Coffee and Snow Chains

I stayed up late making pie crust and filling for the vegan pumpkin pie I want to impose on my family. So far so good.

I woke up early and made some sour dough for the bread with my starter. Also looking good.

I am exhausted and still at work. Starting around 3:00 pm, I have to drive for many hours to my sister's place in Truckee. It is very possible that I will need chains because..SNOW!

Figure Sk8r

Figure Sk8r
Originally uploaded by quirkyfemme

I wanted to be like Kristy Yamaguchi. I practiced on Friday nights at a skating rink in Glenview, Illinois. I made it to Alpha level and they gave me a tube top and skirt ensemble for the showcase. We were doing the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

I fell many times. My dad caught it on video. When we moved to LA the following year within several miles of a skating rink and I had to quit skating, so I did karate. The End

Battle of the Obamas Part IV

More Youtubey goodness today. This man is to Obama what Arnel Pineda is to Journey . Youtube should charge a talent finders fee.

Barack Obama Search III


Justin Sherman, of Youtube fame seems to do a decent impression of a young Obama in the hit musical Barackula.





As far as candidates go, he looks the part, but can he be funny?

Barack Obama Search Part II

Wyatt Cenac, better known as the correspondent on the Daily Show. I secretly hope he loses because he is great on the Daily Show.

Battle of the Obamas 1

SNL is looking for a man to play Obama. The next few posts will focus on videos of the primary characters SNL is looking at.

Here is the first Obama, known as StephenColbert's black friend Jordan Carlos.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Rate him in the comments.

Happiness is a warm bun

Last night, I went to the Japanese ubermarket Mitsuwa and bought my boyface a mini Zojirushi bread machine. When I say bought, I mean grabbed it at a discount price before a bunch of hungry Japanese women got the idea of warm toasty bread in the morning with a side of homemade jam, but I kept it a surprise. And sure enough when I opened up the trunk of my car like a fraudulent purse dealer, he saw the breadmaker and he was pleased. I am usually a fan of baking my bread from scratch and I even have the sourdough starter in my refrigerator to prove it, but when I got the idea of pre-made pastry dough from just the act of putting in flour, sugar, and butter I was excited. And of course, I can't forget the cinnamon bun recipe in the cookbook because nothing wakes you up like some fresh buns in the morning.

*Although the mini does not bake buns itself, but forces you to make them and put them in the oven. Still, it does all the legwork which is amazing in itself.

Nanobamas

When politics, art, and science intersect in a delightful way there is usually a Scanning Electron Microscope involved.

That is why I love these Nanobamas. They were grown from carbon nanotubes to become agents of political change.

This is the gallery. I would seriously kill to do some of this in grad school.

And here is a flickr set which includes the how to instructions

Photo Post



Shoreline Park at dusk. Lovely.

NaBloPoMo Fail

I have failed at posting every day not once, not twice, but three times. Admittedly, I have been busy. I have also been bored with my writing, which happens every time you try to chug out something meaningful when all you want to do is just jot down various minutiae in your life and then hope that it somehow comes together in a complete sentence and makes sense.

The past couple weeks were a range of various emotions for me. I am trying to put that together. I am also trying to come clean and be honest with myself and my limitations.

On a positive note, I have been getting into work earlier and therefore leaving earlier. This gives me more time for cooking, exercise, and studying all of which are good for the soul. I am also less tired, but more susceptible to illness, which sort of blows when missing a day of work can put you behind substantially.

As for holiday plans, I was intending to go to LA this weekend to visit my parents and go to Truckee for Thanksgiving dinner. I am putting a hold on going to LA until I am sure that I am finished with this cold/bug/fluness that I have, but I think I will be more certain tomorrow.

Monday math

Today was my third day on the 30 Day Shred. I skipped two days because my thigh began to hurt in a not so nice way. Otherwise, it has been good. I gradually see myself improving at level one. I may skip over to level 2 in the meantime just to break the monotony. Jillian can be motivating, but I have almost memorized her encouragement.

I made stuffed pumpkins and butternut squash soup. The pumpkins were stuffed with Zatarains Jambalaya and the soup had a Thai flare.

I know this trivializes the presidency of Obama, but after watching 60 Minutes, I would love to see more interactions with his wife.

And go ahead and boycott Cinemark this season. Profiting off of gay people in the film industry and then going back and spending it on Prop 8 is plain idiotic. AMC would love the business.

Car? Out of Cake? With Julie Andrews in the soundtrack? Me want. Now.





Hurry up the carcakes! That could be my new motto.

No crying in baseball
This weekend turned out better than I had planned and less ominous than I had envisioned in my dreams.

Friday, I finally sampled many of the menu items at Gochi (japanese fusion tapas) with my co-workers and the boyface. It was delicious, except for maybe the eel pizza. We drank a large handle of Junmai Ginjo and ended up at the karaoke bar next door. I will be coming into work Monday morning with a reputation for belting out shitty pop music. I reckon that this is a valuable skill in the solar industry.

Saturday and Sunday were less fortunate because the boyface came down with some weird inflamed sore throaty thing which I later contracted because I am like a petri dish for boy germs. I saw Zach and Miri make a Porno Saturday night, which was vulgar but in a hilarious way. Despite mostly keeping indoors, we still got some of the nice weather in this afternoon when we walked through Shoreline. There were birds galore. We finished up the day with La Bamba and mechanically counted all of the loose change I have been amassing since February. I will be able to buy someone a nice gift.

In spite of having a piece of sandpaper wedged in my throat, I went to the gym tonight and I worked out. Running is my anti-drug and my anti-depressant.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

It could be worse..
At least I don't work in print?

Last night, I had three bad dreams. The first one was of the boyface and I having a silly argument and breaking up. I woke up next to him and breathed a sigh of relief. The second dream was just as invariably shitty, but I can't remember it. The third dream was an image of my current office, in boxes. I saw the improbable happen: my company shut down, and I was forced to stay there and pack its demise. Today, I felt as if the dream might be a premonition. A few less than fortunate things happened, which caused me to take a step back and evaluate my vulnerability. I still have a job, but the menacing feeling that anything can happen makes my stomach twist up in knots. Its not enough to be reassured anymore. This subconscious feeling has become all too real.

30 days, no mercy

I am going to start the 30 Day Shred tonight in the comfort of my own sunroom.

I am hoping it is an abridged version of the low impact weighted aerobics I did last year. In other words, I hope it kicks my ass and that I can gradually start to bounce quarters off my abs.

I will try to do all 30 days consecutively in addition to the running that I do now. I wake up earlier lately so this should not really interfere with my schedule. If this journal starts to fill up with whining about how sore I feel, I apologize right now.

How does one suffocate in a cubicle?
I was feeling stuffy in my office, so I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air. It turned into a fifteen minute walk through the grounds in which I was reminded of the following:

1. We have a basketball court.
2. Fall in California has some of the most incredible weather and my hair dries up in the most perfect ringlets.
3. I should really go outside during the daytime more often.

I've been spending most of my daylight hours in the office and see daylight even less because I don't eat out. I forget that I completely miss the day, especially now that the time has shifted an hour back. Paying attention to lack of sunlight will probably make difference in my mood and my productivity.

Stupid Cold
I have a stupidcold. Stupid because I don't know where it came from. Stupid because I wake up at 5:00 am with a huge bolus in my throat but drink a glass of water and instantly feel the lump go away. Stupid because I don't know whether to stay home from work or finish the several projects I set myself out to do, because I know that once I get home I will start to feel better but even more lonely. Stupid because I don't know if I want chicken soup or some honey with brioche and should I drink that coffee or should I just have tea? Stupid because the Sudafed sits in my purse and may as well lay dormant until I actually feel like I have congestion and maybe I would feel better having one just to feel the pseudoephedrine coursing through my veins. Stupid because I don't know if I should exercise and wonder if doing so would lead to worse things, longer lasting things, things you can not just curl into a ball and heal. I have a stupidcold, and I get them when the weather changes. Its perfectly natural, my stupidcold.

Linky Post


Gay Marriage in Tangible Form: Really touching and sweet as if you needed a reason to support the cause.


Olbermann commentary on Prop 8: You can hear his voice quaver every five seconds.


Obama Roasts Rahm: I love how non-presidential he seems in this clip and yet, he can totally deliver a great zinger like a pro.

My Brandy Alexander.
I had a lovely day with the boyface wandering through Redwoods in Felton, tasting at Bonny Doon, and eating massive amounts of crab at Barbara's Fish Trap in Half Moon Bay. After dinner, we walked into the Half Moon Bay brew pub where they were serving Obama beer on tap. I had to get myself a pint. Obama tasted like iced tea and he went down real easy. Boyface also goes down easy, so I have ordered many cases of him for the future.

Blogging The Election Part III: Memories being made
On Tuesday night, I stood in a poll after high-tailing it out of work around 5:30 and wading through various assortments of traffic hazards on the 85. The elementary school library was filled with volunteers. I somehow managed to crack a wry joke asking them if I was "too late" to which they seriously replied that I wasn't. Even with the emptiness of the polls and the radio blaring that Obama had snagged both Pennsylvania and Ohio, I still had to make the bubbles on the electoral scantron count.


Then I went to my house to watch results. I had the cable TV on MSNBC when the boyface called me and let me know that he was at The Firehouse in Sunnyvale. I had told him earlier that a bunch of local Obama supporters were going to be there, so he went straight to the pub after work. I tried driving there as fast as I could since I knew California was going to close any second and that the major news outlets were going to blow out a huge wad. Just as I walked in, the news outlets called Virginia and the screen suddenly read "BARACK OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT" with videos of reactions across the country interspersed with maps of states and numbers.



The room began cheering, clapping, and hollering. A "this-is-not-really-happening" kind of chill ran down my spine, and at that moment, I felt incredibly elated. I had helped in accomplishing something major from convincing a few coworkers to vote for Obama over Clinton to working at the phones at the very last minute. Truthfully, we had all done it. Every single person in that room had cooperated as an agent of change and it made us feel powerful for the first time in many years.

After the jubilation, we sat next to a mother and daughter wearing matching rhinestone Obama shirts.


McCain delivered a worthy concession speech that foiled his entire campaign in its humility and willingness to accept defeat. Obama delivered an even more profound speech that mirrored the sentiment of all of us feeling responsible for this night's outcome. As I watched the speech, I glanced over at the boy, still wrapped in my arms wearing his Obama-Biden t-shirt (which took forever to get to him), and saw his face streaked with fresh tears. I leaned over to kiss the tears off of his cheeks and felt really good about the future. This is a memory I will not soon forget.

Not of us, but Obama inspires love all over.

Obligatory but entertaining post

Greetings fellow readers.

Today my co-worker told me about The Colbert-Rain dance off. This joke feud is documented well on the Colbert website and I watched a few episodes. They are hilarious.

Also, Rahm Emanuel is the son of my pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Emanuel. He was my pediatrician until I turned eight. He also pierced a hole in my ears. Surprisingly enough, he did not pierce my ears with a dagger and say "DEAD". But he did give me a nice diamond stud.

Its hard to think of things to write at a time like this...

I think I am suffering from Post-Election anxiety disorder. Four years ago, I felt a spat of depression, but a wave of resolve as to how to handle the future. This time around, there was more of a large release followed by a period of mass confusion as to what to do next. Not with the country, but with my life. I have been making preparations for change in the past few months, but not fast enough, and eventually the lack of preparedness caught up with me. Now I have to push back deadlines and wait even longer. This causes me to wonder if the world will ever be patient with me or if it will just start making decisions for me that will no longer make it easier to follow the plan. In any case, it makes me nervous and scared, and I clearly need to do something about it that does not necessarily involve pounding ice cream sandwiches and daydreaming about the Obama Fresh Prince of Bel Air. And yes, the license plate of the secret service car says "Fresh" and has a dice in the mirror.

Prepare for Fight
Last night, an overwhelming majority of Californians decided to vote for Proposition 8. I am not surprised. I am pretty sure that I knew this would happen when my friendly workbuddy/neighbor told me that people were posting Yes on 8 signs in this neighborhood. I am actually stunned that I am not that upset. Although applying to grad schools in Boston seems incredibly tempting. Stay classy Boston, legalized Marijuana ftw!

DOMA was passed when I was a child and did not even understand what homosexuality or same sex marriage was.

Four years ago, 13 States decided to ban gay marriages. Bush won the presidency. As of 2006, 27 states had constitutional bans on gay marriage. As of yesterday, Arizona and Florida approved banning gay marriage in the constitution with a majority.

In 2000, a California voter referendum also decided that marriage was between a man and a woman. Sadly, I was unable to vote for any of these things.

Californians did not do the right thing by voting Yes on Proposition 8, but I believe that this outcome will be a positive one for a minority of Americans who are persecuted by the majority of people who think they can dictate who should marry. Without going into great detail, the presidency of Obama and a decisive majority of Democrats (and Republican moderates) in the House and Senate will mean the following:

1. Repealing of DOMA
2. Civil unions having equal federal rights as marriages, which they don't now
3. Supreme court justices who recognize the distinction between church and state and also see civil rights as imperative in a working democracy

In other words, the Proposition 8 team has just wasted their money. Not only did they infuriate a younger generation who is hell-bent on repealing this amendment in addition to suing for it to be invalidated, but they infuriated a nation of supporters who felt that California was going to be a beacon where other states would follow suit. However, we can not live with just a beacon when other members of the country are being denied of their civil rights. We have to fight until this whole anti-homosexual discrimination scourge is abolished. If the majority of Californians would have voted no on 8, I reckon that everyone would have gone into their cocoons until the next election cycle and forget that DOMA takes away 1100 federal rights that are granted to married couples, so even marriage in California is still unequal. Also bear in mind that Florida and Arizona passed bans and Florida even went as far as to ban adoption and NONE OF THESE ARE MAKING THE HEADLINES. Now we are hyper-aware and now we know that the battle has just begun. I am going to be rooting for it every step of the way.

Blogging the Election Day Part 1: I phone banked.

I have not voted yet. I plan on going home and doing that around 5pm. I will probably be waiting in line. Until then, let me tell you about what I did this morning.

I woke up after five hours of restless sleep. Found my camera's battery charger, showered, and made it out to San Jose where there were already several volunteers like myself, phone banking.

This is what the office looks like:

And they look very organized, despite being on somewhat conservative turf (Santa Clara)


And this is what a small room of ethnically diverse Obama supporters phone banking at 7:30 am looks like.


The phone banking to Ohio was mostly slow. Few people answered their phones and I generally left the same chipper message that slightly deviated from the banal script that the volunteers had provided us. For those who did answer, I did get a majority of Obama supporters over McCain. That made me feel good.

The room was already full by the time I headed out for work, there were additional volunteers waiting out the door. This is at 7:30 am so its a time where most people are either not awake or lined up at the polls and on their way to work. I am sure they are going to be well staffed for the rest day.

Of course, I leave you with the following.

There is nothing to fear but fear itself, so just stay hopeful and cautiously optimistic. I think we can do this.

Dragging my ass out of bed for change

In 5 hours, I get to wake up and do my first ever phone bank for Obama 2008. I have already been supporting this candidate from the get go, but tomorrow will not only be about the candidate. I will also be reminding people to go out and vote. This is the most powerful weapon we have against the current regime right now, and I damn well expect you to wield early and wield often. So in lieu of nagging you to vote repeatedly, why don't you just post here with a comment on whether you voted or not and I will post a highlight campaign video as a return comment. Tit for tat as they say in America.

Substantive

I am excited about the next two days. Either outcome will definitely be a watershed moment in history. I hope that on Tuesday we choose the right person that has the power to get over the last eight years of disaster that has been plaguing the country I live in and that the residents of the state that I live in do not succumb to the scourge of bigotry and hatred that causes people to burn signs and get into shouting matches.

However, this morning on NPR some woman was being interviewed. She claimed that she voted for Bush in 2004. She wanted to go for Hillary in 2008, but when Hillary did not win the primary she looked to McCain/Palin as an alternative. The reasoning? "[Palin] is a woman and it is exciting." However, she finally decided on Barack Obama because Palin's answers were not "substantive" enough.

Oy. Know hope.

Diet of worms

For the past week or so, I have been trying to watch what I eat. I joined a website called Spark People in order to monitor my progress. It has been difficult given that:

a) Most of my food is weird and or homecooked
b) I am not home most of the time
c) I am in panic mode for the GRE's.

I also wanted to monitor my fitness, given that I now find myself with time to exercise about two times a week and am rarely motivated to do it. This is bad. I am kind of pinning it on the change of seasons right now. The track is flooded, along with the Stevens Creek Trail, and overall I feel kind of mopey and ill for whatever reason (read: Panic Mode). I know everything will be okay, but in order to get my mojo flowing again, I probably need to hit the gym more often and try to run at least three times a week. I also need to stop eating crap. Not that I have been at home, but work, Halloween, and the bitter bitter cold are making me love the junk food just a little bit more.

My friend Jon wrote an entry a few days ago about how he had the motivation, but did not make the effort to do things because he lacked the discipline. It struck a chord with me because this is clearly where I am right now. I am not disciplined enough to meet the challenges that are facing me with regards to my future and most importantly my health. What do I do to increase my discipline? I know depriving myself of the things I like will not amount to any good, but sometimes you have to take away some pleasure temporarily to make things a little better for yourself. I should make a list, but in the meantime self-reflection in the form of narcissism is always a productive measure.

I am late to the NaBloPoMo

So first of all I am doing my first post on November 2nd, but this is not really an issue. I am the only person monitoring myself and generally in charge of my postings and rest assured, I am very mad at my laziness..

Instead of backdating, lets just consider this a bonus post, done in tandem with the next one.

Let's start off with Halloween this year.

Thursday, the boyface and I cleaned and carved a Pumpkin. Rather, I cleaned and he came up with a viable image of McCain to be translated into Jack O'Lantern form to scare the kiddies

It sort of looked like this..



Mavrick!

Friday, I picked up cupcakes from a bakery in Willow Glen as a surprise from my coworkers. They were festively decorated by a pregnant lady dressed in a white trash costume named Jen. For work, I dressed up in my checkered black and white skirt, four inch heeled boots, and kitty cat earings. This was to be the extent of my decoration for that day. The company provided us with lots of free food.

At home, I greeted a total of three trick or treaters. The first doorbell ring included a girl dressed up as a man and her brother. Naturally, the pre-teen girl had to reassure me that she was straight. Yeah right dollface, I see right through all of your gender-play. Vote No on 8.

Later that evening, the boyface came by and we ate some dinner. We watched Frontline and then we were left with a void of time in which we debated whether to pass out from exhaustion or actually celebrate Halloween. We decided on the latter, and we ended up at a bar in Sunnyvale called Blue Max. It was divey, trashy, and filled with neighborhood color. The drinks were invariably strong and everyone was dressed in costume and getting their Karaoke on. I mauled Etta James and marched home in the rain, buzzed off a Tokyo Iced Tea. Boyface and I decided we need to go back at a future time, if only for the extensive song list and the fact that I can walk to it from my house.

And that was that for Halloween. I admit that a party would have been fun, but only if I did not need to drive home, and since that was not really an option, I am sort of glad that it stayed low key and I had the boyface to entertain me and indulge my white trash fantasies.