Happy New Years!

Hat's off to the new year! As we are about to usher in a new decade, I thought it would be nice to just take a couple of minutes put out onto text some of the GREAT things that happened in 2009
This will probably have to include Spring 2009 being my healthiest and happiest school semester ever! Living at home not only let me connect with my family but also with myself which created a greater appreciation for what's out there. I also learned who and what friends are. Sister hookie outing was fun too. 2009 was really nice. hope 2010 will be just as amazing, if not better!

Here's some recap of what we did in the past week.

The Christmas tree literally went up on Christmas Eve! Our Christmas was probably set onto fast-forward mode. After Do and I trimmed the tree, we laid out the stockings and began baking the cookies for deal S.C. I had prepared the dough for the vanilla cookies a couple of days ago and all we had to do was press them into little hearts and stars with cookie cutters. They were originally supposed to be sandwich cookies, like the Trader Joe Joe Joe's. We filled a couple with vanilla ice cream instead which turned out to be a very messy and sticky process. So at the end, we just left them as is. and Do liked them so much that she didn't want to share with S.C after all! Gave him a banana instead so that he could have a healthier lifestyle. How cheeky :) ...read on!...

Shameless

It has been how many months since a blog update?!

I've had many failed attempts to consistently document my life and I think a part of it stems from not being able to really appreciate everything that goes on in my life. All the little nuances go by, unchecked and are somehow then stored into the back of my mind. Looking back, these past few months have been quite an adventure!

Let's recap some events in November alone:

1. Rolling the world's longest California roll (11/08/09)
2. Birthday with the apt buddies(11/10/09)
3. Thanksgiving! (11/26/09)
oh! and some fun knitted pals too:



ok! So our adventure begins with rolling the world's longest California Roll in honor of the 50th anniversary of the SE Asian Studies Department at Cal. The rolling stations stretched all across Sproul Plaza, past Sather Gate to measure a whopping 330 ft! And boy was I lucky to be part of it! :)

Synchrony was essential for accomplishing this feat! The coordinators chanted "connect, lay, roll, finish" to get us into the pulse of sushi rolling. We had some rain spells a few days earlier, so luckily it was dry and sunny (wet sushi doesn't really sound appetizing).

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OK! and then for my birthday, we had a lovely party with the apt-mates and a couple of friends. We had pizza, chocolate-ginger cupcakes, movie, games and a whole lot of laughter and fun. Turning 20 and entering a new decade was actually a little anticlimactic. I guess as we get older, birthdays become a bit jaded. So to spice things up a bit....I got my cartilage pierced. and I'm actually growing on it :)

and last but not least, November is not complete without THANKSGIVING!

It was quite a feast with the Pao's, the CL's and the Tsangs (us). Ni really outdid herself with a loaf of sourdough bread (SOOOO GOOOD!), pecan pie, and apple blackberry pie. I made a mashed sweet potato with fresh ginger, coconut milk and macadamia nuts. For the proteins: apple-braised turkey, prime rib, and clams. Veggies: roasted vegetables. and Appetizer: HK-style potato salad. We were also lucky enough to have Mei Yee over too! It was a lot of fun cooking and eating together.



And so, I guess blogging helps me realize how fruitful my life really is and all that I really should be appreciative of! I'm going to commit to myself and continue blogging! onward ho!!
...read on!...

donut crave

I've had a mad craving for donuts. And sadly to say, despite the structural similarity, bagels don't really make the cut. In any case, I've not been able to blog for a while mainly because I've been away in China! It was a ton of fun and I learned a lot on that trip. I went to Jinan University　（暨南大学）　in GuangZhou....good days wish good food and good fun. But looking back on it now, I feel really lonely especially now that school has begun. I just feel that I have nothing except my books. Not even yummy donuts to munch on :(.

Last week, I tried to go on a donut run around the area only to be met with utter disappointment: the donut shop had run out of business. Sadness...yes ...read on!...

BIG.little...aLL aMaZiNG!

Some people say good things come in small packages--like these little friends!

Meet Carmela and Christina (L-R: as named by the lovely Melody). They are the amigurumi dolls that I've been working on. Christina is obvious a bear...what is Carmela?
It's actually a bunny but I think it looks like a naked chiuhuahua. Carmela has a little outfit to hide its nakedness. I guess I shouldn't have used that bright of a pink color.It is a gift for my aunt because bunnies are supposed to be her lucky animal; she calls it a rat. Our cousin Charlie thought it was a kangaroo. I suppose its true identity is a chameleon since no one is really quite sure what kind of creature it is!I also made Carmela a little hat to complete its outfit. Along the way is another friend:
This is the unnamed elephant that I'm working on for Melody. The yarn that I'm using for it was the one that I bought from Article Pract last week on our hooky/sister adventure in Emeryville and Oakland. Soon it shalled be stuffed and loved. I still need to get some washers for eyes...I've been using beads and they kind of make the stuffed creatures look creepy. Soon soon...my amigurumi will be cute looking


BUT!!! the saying "the bigger, the better" also speaks some truth. Today we went to check out the new Berkeley Bowl that recently opened in West Berkeley. It's located near the Sharffen Berger Factory (how sad...it's closed :( ) and it is HUGE!!! Its organic produce section alone is probably 2/3 the size of the produce section at the older location on Oregon St. I especially liked walking through the nectarine/peaches section. smelled SOOOO good. And the prices are relatively nice as well; we spent less than $35 on 18 items, which included berries and cheese (aka not cheap eats). It was also pretty organized and nicely arranged...lovely colors and brightness everywhere! At the end of our shopping trip, we just kind of walked up and down the cookie/sweets aisle pondering what sort of baked goods Ni and I would conjure up next :). Nonetheless, the endless varieties of apples alone kind of created a sensory overload and I left with a bit of a headache. It's definitely a place that must be explored on multiple trips.

But I went home and continued working on my little friends. Small things certainly have a value in and of themselves. ...read on!...

One week down...

It has been a week since my mom has ventured to hk with her sister. So far, we have fared pretty well! We aren't starving; we are bathed; and we are living relatively peacefully. Ni and I just about bike everywhere and are feeling like true East Bay-ers minus the hella/hecka business (what's up with that?!)

Doubly lucky for us, we have nice cousins who live close by :). They stopped by on Friday to give us some groceries, cake, and champagne to celebrate our survival and Cheryl's Birthday...well, mostly the latter ;)



It was a great way to finish a great sissy day :).
Our agenda was simple: to watch UP and whatever else we felt. Ni and I played hooky from work and took Mel out of her after-school summer program to go to Emeryville.
Our adventure actually included a lot of waiting time:
...at the bus stop; at the bart
But we eventually made it to Emeryville without a moment to spare! Just in time for the 10:10 screening of UP. It was a really cute movie and had a really sweet ending. I was really amazed by the details that went into the animation and it sparked some pretty good discussion afterward as we walked around. We did a little bit of shopping (window and actual) and had lunch at Rubio's and dessert at Ikea ($1 frozen yogurt!--how can we resist?). haha On the way back to Berkeley, we walked through Oakland along Telegraph and stopped by Article Pract and bought some yarn. I'm really excited about the yarn so that I can start Mel's amigurumi elephant :)
And well, all good things must come to an end. But I'm glad that the end was a sweet one with chocolate cake, bubbly champagne, strawberry macaroons and smiles.
...read on!...

baby strawberries!!

Today we had fun playing with the baby strawberries that grew in our backyard. They weren't very sweet but smelled really nice! I love the smell of strawberries. It's has such a pleasant scent of fruity freshness, unlike the smell of citrus or watermelon (those are two fruits that kind of make me queasy to smell).

Because they weren't very tasty, we decided to play with our food! Why not?! Such lovelies should not go to waste. :)

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Ode to the Strawberry


Oh strawberry, how delightful you are!

You nurture us with your delectable, amazing fruit
You humor us with your edible seeds.
We only wish we could be as lovely as you.
...read on!...

Sweet Surprise

In our household, we are extremely glad that Father's Day only comes once a year. This is mainly because my dad has an odd idea of what it means to be a father. In short, I believe he gets clues from old TV sitcoms where the perceived-to-be-uncool dad plays Mr. Tough to keep the rebellious shenanigans in line which, during the process, becomes the character for comic relief. But life isn't as funny as the sitcoms make them to be.


Anyways, I started my day missing breakfast because I had to tend to his dietary needs of red bean toast with strawberry jam and an egg over easy. Then I washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen with my sisters as he lamented how disrespectful children are these days that how people, unlike himself, just don't know how to think. I beg to differ. After wards, he sent us to do some yard work, pulling out some pretty defiant weeds in the backyard. Luckily, he is an injured man and let us be. Just as I was feeling that this day would turn out to be pretty bleak, this is what we found:



Baby strawberries growing in our very own backyard! I took this to be an optimistic symbol of the silver lining behind every gray cloud and a note conveying that everything will be alright. As much as I regret not having a better day, what has happened has happened and there is nothing to do about it except move forward. My older sister is very mature about topics like these, and my younger sister celebrated the situation by eating a strawberry.
Cheers to the glitters of hope that sustains us! ...read on!...

Bolinas Beach

According to Professor Rich, a lab education is never complete without a Bolinas Beach bonfire! And what a fun experience it was, especially since it was my first time going to the beach since moving up here. Bolinas is a cute little town on the other side of the bay and the drive to there was extremely picturesque. The roads were a bit windy but the view was amazing with trees, mountains and aquatic entities (lagoons, marshes....i'm not quite sure). It was amazing how quickly the landscape changed from a city to a "wilderness".




Bolinas itself seemed like a really close knit community with loads of dogs. Robert, Vicki, Natalie, and I walked around a bit and came across this artist's shrine.






We also came across this funny little dog who got itself stuck on top of a phone booth. How it got there...we have no idea; how it'll get down...same story!




In any ways, we had a lot of fun walking around the beach, enjoying the view, playing with Francis the dog, and hanging with a lot of Dutch/lab people. We grilled corn on the cob and hot dogs (which were delicious!). I like hot dogs that are a bit warty from the high heat and the dog that I had was a chicken mango sausage and it was really really good. but then again, it's tastiness may have been due to the ambiance. There were some garden burgers too but they were not as successful as the hot dogs on staying on the grill. There was sand, champagne, cheese and crackers. It was a fun fete! cheers to summer!! :)
...read on!...

how much is a brain worth?

This is my brain :) I'm quite proud of it. Way back in March, I volunteered to be a subject for Nola's fMRI study and it was really fun to lie down in the machine and do little tasks. It was actually a sleepy experience (from the strong magnetic field(???)) and at the end, I wished that my bed could be like that because sometimes I have difficulty falling asleep. HAHA Anyways, I was compensated quite well for this fun experience which allowed me to afford:


...a lunch at Gregoire's with ninili. (she also did an fMRI study for Dav on the day that we had a picnic luncheon)



and this is what was on the menu; Bay Scallop Quesadillas and a garden salad:






and basically....i think ni can be a spokesmodel for gregoire's! Look at that--thumbs up and all. It was a yummy and adventuresome day as we tried two very new things and were able to proudly say (in a quite literal fashion as well), "look what my brain can do!" ...read on!...

Come What May:

Seeing as I haven't posted in nearly half a year, it's time to recollect and reflect on what exactly I've been doing with my life.

In short...I've been lazy lazy lazy and most utterly selfish for trying to keep all my experiences inside my head. Studies in memory show that overtime, things that we vividly recall (aka remember) degrade over time to become things that we just happen to know as facts. I don't want my "youth" to eventually become facts--I would like to hold on to those moving pictures in my mind as long as possible.
THUS! I am making a summer resolution to photograph my life thereby priming memories into picturesque being. :)

Cheers to that! ...read on!...

ooh ooh ahh ahh yum

I've always thought that brunches were kind of odd...mainly because I usually get up too early to appreciate it (I'm practically starving by the time it comes around!!) Brunch foods are also kind of odd because they are essentially really large breakfasts but not small lunches. For example, it's permissible to have french toast at brunch but not macaroni and cheese. Yes. I think that's the general consensus haha. But since we have been planning on going to Guerilla Cafe for several weeks now, I decided to force myself to sleep in and it was well worth it :)

Guerilla Cafe is located in North Berkeley across the street from one of my favorite places: elephant pharmacy. The outer decor is sparce but the insides are bustling! Maybe it's because of the small eating area or because you can see the people cooking and plating your food. In any case, there is a warm and comforting ambiance and the place smells amazing! They have a special "Waffle of the Day" but we opted out of it...mainly because I'm afraid of poppy seeds and oranges....and those were the 2 flavors. So instead, we ordered the Mediterranean Egg Plate and the Cinammon Challah Toast with a spicy hot chocolate and a coffee for mother dearest.

Let's just say that the camera lasted until when the hot chocolate came and then all was put away to dig in....guerilla style! ...read on!...

ni's 21st bday. part 2

part 2 on the actual day DECEMBER 30, 2008!!!!

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the menu:

• Sharkfin soup


• Scallops and french bread soaked in scallop juice


• Prime Rib and potatos


• champagne because she can


• apple tart

ni is quite the carnivoire haha with expensive taste. I reckon this meal was worth...actually i'm not that good with money so i can't really say. but it was probably a lot better of an eat at home than at a restaurant! Nothing beats mom's cooking :D


the day began pretty well too! we went to sf, did a little shopping for her while she ice skated in embarcadero with a friend. We had to rush back though to begin cooking the Prime Rib.But the meal actually began a few days earlier!the shark fin soup had been brewing for a couple of days already so the chicken stock was rich and the soup very very flavorful. Sharkfin soup is quite good and warm. :D






And of course! Dessert inspired by Cheryl and Charlie's visits! Everytime they come over for dinner, they bring a tart from La Farine; a little bakery in Albany. Ni usually has an ice cream cake for her bday...a tradition that lasted maybe a little over half of her life/a decade/a really long time! She was really funny in picking the tart. The part that she really likes is the custard so she didn't really mind what the fruit topping was, so long as it had the custard filling! I liked the tart too and we also had some Godiva chocolate. it was a good bday dinner :D




HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINILI!!! ...read on!...

ni's 21st bday. part 1

Ni turned 21 this year on December 30th. and it was a saga that began a day before. We trekked out to Berkeley (bus+bart+feet) to eat at Gregoire, a fancy take-out eaterie in the gourmet ghetto up in North Berkeley. It's infamous for its potato puffs and it always smells really good. I used to stop and sniff whenever walking back to the apt after class. Their menu changes monthy and December seemed like a pretty tasty month (although January looks just as good...if not more!)

We also wanted to try it out to get the cute little takeout boxes :D. The only bad thing is that there isn't any real sitting area around the actual place but not to worry! there is a little food court about a couple of blocks away so we went up there to eat.

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Actually deciding what to eat was a bit difficult. The potato puffs was a no brainer but I'll have to admit that it's overrated. We also got the chanterelle mushroom quiche and the smoked salmon, fingerling potato salad wrapped in grilled lavash. see the yummyness?!


it actually tasted really REALLY good! and the serving sizes were very appropriate (we actually ordered too much) both the quiche and the salmon wrap were pretty rich and we both decided that Gregoire deserves a trip #2...but we will have to hold off for a while; we just got back from a trip to Vancouver and had a bit too too much to eat in general.




too bad the cupcake shop was closed too! they were on their holiday break or else i would have bought ni a cupcake for her birthday. i think she enjoyed our lunch though. we were very full and walked all around berkeley to help digest haha ...read on!...

a shortcut to mushrooms

Mimi gave us a mushroom log to cultivate our own shitake mushrooms! after several days of misting and other mushroom-ly activities, we have harvested our first two!







and then we sauteed them and ate them! they were quite delicious....now we have to dry out the mushroom block for two more weeks before we can begin the cycle again. Mimi says that there are usually more spores in the second harvest. I'm excited to see how it turns out! ...read on!...