soy ice cream the other day, it's just not the same. Perhaps there's a farm somewhere that treats it's dairy cows humanely. Oh and while I'm on the subject, why does everything has eggs in it? Being a vegan, that's too tough, perhaps next year. One step at a time right? Right now, I'll just stick to being a ovo-lacto vegetarian. Speaking of which, thank goodness Sriracha is vegetarian. I looked at the label the other day and there's no animal products in it. Whew!

Going Vegetarian

2008-01-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

Huh? ..eh? What? Why? That's what I've been getting from people when I tell them that I'm gonna be a vegetarian. When I first thought of it a month ago, I was thinking of only doing it for a month. I thought that it would be healthy after dining out 50% of time recently. I thought that it would force me to cook more and thought that it'll be a one month period. After doing more research, I'm going to make it a lifestyle. It'll be a challenge but well worth it.

There are many reasons to become a vegetarian. For me, it's for better health, better environment, and most important of all, for not partaking in the cruelty of animals.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy New Year!

A guitar that does what?

2007-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

A guitar that tunes itself! Here's an article on it, click here. For $2500, you will never have to tune again. Oh oh and a robot that can play the violin. Amazing! Check it out here!

A. Dvorak - Humoresque No.7

2007-11-30T16:02:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite songs! I love their expressions, particularly Yo Yo Ma's expression...hehe. :)

American Children living in poverty....

2007-11-26T01:05:00.000-08:00

It is a reality. Often time, when we think about children living in poverty, we often think of children living in undeveloped countries. Do you know that nearly 13 million American children live in family with income below the federal poverty level? For these children, their time are not spent on worrying about doing their homework or what toys they want to get, but on whether they'll be hungry when bedtime comes or if they'll be cold because winter is here and they lack proper clothings or enough blankets. What are we to do? And most of us probably think, well, we can get them a Christmas gift or donate some food during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New year. So we feed our poor neighbor and provide them, perhaps a nice Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, but that is only 3 days a year. What happens after thanksgiving or Christmas or new year? We go back to doing our regular stuff and the stuff about poverty? We kinda forget about it. (I'm saying this because I'm guilty of this.) We can make a difference. We can do our jobs as citizens to ensure that we have effective public policy to make a difference in our neighbor's life. The first step to doing that is to be informed of the different policies out there and vote because effective policy can make a difference. For more info (such as stats) on children living in poverty, click here.

And if you have time, volunteer to be a big brother or a big sister. Click here to get to the big brother/big sister volunteer program.

for your entertainment..

2007-11-08T00:47:00.001-08:00

if you're bored and got nothing better to do.....click play... if you think i looked pretty pissed...well i was!!!...as it took me forever because I kept screwing up...don't think that I didn't screw up on this one..just that I got tired....goodnight! and oh..you might wanna turn down your speaker...

napa

2007-11-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

Below are some of my favorite pictures from our trip to Napa.

a beautiful night

2007-11-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

I believe I have what you call blogger's block because after like 20 minutes, I could only come up, "I had a great time at the piano & clarinet concert yesterday at Villa Montalvo and Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse were great".

See? I have a happy face to prove that I really enjoyed it!

Did u know

2007-10-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

that fify years ago, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik..here's more info, click here for the article. wow...another mind boggling thing for me.

Happy Happy Happy

2007-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Birthday to me and Regina!

hm......what happens if you can't read chinese?!!!

2007-09-07T01:56:00.000-07:00

well.....you lose out on this super deal (3 dishes plus rice for $17.99) at this little chinese restaurant next to the music studio I go to for violin lessons. They have this chinese banner out saying, "3 dishes plus rice for $17.99" and nope there is no English translation on there. Good thing I can read the number 3 and $17.99. Well, so I asked the waitress in my horrible mandarin about this $17.99 deal and she handed me the special menu and guess what?!!!! It was all in chinese. I asked if there was an English menu and there was, except it was the regular menu, not the special 3 items for $17.99 special menu. So in short, the deal was only for people who can read chinese. How...rude...how discriminatory.....so i randomly pointed to 3 items on the menu becaues the waitress didn't want to read the dishes one by one for me.....(can't blame her, I wouldn't want to either) and I don't want to pay $10 for a dish that I could get for $6 on the special menu....

Mind Boggling....

2007-09-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

OK, so whenever there's a holiday do environment engineers really get a day off? For example, for us, trash day is Monday and it was labor's day so of course, no waste management service that day. But then the next day we put our trashcans out. So doesn't this mean that they have to work twice as hard to get all the trash that was suppose to go out on Monday done on Tuesday?

Testing out my new lens at Hakone Garden

2007-09-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being a photographer assistant is being able to get your hands on all sorts of photography equipments, body, lens, flash, tripod - you name it. But nothing beats getting first dibs on on them when they being replaced by newer equipments on the market. So, that is how I came to own the Cannon EF 75-200 2.8 USM telephoto lens, an absolutely amazing lens, even if there isn't IS on it.

The Mystery of the Stradivarius

2007-08-31T11:34:00.001-07:00

The most expensive violin

2007-08-31T01:33:00.001-07:00

The highest price anyone paid for a Stradivarius violin is 3.5 million dollars! Wow! O.o Imagine playing an instrument that is oh so so expensive. Actually, I would be afraid to play it.

I have been reading a non fiction book on this famous luthier, Antonio Stradivari, maker of this insanely priced violin.

I know nonfiction...just a few years ago history puts me to sleep. I've been really interested in history lately (in the past few years that is). Did i mention that that my favorite channel is the history channel? Well anyways, I was in a for a pleasant surprise by the book,"Stradivari's Genius" written by Toby Faber. It is packed with drama. First, Antonio Stradivari married a wealthy widow, Francesca Feraboschi, whose brother murdered her husband. She then sued her dead husband's father for her dowry back!!! Four months after she was remarried to Antonio, they had their first kid! Who would have thought that people do that in the 17th century? Talking about drama! No need for prime time TV show or day time soap. Then after Francesca died, Antonio remarried a woman who was 20 years younger than him. He was 55 at the time. When they had their first kid, a daughter, Antonio named her Francesca after his first wife. See, not your typical non-fiction book. O.o....

What a long Saturday!

2007-08-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up 26 hours ago and it was Saturday August 4, 2007 4:30 am. 26 hours later, it is still Saturday with 2 more hours to go. My plane landed at 12:48 PM. I slept on the plane for about 7 hours. I fell asleep before it took off, woke up for food, went back to sleep and woke up 3 hours before it landed. At around 3 PM, I was falling asleep and finally succumbed to it at around 7 and woke up just now, feel all refreshed and ready for Sunday! Great!

I had the worst experience ever returning to the States. At the gate to the plane, I was randomly selected for further screening. If that wasn't bad enough, at SFO, I had problems with my passport. Apparently, the officer had what you call a "user error". I was standing there at the booth for about 5 minutes with the officer looking at me and making phone calls...hmm..something was up. Then another officer showed up to escort me to what the airport calls a "secondary screening" area. I was being questioned about the authenticity of my passport. Where I got it and questions like if I bought my passport. Um..no? He was looking at my passport very closely, probably trying to figure out if it was authentic. Yes it is, the US government issued it to me! I told him that I didn't have a problem when I came back from Tahiti. After further questionings, he asked me if my passport were ever stolen because when the officer at the gate scanned my passport another person's info came up on the screen. So he decided to give it a try and scanned it again. Luckily it came up with my information. He tried scanning it a couple more times. He then told me that I could proceed to the baggage area to pick up my luggage and said that the glitch was probably a user error. A user error?!!!!

Moving on, while I was waiting for my luggage this cute little beagle kept smelling me. At first I thought oh how cute..what a cute little dog...and then after a little bit I felt a desire to push the dog away because it's a not a good thing if the dog smells you for more than a few seconds. The officer asked me to put my backpack on the floor so that the beagle can smell it more closely. The officer asked me what I had in my bag. I had a dell notebook, a toiletry bag, some chocolates and some books. He asked me to open it and show him. After seeing that it contained what I told him, he asked me what I had it my bags prior to today. I said, well, I used it to carry some fruits (Oranges, apples, and bananas) and sometimes sandwiches during my stay in the UK. The cute little beagle could smell the residuals of the fruits and sandwiches that was in my bag. After that, the officer told the beagle to move on. Dang!!! That beagle had a good nose.

Uggghhh..worst experience ever!!! Glad it's over.

Look right before crossing?!!!!

2007-08-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yup, look right before crossing the streets or you will very bloody well get run over, mind you!I have no idea how much of a look left before crossing the street habit I have until now..hahaha...oh right, in case you don't know, I'm in London. London!!!! For work only and not for pleasure. Other than going to the office and coming back to the hotel, I haven't done anything.

This is the first hotel (Express Holiday Inn) I stayed at before moving to Hilton because it was in the bad part of London.

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The Hilton hotel is in a better part of the neighborhood. I forgot to take a picture of it. The only thing is, it's much farther from the office than when I was at the Holiday Inn hotel. Now, I have to take the tube to work.

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Below are areas around the TFL office. Looks pretty ghetto don't you think?

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Taking the tube to the office..... I have to switch lines 3 times and then it's a 20 min walk from the station to the hotel but it's worth it because it's got internet and a gym. Although I've been so busy I have no time for the gym. Mind the doors...mind the gap...mind what? Come again?

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Around Hilton:

Oh look, there's Starbucks!

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Oh oh, the best wonton noodle soup ever (either that or i was just craving some wonton noodle soup.)

Isn't this a cozy little chinese restaurant?

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Oh look, it's me!!! All happy because my wonton noodle soup was on its way.

Today is a sad sad day :(

2007-07-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I rear ended someone on the 237. I think it's totaled if not, close to it. My poor car. I love my little corolla.... The first car that I bought and I just paid it off too! It is a sad sad day.

The best part about a wedding is.....

2007-07-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

the wedding cake!!!! well, at least that's the case when you're an assistant photographer. Usually, I get to eat a piece but today....they were serving the cake during bouquet and garter toss and I couldn't get to a piece of cake because I had to lug the secondary flash around. All I could do was stare at them and hope that there would be leftovers...but no such luck. :(

It looked so yummy too....I need a chocolate cake!!! I need it now!!!!

I haven't been blogging because....

2007-07-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to being an elf on Vana'diel (a massive multiple player RPG online game - in case you don't know where Vana'diel is, it's a world threatened by monsters and beast in final fantasy xi). I fight monsters and beast to save the helpless!

That's a picture of me, oh I mean of me in Vana'diel! Aren't I the cutest elf you've ever seen?

My plants are happy!

2007-06-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

My plants are happy, I am happy! Here are some before and after shots of my garden.

Back in April:

Now:

Back in April:

Now:

Back in April:

Now:

Back in April:

Now:

Griffith Park Observatory!

2007-05-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

After 5 years of renovation...introducing the new and better Griffith Park Observatory!!!

Click here for more pictures from last Sunday.

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Look at that, I weigh 2 lbs oh i mean 10 lbs on pluto!!

Oh, man, who broke the scale?!!! Someone must have been unhappy with what the scale told him/her.

How absurd!!!!!

2007-05-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is so absurd that I need to blog this.

I was done with my list of things to get at Trader Joe's and proceeded to a check out line. There was a 10 items or less line but I decided to use the line next to it because the person currently being ringed up in that line was almost done and the only person queued up had just a handful of stuff whereas the 10 items or less line had a bunch of people. So I decided to line up in the non 10 items or less line. Then out of no where, this lady (I will refrain from saying what nationality as I believe people of all nationality can be like this) pushed her cart in front of me and then pointed to the line for 10 items or less telling me to go to that line instead. How absurd was that?!!! I must have hit my head hard yesterday because I listened to her. I either was caught off guard or was confused (for a moment I thought she worked there or something but apparently, she was a customer). It was just so bizarre. Anyways, so instead of fighting for my position in line, I just went, "oh, ok" and step aside for her. *Bonk*, I'm such a dufus. I have no idea why I am such a ...ugh!

Note to self: next time someone does this ask, "Do you work here?"

Duck Tales - First Intro Theme

2007-05-18T12:04:00.001-07:00

Duck Tales, Oo-oo!

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers intro 1

2007-05-18T11:57:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, some crimes....there's no case too big, no case too small when you need help just call Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers!

It's OK!!!

2007-05-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

I still love the Warriors!

Asian Heritage Month is this Month...So...

2007-05-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Did you know that ice cream was invented in China back in 2000 BC?!!!! I love ice cream! For some history, click here.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

2007-05-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

happy mother's day! ...i miss my mommy...one bad thing about being so far away. :( over the years (since I moved to the bay area), mother's day has been falling on the sunday of memorial weekend cuz that's when i get to see my mommy. hmmm...why do we use one day of the year to celebrate the what mothers do for 365 days (a 24/7 job)? let everyday be mother's day! ok, i wanna move back to LA now. :( hey!!!! why isn't there a wife day? i want a wife day! having a husband is like having a kid. happy wife day to me! :D

I love the smell of dirt! And, slugs love beer?!!!

2007-05-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yup, dirt, you know, as in soil, the earth. The smell of dirt is amazingly refreshing and rejuvenating. I'm not kidding! Go try it. Although I should caution that fertilized soil would smell like crap, uh, I mean manure. Go for the non-fertilized ones and watch out for sow bugs (aka roly poly), they are kinda yucky. Although, technically they are not bugs cuz bugs only got 6 legs or rather 3 pairs of legs. But lots of insects are called bugs but are not really bugs. Since that's another topic, I'm not gonna get into it. I don't know about most people but I don't really like them, even if they are good for the soil. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! It can roll up into a ball and look like a piece of dirt. And um, don't try to sniff it. I was pulling out weeds at the SF Botanical Garden this morning and oh my gosh, there were a bunch of these sow bugs. They all simultaneously rolled up into little balls, which was kinda neat. Anyhow, what was I saying? Oh ya, the smell of dirt was just really nice! Seriously, I'm not joking.

Oh, I learned an interesting thing today! Did you know that slugs love beer?!!! Seriously! They love beer! So, the gardener, she told me that they put little trays with cheap beers by the seedlings so that the slugs can drink it, fall inside and die. LOL That is just hilarious. Can you imagine it? A little slug comes along, minding its own business and finds that there's beer and go, woohooo free beer! Then climbs on and drinks it. It gets drunk and falls in and dies. Well, that's kinda sad - the dying part, but at least the slug dies happily!

Introducing Suc!

2007-05-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

Suc or Sucky is my new plant. It is a Crassula Ovata, aka Jade Plant or Friendship Tree. It is a succulent plant. What is a succulent? Is it a cactus? hahaha, just kidding, well, not really kidding, those were my questions. In case you are convinced, it is not a cactus!!! It doesn't have those pointy things that can hurt you. A succulent plant stores water in its leaves, stems, and roots just like a cactus but it's not a cactus!!! According to the person who reccommended it to me, it's very easy to take care of. They are just for people like me who is forgetful when it comes to watering. Did you know that Aloe is a Succulent? I didn't know that..but now I do! OK, back to Crassula Ovata. They are native to South Africa where it's dry and hot (but cannot stand extreme heat) and requires very little watering...very little watering!!!! They can survive with full sun or a with little bit of shade. OK, let see how this new little dude will do on my balcony!!!

Go Warriors!

2007-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Go Warriors! I love Baron Davis!

updates...

2007-04-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

Could that be Harold & Kumar going to Vegas?

My garden looks pretty much the same. If you look closely though, you can see that the plants have grown!

Looks like William is right, it is getting pretty crowded! But that's a good thing, well, for me, that means I took good care of them!

Hmm..looks like the left side of the window box looks good.

However....on the right side, one plant died :( but that means there's more space for the other plants.

Pictures of Lake Elizabeth.

All ATMs should have a reboot button!!!

2007-04-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had an atm machine freeze on you? Well, it did on me!!!! I put in my card, punch in my pin and it froze. I stood there for 5 min thinking it would unfreeze itself. Who was I kidding? It was probably running windows or something. And why is it so hard to get to the option of speaking to an operator? Actually, there isn't a "speak to a person" option and nope, 0,*, or # don't take you there. After exhausting the entire menu, I realized there wasn't an option to speak to someone. To be able to speak to a rep, you have to select an option like, check your balance or something and then when asked to input the account number, enter some junk (because if you enter your account # correctly, you don't get to speak to someone). When I was finally routed to an operator (some 15 to 20 minutes later), she said "it what?" and kept laughing. Was it funny or something? I didn't think so. Anyways, doesn't this make you wanna think twice about putting your debit card into an ATM machine now? Why don't ATMs have "ctrl", "Alt", & a "Delete" buttons or even a reboot machine?

Spring Project Part I

2007-03-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my little garden. This is actually my try it again project. Earlier attempts (2005 & 2006) ended sadly. Hopefully this year, it will be different, because if I fail again I will never hear the end of ~I told you so~ from you know who....I really really want to prove him wrong.

Despite what Alan says, I remain very hopeful. They are gonna live!!!! Well, every year I am closer to being able to keep my plants alive so why can't it be this year? This time I made sure I had a proper drainage system (such as adding a layer of crushed pine cones on the bottom and made sure there are holes on the bottom for extra water to flow out), I made sure I didn't cramp them together so they have room to grow, and last but not least, I made sure that I didn't merely just place the new plants on top of the soil in the new containers but actually submerge them in the new soil. Now, as long as I remember to water them and feed them regularly, they shouldn't die on me.

Coyote Hills

2007-03-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from today's bird watching adventure at Coyote Hills. Spring is here. The trees and the birds told me so.

(Mallards flying in formation.)

(Close up of a mallard.)

I luv it when it's warm!

2007-03-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh it's beautiful outside. Yikes, I'm such a slacker..hope no one from work ever finds this blog (because I should be working right now)..hehe...or at least no one that will rat on me. So what did I do? Around 4 PM, I went to starbucks for ice tea and cookies. Then I sat outside and enjoy the sun and my little snack! What a little retreat! It's wonderful to have a park right by my work place. It was so very nice! Makes me envy those kids playing outside. .....I guess I don't have to envy, I was a kid once upon a time, so I did get my share of the sun. I guess it's kinda like timeshare or something... Oh I know! I can be an at home mom and enjoy the sun with my kid(s) in the afternoon! Ya! That's an idea! Although I don't think this idea will get approved any time soon. Anyways....this makes me wonder, so the first 18 years or so of our life, we get to enjoy the sun and be lazy in the afternoon....and is that it? Do we have to wait until we're old,gray and wise/senile before we can do that again?

I'm kicking As* in Bowling!

2007-03-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

in wii bowling that is. A record score of 273!!! Dang I'm good! hehehe..Any challengers?

A Day in the City

2007-03-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

View From the Fairmont Hotel (Crown Room)
Ever been in the crown room of the Fairmont Hotel? It's got the greatest view of San Francisco. No wonder it's a 5 star hotel!!! Too bad the only camera I had with me was the camera on my phone. But better than nothing!

If you're rich and got too much money, then it's definitely the place to get hitched.

The Best Vietnamese Sandwich Ever
I often say that the Vietnamese sandwiches here (the bay area) are not as good as the ones in Southern California. My coworker from my non 9 to 5 job took me to this Vietnamese Sandwich place in SF that was soooooooo good that I have to take what I said back! The best $2.50 I have ever spent.

(560 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA 94102)

He said this place is so good that culinary students from around the corner would line up outside the place all the time. Honestly, I didn't believe him until I got a taste of the sandwich myself! It was sooooooooooo good. The best Vietnamese Sandwich ever!

If you're ever in town, you gotta try it.

Kippy Marks
OK, so I've seen all sorts of interesting people on the streets of SF all the time, but none was as interesting to me as Kippy Marks was.
Why? Because he is an excellent violinist! He's got this jazzy/techno like music going on and was absolutely great at improvising. Click here to go this website.

Name the Movie, Part II

2007-03-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

What movie is this from? Click on the forward button to get the song started. First person to get this right gets my utmost respect.

Name the Movie

2007-02-21T00:39:00.000-08:00

What movie is this from? Can you name the movie? Click on the forward button to get the song started.

Black?!!!!

2007-02-17T23:40:00.000-08:00

um..ok everyone, what is my favorite color? Green of course!!! (not black!) will someone tell alan that? On our way to Kirkwood this morning, he said, don't worry honey, we'll only go on greens and blues (so i just followed him blindly)...and the first run, what did he do? he took me up a black! the dude who was sharing the lift with us said, what, green? the only thing green about this trail are the trees!!! yikes...and he was not kidding! funny? not funny! the last time i went down black I ended up with a fractured tail bone! i sat at the top, reluctant to go down for perhaps 30 minutes before I finally took the plunge..it was one of those "now or never" kinda thing...and for the record, i've never been so scared and pissed at the same time before! But eventually, I got tired of sticking my tongue out at the husband. Dang, did you know that it's tiring to look pissed all the time (that expression in the picture took a lot more muscles to produce than if I were to smile)? Other than that little glitch, it was pretty fun, it's been too long since we went snowboarding, perhaps since Feb of 2005...so 2 years ago?!!!

I love the 80's

2007-02-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

Why do I love the 80's (mid to late) so much? Whenever I think of the 80's, I always feel warm and fuzzy inside and at time get really really really homesick (or should i say timesick?)...homesick in this way is cozy and nice. This could be why I love songs from the 80's. Music has a way of bringing me back in time, sometimes it can almost feel like it's w/in reach but years away (if that makes any sense). It was a time of cartoons and fun ..all those relaxing days in the sun ....surrounded by lots and lots of love. Life was wonderful, not that it's not wonderful now, but it was wonderful in a different way, um...in a kid's way (when you don't need much of anything to be content and happy and safe). Darn it, why did I have to grow up so quickly? ....where's a time machine when you need one? I need a time a machine and umm...a reverting machine - to shrink me back to kid size and zap me with a kid's mentality cuz I think if I were to go back to the 80's as is, I might as well stay here in 2007...cuz darn it, I need modern day conveniences..like a high tech game console, ipod, cell phone, LCD TV, HD...and the internet!

Must be Valentine's Day Again

2007-02-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's day, Alan cooked his usual (same every year) Green Bean Casserole. How sweet (I know)! Well, let's see, I'm making Low Sodium Beef Stew right now, therefore it must be Valentine's day today! Oh, it must have been valentine's day on Tuesday too cuz um..let's see, I made dinner on Tuesday! yay, it's Valentine's Day almost everyday! But wait, it's one sided...how come I get to feel special only once a year and for Alan it's Valentine's day almost every day? Hmm..no fair! Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna go on a strike...no more home cooked meals....

V day cookies update: still sitting there....all 12 of them..

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

Experience love from Sophie B. Hawkin's song, As I lay me Down. It is such a feel good song. Doesn't it make you wanna go and sit on a swing and just enjoy the day? Happy Valentine's Day!

What's going on?

2007-02-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

It's Feb 11 and there were people at the gym earlier tonight and people at the gym on Saturday morning! Wow, I'll have to take back what I say about people and their new year resolutions. Don't ask me about my 2007's resolutions..hahaha..cuz I'll say what resolutions? btw..another plant just died on me...I don't know what's wrong, is it not enough water, too much water, or not enough sunlight? Darn it, why couldn't it just tell me what it wanted! Plants are so difficult to please. Oh I know (back to the gym topic), must because of V day, that's why people were at the gym, trying to either get a date or impress their dates. that must be it! Speaking of V day, you know what Mr. P's gonna get to do? He's gonna get to eat the cookies I baked for him 4 years ago! Yup, that's right. We were doing some cleaning a couple of months ago and um and I found them still in their tin can and if I remember correctly, someone had told me that he loved the cookies and had ate them all. well well well, this V day I'm giving him another chance to prove how much he loves the cookies (cuz he still claims that he loved the cookies)? Don't you think that's a good idea? I think so. Those white specks you see on the cookies, I have no idea what it is. I don't remember them being there back in 2003. hahaha!

Tahiti - Moorea

2007-02-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

Tahiti - Bora Bora

2007-01-31T00:36:00.000-08:00

This is why we should sell everything we have, quit our jobs and move to Bora Bora. Click on the picture above to get to my photo gallery. More pictures (from Moorea) to come.

(Sorry, no pictures of us, you gotta pay us a house visit to for that.)

Maternal Instinct?

2007-01-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Contrary to what most people believe, up until recently, I was never too fond of babies. Sure they are cute to look at with their big heads and chubby cheeks but that's all, I just want to look at them. Touch them? Um..no thanks. I would go to the extent to holding them but once they start crying, it's time to return them to the parents. To understand why this is so, here's a little history.
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I was 16 when my brother was born. Anyhow, the first thing I learned about babies was that they don't sleep when you sleep and their cries are the loudest when you're most sleepy. And oh, make no mistake, baby's crap stinks! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! Not exactly very fun. I learned early on that baby equals dirty diapers and lots of bottles. But that wasn't what bothered me the most. What bothered me the most were the stares I would get from people thinking that I was a teenage mother...um...how about thinking that I am aunt or sister or even a babysitter eh?.....people are so pessimistic! UGH!
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So perhaps, this experience has pushed me away from babies/toddlers/young kids for a while. Babies? No thanks, I had my fun. Don't need one of those for another lifetime. But strangely, this has not been the case for me in the past year. Every time I see a baby, I have this strange desire to want to make them laugh. Why are their laughs so cute? ARGGH?!! What's happening to me? Are babies just getting cuter? Scary!

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Going off topic here...I can't help but feel a little guilty when I see my bird, dawg, sitting on 2 wooden eggs. I read that a lovebird will keep having eggs until they feel that there are enough to start incubation period. So, if you keep taking the egg out, the lovebird will keep having them, which is not healthy as producing an egg requires a lot of calcium. Plus, they need to go through an incubation period before they can go back to their normal activities. So, if you disrupt this cycle, the bird will keep having eggs and never get out of the laying egg cycle. Not good cuz during this egg laying mode, the bird gets very moody. Mr. P used to take the eggs out and boil them and then return them to the bird and let her sit on it. Last Sunday, I found some wooden egg at Michael's so now, we just exchange them. Does Dawg not know that her egg is white while the eggs from Michael's is brown? hmmm...she is currently sitting on them. It's kinda funny..but kinda sad in a way...but it's important to provide birdy-birth control...

New Year Resolution

2007-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

Must be the new year because there were tons of people at the gym on Friday night and tons of people at the gym on Saturday morning. I wonder how long before it goes back to normal, when the gym is empty on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. My guess is that in 2 weeks or so.hehe..sorry for be so pessimistic but history is likely to repeat itself and soon I won't have a problem finding a parking spot at the gym. Yes! Anyhow, 21 days after new year, I finally have my resolutions . Let's see how long mine will last.

My new year resolution is to
1)Conserver Water - turn off water when I'm shampooing etc.
2)Conserve Energy - yes Mr. P, that means turning off the lights when I leave a room
3)Keep my plants alive and - yes, that means watering them..I know.
4)Get my resting heart rate below 80 - Did you know that Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate is 32 per minute? That is insane!

2007-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

Am I insane? Apparently so, well, that is according all those who drove by while I was jogging this morning. Today's not so bad, not like last week, but it was still cold. But that's motivation to run faster right? I think I should get a pair of ear muffs though cuz for some reason, the ears just don't warm up even when the rest of the body does. Every once in a while I would pass by a little chirp standing on a bare branch. Poor thing! Where do they live? Don't they usually live in trees to keep warm? But there are no leaves now!!! I couldn't help but wonder how the little friends are doing this winter since it's particularly cold. Winter is so harsh on little animals. If I were a little bird, I would migrate south. I hope winter ends soon, cuz these poor little friends, they must be cold and hungry!

2007-01-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

They say that looking at stars (the constellation type) is like looking at the past. This is because it takes a very long time to for their light to reach earth. It could be that the stars you were staring at last night are already dead - and are now white dwarfs, neutons, or black holes. Whoa! Well, if you would like to freeze, after twilight, when it's dark enough, you can see the winter constellation Orion (picture on the left), and below that, the Orion's dog, Canis Major (picture on the right). Actually, I'm not sure if you can see the entire dog, but for sure, you can see the big bright star Sirius.

2006-12-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

Have you been good this year? hehehehe....

2006-12-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

For your enjoyment..it's a one of a kind Christmas Tree by me! 
Happy Holidays!

2006-12-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

Click to see more, username is dylan's last name and password is dylan's birthday (format is mmddyy).

2006-12-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Note to self: Never buy any furniture unless delivery is complimentary. Seriously, folks, if you think your wife wants to buy furniture all the time, the way to see it stop is go buy it with your wife and then say no to delivery service. This works really well ya know.

The someone (don't wanna mention names hahaha....we all know who you are) and I bought a bedroom set but since delivery is $140, someone said no to delivery. So today, we brought a 1988 VW van with us to pick up the 6 piece bedroom set. I'm not kidding you. And then of course, the headboard wouldn't fit in the van. We tried it sideway and every which way we can think of but it just wouldn't fit. Am I surprised? NO!!! Was he surprised?...Yes! Amazing....and then when we got home.......well, I can tell you, I was so frustrated I started crying..well that was after we went up one flight of stairs where one of the corners of the dressser hit me in the temple and then one of the dresser's legs ran over my toes......why oh why did I want new furniture? They are currently sitting in the living room...and the bedroom is one more flight of stairs...I don't want to think about it....I have a feeling my back is gonna hurt tomorrow.

after this experience I don't ever want new furniture ......how about when we got the sofa? our coffee table? our the buffet table? Yup, we also moved that ourselves too...but this experience was the worst ever! Is it really worth it to save the delivery fee?