Just watched the movie Adventureland and have developed a crush on the actor Martin Starr. Don't judge me.

The Vietnamese lady I go to for manicures gave me a guava from her tree today.

It's little things like that that really make my day sometimes.

PB + CHO

I have made my first thing since coming home!

And the thing looks like this:

Yes, it is a baked thing. Peanut butter cookies with mini Reese's peanut butter cups pressed in the center! I was inspired by the coffee shop near Cammy's house in Long Beach, which sells giant versions of these cookies, with a full-size peanut butter cup in the middle.

I made so many cookies (about 48) that I had to ask Dad to take some in to work tomorrow. My mom won't eat them, so I must save myself from myself!

Happy Early Turkey Day

Off to Napa (via Berkeley to pick up my sis) tomorrow morning! As my dad's driving, we will be leaving somewhat promptly at 8am. I'm SO glad I can sleep in the car. If it were me, we wouldn't be leaving until 11am. But since Dad's driving--fine by me!

This will probably be our last time going to Napa for Thanksgiving (we went up there my freshman and sophomore years of college), and it's been a wonderful tradition. I'm not sure if there's any other region in California that has such consistently stellar food. And now, Leah and I can actually participate in the wine tasting!

What am I thankful for?

As always, my family comes up first on my list. Next would be friends. And I am always especially thankful that I still have Cammy, after all she's been through. And I'm thankful that I live in such a great country (despite its many issues), and that my family has never had to worry about putting enough food on the table.

Let's see.... I need something less banal to be thankful for. I am thankful that I have traveled to so many countries! Although I have many more on the list.

And with that, a good vacation to everyone.

I am back again! How many times have I started a post with that sentence?

Anyway, unemployment inspires me to write. Or to write some short blog posts, at least.

I have been on an art fix! What does that mean, you ask? It means that I have been obsessed with finding and framing artwork. I think it's largely because my walls are so empty, after not having lived in my room (or added many personal touches) for about 6 years. Yeah, that's how long it's been since high school.

Anyway, I digress. Today I went to Michael's and Target and bought 5 picture frames (one frame holds 7 pictures), and filled them all up with art! Mainly postcards I've collected over the years, but picture comes from a calendar that I had in 7th grade, and one picture is a print that I ordered from Etsy. It's pretty great.

Now I just need to actually hang them on the wall without taking large chunks of plaster out as well. My parents wouldn't be too happy about thtat.

Another reason why I love teaching

Student: Teacher, do you dye your hair?
Me: Yes.
Student: Oh. Is your hair actually black?
Me: No, it's dark brown.
Student: Oh. Are you American?


I love that foreign students expect all "real" Americans to have blond hair. I'm an American too, gosh darn it!!

I think we can all agree the advertising...could be improved.

I alternate between hesitantly loving and strongly despising American Apparel--I try to shop there, but everything is either too baggy or WAY WAY WAY too tight/short.  

Anyway, this latest offering from the AA catalogue doesn't really change my uncertainty on the company.  It's at once horrifying and amazing.  

Just a quick shout-out

To all my friends, all over the world, whether they read this thing or not:

You are great. I'm lucky to have you.

I just had a great and busy weekend hanging with a good mix of people (and not hanging out with a few, sadly), and it reminded me how happy my friends make me.

THANK YOU! I hope I'm still in touch with all of you in 30 years.

"You look tired."

Never a compliment, right?

I have been told this THREE TIMES in the last 2 months while at work. It has motivated me to buy thicker foundation and wear more makeup, since I figure that is one of the small joys of being a woman--you can generally cover it up if you look like crap.

But apparently it's not working, since one of my students commented again today that I look tired.

GAH!

That is all.

I take it back

I believe I'm on record stating that an Eastern European accent is one of my least favorite accents.  

I take it back.  That opinion does not apply to this man:

That would be Eugene Hütz, charismatic lead singer of the Ukrainian gypsy/punk band Gogol Bordello (and actor in the movie Everything is Illuminated).

I love anything gypsy-ish (Klezmer music, clarinet, accordion, etc.), and after trying to get to a show the last 3 years, I finally got to a live show last week in Pomona. Hütz's stage presence, energy and enthusiasm is amazing. I also heard him interviewed on NPR, and he's got a really interesting story (he's a survivor of Chernobyl and had to emigrate to New York with his family in the early '90s).

So yeah. Check it out if you get a chance.

I am watching ben folds perform right now!!! One of my life goals achieved. (this is from my cell phone.)

Hooray! Going with Camille to see HAIR (the musical) tonight!

Just watched Bonnie and Clyde.

It totally blew me away.  No pun intended.  

I was worried about the 2-hour running time, but the story completely drew me in.

Definitely a recommended film, if you haven't seen it.  

Another radio reference

Sorry for the second public radio reference in a row.  But this is what I listen to now, thanks to my hour-plus commutes with only a radio.  

Anyway, did anyone watch Ira Glass on the Colbert Report last week?  I just watched it, and Glass's lovable awkwardness made me cringe and warmed my heart at the same time.  Not many things do that.  

If you want to check out the interview, it's here.  

I stole this from the All Songs Considered Blog.

I despise "Auto-Tuning."  But I am amused by this video.  

Chocolate Fish*

My parents are back from Paris!  And they brought me...chocolate fish?

Actually, they are quite adorable chocolate fish.  Apparently one sees fish memorabilia everywhere in Paris during April, since a traditional French April Fool's trick is to put a fish on someone's back (not sure how they managed that).   Today it's more common just to put a picture of a fish on someone's back as a trick.

Those French really are cards.  

*I type "chocolate fish" and all I can think of is that inane Chocolate Rain song from YouTube.  

So it gets your attention. Is that all?

This always frustrates me.

The new Allure issue is touting a spread where they got "5 Celebrities to Bare it All" for a photo shoot in the magazine. They briefly interview the women regarding how they feel being naked, what their insecurities are, etc.


My problem is: these women are celebrities; their bodies are PERFECT. Or if not perfect, then airbrushed to perfection. Why do women's magazines do these kinds of nudity spreads so frequently?
The magazine tries to play it like it's some kind of female empowerment, but do any of us real people even know anyone that looks that good?!

I was only happy with this kind of "love your body by looking at naked women" thing once, when (the now sadly defunct) Jane Magazine did a spread on nudity, but used non-celebrities to pose naked; they just asked readers to volunteer. Cool, huh?

This ain't no World Cup

Look how responsible, caring, and yes--pitiful--those Germans are.

Look!  I am officially a "lecturer" at Cal State Long Beach!

I mean, sure, I'm technically only "part time," and I only work at the extension; but the card looks cool!

Frohe Ostern!

I decided to wish you a happy Easter in German because for some reason, Easter makes me think of Germany.  Or at least, it reminds me of Germany more than the other holidays.  

Maybe this is because one of my most memorable Easters was during my time in Goettingen, when I went with some other Americans to an "Easter Pageant" at the local Catholic church, only to discover that it was a service meant only for children, and we were the only non-parents there. We got to learn all about Jesus's resurrection through brightly colored pictures and catchy tunes.  Good times.  

Anyway, this Easter was a good one.  I made Easter candies!  Look:

Anyone reading the L.A. Times probably saw the recipe for these pastel mints on the front page of the Food section a few days ago.  They were fairly easy to make, and I think they came out pretty well, although I have no idea how long it will take to eat all of them. 

I brought over the best mints to Cammy's dad's house for Easter (my parents are in Paris, so I needed a surrogate family).  We had a delicious feast of peanut noodles (made by Cammy), along with more traditional faire of scalloped potatoes, salad, and asparagus. 

And now, I will leave you with a link to Hannah's hilarious Easter-related video, and wish you all a good night!

Inspiring Teacher Movie of the Day

*Other than proving to me yet again what a great actor Sidney Poitier is, this film also made me realize that all those hipster kids you see dancing in bars in L.A. are just replicating the mod dances of the 60's.  I suppose it's obvious, but I'd never made the connection before!  

Cutie Pie Grossness

Zooey Deschanel irritates me.  Why?  Because she's too freakin' cute.  She looks cute (dark brown hair, big blue eyes), she has a cute voice, she always plays cute characters in her movies, even her name's freakin' adorable.  She's too precious.  Thus, I must resist her.  

Nevertheless, I found myself checking out Zooey's "band," She & Him, and it has a few catchy tracks.  I just caved and downloaded one called "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"  

I couldn't help myself, and now I feel like a hypocrite.  But that's it!  Only one song, and I'm done with this Deschanel!  Unless she makes another movie with Will Ferrell, then I might make an exception....

A post! A post!

I'm sure my many readers are thrilled beyond belief to see that I am posting!!

Honestly, I have been feeling inspired to blog lately; but then I come home and fall asleep.

I have good reason to fall asleep though (in my opinion), because I've been working 8-hour days teaching ESL in La Verne.  A new teaching session starts tomorrow, where I'll downgrade to a 2-hour morning class, and then I'll be driving down to Cal State Long Beach to teach another 2-hour afternoon class.  

I'm paying my teaching dues; all this work is pretty much just so I can hopefully get some good letters of rec and a little experience (NOT a lot of moolah).  Luckily I really enjoy it.  Thank goodness I didn't spend 4 years of undergrad getting a linguistics degree for nothing.  (I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go into teaching after college.)

Also, all this driving in a car with only a radio enables me get in my daily quota of NPR.  I used to feel guilty about not being up on all the current events; now I feel like I know TOO MUCH.  I mean really, do they have to talk for 30 minutes straight about home mortgage problems?  Or bailout plans?  Seemingly every hour?  All the financial stuff gets on my nerves after a while, and I've started to tune it out, even without meaning to.   But honestly, 

who wouldn't rather hear an interesting story about the sex lives of sea creatures?  

Last night I got to experience one of the rare joys of living in LA: hanging out at Union Station for an hour on a Saturday night!

This experience was not planned,  which is probably the only way it could have happened.  I was meeting Cammy so that we could go to a vegan pizza place nearby, called Purgatory Pizza.  Little did Cammy and I know how infrequently the Metro runs.  Thus I was stuck there for a while waiting for her to show up.

But I'm glad it happened!  I sat in the famous waiting area, feeling as if I were waiting for a train or a flight somewhere in Europe.  (For some reason, it seems I never have to wait as long for transportation in the States.)  

Then a homeless man sat across from me and started up a conversation about traveling in Europe.  Go figure!  Lately, it seems like traveling (and being vegetarian) are the only two things I ever talk about with people I've just met.  It could be worse.  But anyway, it was a pretty interesting conversation; the guy, "Todd," told me all about his adventures getting foot surgery in Paris and stopping at the Becks Brewery in Bremen.  From what I could tell, his stories were too accurate not to be at least partly true.  

Then I got up to use the bathroom and got hit on by a small Black man named "Lil Larry," who gave me his business card and told me to call him when I'm single.

After that, happily, Cammy showed up.  And we got delicious pizza, in which I ordered a medium, real cheese pizza ALL FOR MYSELF and ate it ALL BY MYSELF.  In one sitting.  

A good Saturday night.  

I have picked up the guitar again (we'll see how long it lasts), and am already annoyed that I cannot play more than the chorus of Happiness is a Warm Gun.  

Lucky for me, there is a never-ending supply of Belle & Sebastian songs I can learn.  And I NEVER get tired of B & S.  

Me loves the Hello Kitty

I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Hello Kitty. I don't know why her disgustingly cute face continues to pull me in. Perhaps it's because she's Japanese. Perhaps it's because she has a sister, as do I. Although it's supposedly a twin sister. Their only difference is that Mimmy (the sister) has a yellow ear-bow.

OK, I have probably already told you way more than you wanted to know regarding the HK and her awesomeness.

Also, for the record, the pictured cupcake did not taste as good as it looks. Hard to believe, I know. The frosting was very artificially flavored. But I got a plastic Hello Kitty ring out of the deal!

Things to do while unemployed

Why not alphabetize your CDs? 

A break from cynicism

Sometimes

by Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,

from bad to worse.  Some years, muscadel

faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,

sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;

elect an honest man; decide they care

enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.

Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go 

amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.

The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow

that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.

Awesome weekend

Highlights of going to Davis this weekend (This is mainly for my own recollection):

-Making the 6-hr drive in the (rather small) car with Kaylan, her boyfriend, Toby (a dog) and Java (a cat).  

-Playing Cranium a total of three times in 2 1/2 days, Scene it twice, and Catchphrase 3 times.  YES!  My friends like games too!!

-Finally meeting Ashley and Michelle (I've heard so much about them).  Gathering together in the living room for Michelle's mini-concert.  

-Going to 80's night at the club, dressed in 80's clothing, and not caring that no one else at the club was thematically dressed.  Dancing the WHOLE NIGHT.  And being impressed by Alicia's lack of self-consciousness. 

-Kaylan making enchiladas for everyone.  

-Shopping at the Co-op with Alicia.  And spending $22 on a Hello Kitty water bottle.  (OK, perhaps that price isn't exactly a highlight.)

-Taking Toby for a walk out on the greenbelt.  

-Looking forward to doing it all again.  

I see nothing wrong with this.  In fact, sounds like a reason to visit Switzerland on the way to Iceland.  

And (ha ha!) it figures they'd be mainly be Germans.  

Another reason to visit Iceland

On January 31, Iceland is going to appoint the world's first openly gay head of government: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. She's a "former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career."

I've long heard that Iceland is a beautiful place to visit (not least because it's a perfect spot to see the Northern Lights, a life goal of mine).

Turns out politics are another reason to check out the country!

Lesson learned

Do NOT download Beyonce's single "If I Were a Boy" and then listen to it a single time, because it will be stuck in your head ALL DAY (all year?!).  

I don't even know the lyrics after she says "If I were a boy...."  So I don't even have anything to sing after that.  All I can do is hum.

Hot man:

Namely, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Yeah, I realize he's mostly famous for being on that overrated TV show, Grey's Anatomy.  

He definitely deserves better things.  At least, based on his looks (I'm not even worrying about talent).

But does he or does he not bear a striking resemblance to Javier Bardem?  

It's like JDM is America's lower-cost, more-attainable answer to the hot Spanish one.

OK, done drooling for tonight.  

It's time to put an end to this destructive relationship

I've made a resolution to stop shopping at Urban Outfitters. 

The relationship has just gotten too strained. During my high school years, I discovered the store (thanks to Vivian), and was obsessed with it, blowing hundreds of dollars there for birthdays and Christmas. I convinced myself that it was OK that the shirts cost upwards of $30 each, because I was being original and artistic.

But then Forever 21 came along, with virtually the same clothes for about half the price. And I've actually heard good things about Forever 21's clothing manufacturers (well, the workers protested and got lots of public attention, so Forever 21 was basically forced to make improvements).

So UO has high prices, most likely uses bad labor practices, and...then I read Broke & Beautiful's blog entry, which discusses how the latest catalogue features half-naked girls modeling the clothing.  

That crosses the line; what's the point of dressing the models like this?  I suppose it could be argued to be artistic, but I don't buy it.  None of the male models appear like this.  It's pandering, and it offends me.

Thus, I refuse to shop at Urban Outfitters anymore!  

I'm also writing them an email telling them why.

It may not be much in the grand scheme of chain-store shopping, but it's something.  

A Beautiful Day

Oh yeah

Is it hard for anyone else to believe that Obama is going to be OUR PRESIDENT tomorrow?!?

It's a happy disbelief.

I'm not a Republican yet

...but sometimes it looks like it would be a lot of fun.

So I didn't have very high expectations (low expectations which I tried to disguise in the previous post), but as it turned out, Monster Jam (R) was pretty freakin' awesome. It may have had something to do with the 3 beers Cammy and I drank on an empty stomach beforehand, but I think the main elements of loud engines and massive trucks flying into the air makes for an unbeatable combination of FUN. It was kind of like watching a sports game where you don't need to have any beforehand knowledge of the rules; you just cheer for what you like, and everyone cheers with you (and you get to eat enormous bags of cotton candy at the same time).

Monster Jam! Tonight! I'll let y'all know how it goes....

The "Academy"

I know most of the people from Monrovia know the Academy movie theater, on Colorado. I think it's known mostly for being rundown.

Well, with me being unemployed and all, I have rediscovered the beauty of this theater. Matinee shows $2! Evening shows $3! What more could I ask for? (Especially when the cheapest price you can get at the Krikorian now is $7.25. And the regular adult price is $10.25!!)


So today I went to go see Wendy and Lucy (a film about nothing, basically), which was totally worth the $2. Not that the movie was bad...I just couldn't picture myself paying more than $5 to see it.

The point I'm trying to make is, don't pay so much for movies! If you're gonna spend more money, go see a play. If you want to watch a big screen, go to the Academy. At least the name sounds fancy.

Unhealthy obsession

Two items of ridiculous clothing that I keep coveting, despite all common sense:

1. A "romper" or "jumpsuit," it appears to be called, looking something like this (only $11 at Forever 21!):

and 

modeled here:

--as well as--

2. High-heeled (I need high heels like I need a hole in the head) oxford shoes, as illustrated in this example:

I can't wait till these impractical items go out of style and get out of my sight. I need them to stop tempting me.

Now I need to watch 12 Angry Men. Or Runaway Jury?

As of yesterday, I am finished with FOUR WEEKS of jury duty! It wasn't four weeks straight; it actually only added up to 12 days. But due to the holidays, it ended up going over many weeks (and into a new year!).

And after all that work, it ended up being a hung jury. We had 11-1, not guilty. ONE WOMAN refused to change her mind. But even after all the frustration of not being able to reach a decision, I felt satisfied that we had truly done our best to discuss all the possibilities. And I guess that's how the whole system's supposed to work.

I think the best part of this jury duty was hanging out in downtown LA. And no, that's not sarcastic. Downtown has a lot of really awesome restaurants, gardens, museums, and shops. The Walt Disney Center, MOCA, Little Tokyo, Grand Central Market, etc. I definitely hope to get down there again and sightsee a bit more before leaving the area (if that happens).

I'm doing a massive overhaul of my room. And I have concluded, I have too much meaningful stuff! What am I supposed to do with it all?

I suppose if it's truly meaningful, I'll remember it even if I don't own it anymore.

If Obama does it....

Does that mean it's cool?  

I've always thought the backwards baseball cap, with its connotations of arrogance on one hand and laid-back chillness on the other, was an interesting fashion trend.  

Perhaps it's time for a comeback?