love at first ... sniff?

I fell in love with a perfume today. eeeeeeeeeeeh! hahahahaa...

A Personal Matter

I'm reading this amaaaaazing book by Kenzaburo Oe (creds to my TA david- thank you!), and oh my goodness, it's taking me so long to get through because I keep going back and re-reading previous pages. His word choice and imagery are marvelously addictive, and the way he makes ordinary things delightful and even grotesque... ugh, it's everything I could ask for in a book.
I love when writers can turn the most mundane events into something exquisite and poignant. Practically(,) everything can be categorized as boring and repetitive, but with a slight shift in perspective, those same things can become compelling and inspiring.
People often want inspiration to come smack them in the face in a glaringly obvious matter, but I find it to be much more precious and intimate when you find it where others cannot (or try not).

another one...

J.D. Salinger passed away!! Aww... I remember the first time I read Franny and Zooey....... I was so in love with it. I think I actually read it before Catcher in the Rye (which I didn't really like- something about it was too masculine/hard for me?? and I thought Holden was a little jackass). I even wanted to name my kids Franny and Zooey, and I thought Zooey was just the cutest thing ever <3. I haven't thought about the Glass family in so long... Poor Seymour... Walt... the idea that you could meet the love of your life and not be able to spend the rest of your life with that person?! tore my heart. hahha... I never really loved Salinger beyond the world he created, but I must say I truly appreciate him for having given me one of my early great reading experiences. I wanna read F&Z and his short stories again... to see if I still like them. I feel like I might actually hate them because of their super-whiteness, but ... hey, I don't hate all white stuff! Part of me is such a nerdy little white boy... yupp. ^^
Another thing. I seem have it in my head that Zooey is gay. I can't recall if this is actually mentioned in the book or if it's something I added on to him myself... oops.

BIKRAM.

Today was my third round of Bikram Yoga with the roommates. and it was SOOO GREAT!
I've gotten more used to the poses, so I went all out this time, and it really made a difference. Also, we went to the last class so the room was the HOTTEST it's been, which helped me stretch out to my maximum potential.
I almost passed out because it was so hot and I'd drank all my water (next time, taking two bottles!!), but you CANNOT leave the room or any nonsense like that. It was such a mental battle. I was totally passing in and out of ... something. hahhaha... And we were ALL SOOOOOO SWEATY!! I thought I'd discovered my maximum sweat levels my first two times, but this was BEYOND anything I'd ever experienced!!! I felt like I was caught in a rain storm, the way I kept dripping drops of sweat everywhere. Eri said that at one point, when we were bending down, she had a continuous stream of sweat flowing off the tip of her nose. HAHAHAHAA.
After class ended (after 90 longggg minutes)we all came out like "FUCK, that shit was INTENSE. but SO GOOD."
I'm so glad I found something that works me so hard and is fun. I also never thought I'd be the type to like going to work out with friends, but I think it's different with yoga. I really like having my friends with me~. and going there together, coming back together, eating together. :).
I've always been more of a solitary night time runner (it really helps me clear my head), and I'll always be one, but this is nice, too.
We're gonna get monthly passes and I'm going to go at least 3 times a week and try to go 4 or 5 times. It's also good because by night, I'm so fuckin wiped out that I knock out a few minutes after I hit the bed (it usually takes me about an hour or sometimes even two...).

R.I. P. Mr. Zinn...

sad

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/howard_zinn_his.html

Can YOU resist ?

Hahaa oh my... you know what's amazing? If any other girl group had released this song, it would be SO FUCKING MEDIOCRE (I'm in a kind mood- decided to forgo "downright bad"), but with SM's marketing + SNSD's massive appeal, it's going to be super popular anyway!
Well, props to SM for being smart and SNSD for being attractive!

"Ugly products are always jealous of pretty products."

2 cute Asian girls duking it out as a Mac and a PC.

Little asian PC girl vs. MAC parody - watch more funny videos

I love this Isabel girl. hahahaa

I LIKE MY PICKLES CRUNCHY!

I made Spaghetti sauce for the first time. It was surprisingly easy- just required a lot of patience and supervision. This is the fantastic recipe I used:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spaghetti-Sauce-II/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

some deviations:

-I had no oregano so I substituted with marjoram and basil... It still came out delicious but next time I'll definitely make sure to use oregano.
-used 4 fresh tomatoes instead of canned whole tomatoes (boiled them for a minute for easy peeling and then removed the seeds because they make the sauce bitter. pureed 2 and sliced up 2 for moderately chunky sauce.)
-used 1 1/2 onions and 5 cloves of garlic instead of 1 onion + 3 cloves
-added 1 pureed red bell pepper
-added 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms (I <3 mushrooms!)

and then I let it all simmer for about 4 hours (adding some salt and pepper along the way).


Topped off my plate with a drizzle of extra virgin Spanish olive oil and Parmesan cheese!

All my roommates enjoyed it~. including the vegetarian version I made for Erica (sans sausages).




On another note... we decorated our apartment after the "YELLOW FEVER" party using the empty beer + sake bottles!





cute, no? :) we keep it classy!

Don't mean to preach, but

I just wanted to say something quickly about the huge wave of Haiti disaster relief fundraising going around. Donating to big NGOs= maybe half your money going to the people in need (don't fucking quote me on this).
If you want as much of your money to actually reach the people, find smaller organizations that are super effective at making the most out of your donations. Many of them tend to be Christian-based, but don't be turned off by that. Most of that derives from the sad fact that without having been "touched by God's grace," the majority of the people are not willing to spend their lives in an unstable and underdeveloped country for the sake of those in need (for instance, myself).
Honestly, there are some great people in the missionary field who make so many unbelievable sacrifices to help others in need without pushing religion on them first. Good missionaries actually only share once they've assimilated well and feel they've reached a certain level of mutual respect with their new friends -since trust is one of the most important aspects in sharing the Gospel. Because of this dedication which can take anywhere from a few years to decades, it means they know how to work around/within the system better than the newbies flying in and fumbling around (there are also rumors of shady practices by some of these big orgs having to do with race + class... as always). Anyway, grassroots orgs are the perfect resources for ignorant but well-meaning foreigners like us to funnel our money through. So why don't you make good use of them? Here's one group that's been working in Haiti for the past 20 years already. Copy and paste the link if you want to contribute.

http://earthquake.mercyoutreachministry.org/

If you can follow my discombobulated thought process, you deserve a gold star.

Two posts in one day!! Hah. I'm at Stevenson cafe and should be studying for my Unit test tomorrow (Japanese) but of course I'm just browsing the blogosphere... spent the past 10 minutes reading about Heidi Montag's new plastic surgeries... T-T soo terrible (both Heidi's makeover and my terrible fascination with trashy tabloid fodder)... Anyway, I remembered this conversation I had with Erendina a few days ago about interracial marriage and reproduction (aaahhahaa sounds so fucking sterile). I had told her a few days before that about my doubts about fitting well with a Korean guy, but I realized it wasn't even just about a KOREAN guy! IT was about EVERY GUY!!!!!!!! It just happens to be that most of the guys I know well are Korean. and they're actually pretty decent compared to the other douchebags I've not befriended. I have REALLY high standards for getting to know white people, I just realized (RIGHT THIS INSTANT). Most white guys I just kinda toss aside as unimportant and unworthy of my time/ attention- not because I hate them more or anything like that- just because I feel like they can take it more. I can't do it so crudely to black or latino guys because I don't want to propagate the racist Asian stereotype, and I can't do it to Asian guys because they're like.... family. Hahaha... Also, a higher percentage of white guys tend to gross me out. I'm always paranoid that they're more likely to see me less as a real person and therefore are disrespecting me. And the thing I can't stand most is being disrespected or reduced in any form.

bright pink whuuut

I haven't posted for realz in a whileeeee. oops. I guess I got distracted by something called... life. Haha. Ummm let's see... I have no real updates since I've just been doing fun shallow shit that don't require much thinking... although I might have to change that up soon!!!!! I haven't started my research for my thesis. I think I'm gonna be best friends with the library this weekend (besides Saturday since our school's fucked up like that)!

I had a short writing assignment due yesterday and it was SO DIFFICULT trying to force myself to work on it!!
It's probably because I am not so interested in ancient history. it's so removed and distant! I know it's important to learn just for base knowledge, but it's really hard to get myself hyped up about events that are so hazy and seemingly irrelevant. I think it'll get better once we move onto more specific matters and peoples.
Also, my professor's voice puts me to sleeeeeeep~! I feel horrible about it because she is quite nice and helpful (she's my thesis adviser), but her soft-spoken monotone voice + blah subject + 8am class= sleepy Susie. Sorry, Professor!

Oh yeah, I am excited about this one thing! My roomies and I are gonna start doing Bikram Yoga (hopefully by the start of next week)! That's the one where you do yoga in a super hot and humid room so your muscles can be super stretchy and you supposedly sweat all the toxins out. lovely, no? Anyway, I just ordered this bright pink yoga mat from Amazon, and all I can visualize is how gross it'll get once I sweat all over it. many times over. hahhahahahaa. bye.

<3

BEST BIRTHDAY WEEK OF MY LIFEEEEEEE. Thank you everyoneeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have too many awesome people in my life. :)

p.s. round two on FEB 14!!!!!!!! (My ID says my birthday is on February. long story. Anyway, so we're celebrating again on Valentines day!!!!)

So...

I'm 21!!

:]

btw, my apartment-mates are the besttttttttttt~

OMGSH sorry to my poor little blog for having abandoned it for so long~!!! I'll brb! HOLD ON, little munchkin! don't be a jack and i won't be a rose! (or is it i won't be a rose, don't be a jack? whose fault was it first??)
dude but forrealz, life is fucked up. i mean. life is awesome. but shit, many times i find myself resorting to (mentally, not physically- at least most of the time) laughing at the cruel comedy life offers up to me on a poop smeared gold platter.
so basically it's all pretty solid and good, i just have to deal with some shallow shit (ho ho ho). neat-o.