Late night baking

First time baking in a long time and it was simple pear cobbler–not since those vegan red velvet cupcakes!

The list once again

Ehh…probably won’t do a journal quilt project. I’ll probably look for another year-long meme.

Due date: May 27, 2012

in progress
complete

1. Keep this blog by the end of 1001 days
2. Get a full time job (completed 9/24/09)
3. Pay all my credit cards
4. Finish as much of my students loans as possible
5. Eat at least one piece of fruit per day
6. Eat at least one piece of vegetable per day
7. Go to New York City
8. Go to London
9. Go to Chicago

10. Go to the Phillippines
11. Get my pictures professionally done (for some reason a lot list said that)
12. Go to a country who has a poor healthcare system and contribute i.e. giving medical equipment and textbooks etc (since I wasn’t able to go to Nicaragua)
13. Buy my own car (October 2010)
14. Move to a new apartment/flat/room when I get a full time job
15. Sing for Lawrence and Mike - completed 9/7/09
16. Take a class on photography, planting, or writing or some leisure class
17. Recycle paper more often and other recyclable too.
18. Put $1 (or more) in savings for every task completed
19. Visit my penfriends (New Jersey and Kansas)
20. Make my LinkedIn Account complete
21. Get something designer
22. Watch 25 movies from the top 250 on IMBD.COM – 6/25 (Up, Lawrence of Arabia, 500 Days of Summer, Usual Suspects, Slumdog Millionaire, Avatar, Inception)
23. buy my own coffee maker/expresso machine completed 1/2/2010
24. Start saving up for retirement (I have matching 401K but I’d like to start a Roth IRA
25. Start up my emergency fund (not sure how much I’d like to make)
26. Set a budget and stick for it at least 6 months (maybe this can happen since I’ve been carrying around cash lately)
27. Buy a new digital camera (point and shoot) — completed it in November
28. Get an SLR
29. Finish a marathon
30. Help plan a wedding
31. Participate in a wedding (as a bridesmaid or flowergirl)
32. Give unwanted clothes to Salvation Army(completed 9/9/09)
33. Host a dinner party
34. Read 50 new books (15/50)

35. Quit saying “like” “um” and “you know” so much (instead of swear jar, create a slang jar)
36. Donate 5 dollars for every item not completed (got that from http://susans101.blogspot.com/)
37. Attend a Broadway show (7/10/2010)
38. Go to Italy
39. Learn about at least 2 cultures (1/2) – Kazahkstan
40. Create a network (this is always continuous)
41. Volunteer
42. Have all my cleaners be green
43. Learn 20 different cooking recipes (honestly I’ve cooked so much not sure where to start)
44. Learn 20 different dessert recipes (from http://thylayzeepanda.tumblr.com/post/163749006/101-goals-1001-days) (3/20)
45. Learn 2 more languages (I already know French so that doesn’t count)
46. Do the 365 day photo project (Sept 2010)
47. Go to NYC for New Years
48. Visit San Francisco (July 2010)
49. Do 10 random acts of kindness (3/10)
50. Consider graduate/professional school to move myself up in the career ladder (currently looking at the GRE. They’ll have the new test out in August/Sept but I hope I can afford the test this year)
51. Visit 3 new states (0/3)
52. Grow my own garden
53. Tutor a subject – I live with my cousin and I teach him math (this is a continuous thing too)
54. Stretch and exercise 4 mornings per week
55. Get a plant for my room
56. Get a new cell phone (June 2010)
57. Take 20 minutes of my day and just organize (do this 3 times per week)
58. Study something i’ve never studied before i.e. comparative politics (currently studying guitar and yoga)
59. Finish a novel in a foreign language (been done but would do it again)
60. Donate 100,000 grains of rice (http://freerice.com/index.php) (5680/100,000)
61. Participate in a Kiva loan
62. Revisit France and go to Southern France
63. Revisit France and visit Caen and cross the English channel
64. Go to a farmer’s market Completed 10/6/09
65. Pay back my parents for supporting me in school
66. Make my own candles
67. Read the news everyday
68. Begin a green regime
69. Find 101 quotes/pictures that inspire me (19/101)
70. teach someone to play the violin (and pick up my violin)
71. Attend a music festival
72. Attend at least 3 concerts (1/3)
73. Watch 12 foreign films (1/12) – Secret
74. Take a random roadtrip ( Jan 2010)
75. participate as an audience in a television show
76. Plant a tree
77. Finish a cross stitch
78. finish two craft projects (1/2) — I DIY the table cloth and the couch cover
79. Go to a vineyard completed 9/5/09
80. Visit 10 different beaches (Santa Monica doesn’t count bc I live here 7/10) – Black’s Beach, La Jolla Cove, Pacific Beach, Alameda Bay, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Solana Beach
81. Meet a celebrity
82. Visit 20 national parks/musems/buildings/monuments (8/20) — ones I’ve never been to [Balboa Park, Cal Academy of Science, San Jose Tech Museum, Golden Gate Park, USS Midway, Star of India, Point Loma lighthouse, Three Sister falls]
83. Buy a bag of free trade coffee
84. Buy something from Etsy.com
85. Climb to the top of a water tower
86. Visit the original Starbucks (Visit the Seattle Underground and Pike’s Place too) in Seattle (one of my favorite cities in the world)
87. Go to a comedy club (bonus points if I do it myself)
88. When I’m travelling and if I know they live there, just let them know you’re in the area to meet up.
89. Play 5 Rockband songs on Expert (from eopgina.tumblr.com)
90. Go out to dinner with girlfriends and dress up to the nines completed 10/10/09
91. Do the Journal Quilt Project
92. Write down ten or more negative things and burn them (from laceandivy.wordpress.com)
93. Attend a local play – Sept 2010 saw Taming o the Shrew at the San Diego Globe Theatre
94. Be an extra on a film set
95. Go to the Eastern side of Canada
96. Buy a pair of TOM Shoes (completed Feb 2010)
97. Watch the sunrise at the East Coast
98. Register 6 dollars on wheresgeorge.com from http://101thingsforzach.blogspot.com/) (6/6)
99. Go to the real New Orleans
100. Start composting (Jan 2010)
101. Start this trend to at least 5 people (2/5)
- katrinakay
Alice

Too tired to listen

Feels good to be back in San Diego and the sun is shining.

Feels good not to be constantly aggravated. As much as I love my family and friends back home…I decided maybe I’ll just go my way. I guess I just got tired of listening to criticism. Can’t I get a welcome back not “oh you should be really doing this…” I guess I got tired of saying the same things over and over again like this:

Parents: So are you contributing to your retirement?

Me: Yes–4% and I have a matching 401K. I even have a Roth IRA. (I’ve said this many many times)

Parents: oh really? that’s better than most people!

Me: Yes it is better than most people. I even have an emergency fund.

Parents: Are you still contributing to an FSA?

Me: No because you told me not to contribute last year and I stopped and I already told you this!

Parents: Well we’re just making sure because you’re gonna lose that money if you’re not going to use it.

—-

Parents: Are you paying your student loans?

Me: Yes, I’ve been paying for more than year.

Parents: How much are you paying?

Me: 200 dollars

Parents; What? that’s not enough!!! You’ll never finish your loans!

Me: Better than the people who haven’t been in school since 2008 and still deferring it.

To me, it gets on my nerves and I’m kind of tired being compared to other people that I’m just book smart rather than street smart. It’s like one or the other and you can’t be both. I guess I just hate coming back to my hometown just to hear that I’m not good enough when I know I am just as good or even better.

You see, my dad even admitted he’s a very paranoid person. I guess I’ve gone through so much emotionally and seen so much and met so many people in my life, it made me realize how repressed I am. It made me realize that I felt like I was being held by puppet strings and I needed to let go of those fears and worries.

I like to set goals and I don’t like not reaching them and I always hear “the only person stopping you is you.” That’s true because I don’t like telling people my goals and not having people supporting me, I get “oh so idealistic” or “you say you want these things but here’s reality” and I don’t like to listen to it because I do take it to heart and to make people happy, I don’t pursue it. But then it occurred to me that how can I prove to people that I got to where I am if I keep on listening all the time?

Sorry for this long post yet again expressing my grievances on why I don’t like going to truck town. I don’t like going through the trouble of going 150 miles just to be put down.

Back in truck town

So yesterday was a holiday party that my parents through for family friends and neighbors and the most frequently asked questions are the following:

1) How’s San Diego? It’s fine

2) Do you like your job? It’s good

3) What do you do in your job? I work in immunology

4) Are you planning to come back? We all miss you.

Ooh..that’s a hard question to say, so of course, I say something that I know they want to to hear…well sort of…I say “We’ll see” and my mom chimes in saying “She applied for jobs locally but she didn’t hear from them.” And they say “really? They’re hiring in the hospital!” and I say “Well, I applied to the hospital too but I haven’t heard from them.” And they say “oh no they’re expanding so I’m sure there will be lots of job opporunities.” Not sure if they really meant it because maybe they think it’s what I WANT to hear. But you know…the truth is, my heart really isn’t set on relocating back to my home town. If I had another opportunity to relocate maybe I’d go for the Bay Area (but that’s later on in the future) so I guess it kind of tells me that I really am not looking to go back to my hometown soon. Not sure if I have an explicit reason but I just know relocating back to my town isn’t in my plans.

Then I get convinced to stay for the whole week in my hometown since I have the whole week of work off. I say “actually I’m not sticking around for the whole week–if anything maybe half a week” and then I get back “What are you going to do the whole week in San Diego?” and I answer “I don’t know, not any different from spending a whole week in truck town.” And then they suggest “don’t you want to see your old friends and let them know you’re in town” and I say “well…we’ll see” when really my mind is sure saying a lot of things. Look a lot of my good friends from high school and middle school aren’t really in truck town, they’re pretty much dispersed throughout LA County/California/the U.S/the world. Besides, I didn’t bring my car up here in truck town so I can’t really roam around as I please to see my friends. Also though I may not have work for the week, we all have different schedules. Maybe yeah…accuse me of “poor planning” but really…maybe my plans for winter break didn’t involve cruising around truck town.

Ahh!

A branch fell on my car!

Ok well…the branch mainly fell on the car next to my car while I got all the twigs, the leaves, and seeds. I cleaned it up in the rain. Good news is that when you first look at the car, there is no major damage but taking a closer look–there’s a dent :-/!

Candid

I took my boss and his boss out for lunch today (and my coworker too). To tell you the truth I was kind of nervous but in the end, lunch was fun anyways.

Finished #33

Host a dinner party!

Which me and my roommates did Friday night!

It was small. It wasn’t exactly a party party, more like a wine and dine party. No beer–all wine. Not intentional–everyone just so happened to bring wine to the party. But it was a lot of fun.

Pita Pizza!

I recently discovered the art of making pizza from pita bread!

I’m kind of tired of making pita bread sandwiches so this was fun to make. Just add sauce, cheese, and toppings and put it in the oven until the cheese melts.

Another variation my roommate did was make pizza from naan bread. Yummy!

Just in time for the holidays

Making my second trip to Good Will donations center.

On Friday I donated stuff to Good Will–my roommates and were cleaning out the house and we found two pieces of art work, a lamp, bedsheets (not from us), a few pairs of sweat pants, and I brought my bag of clothing.

Today I decided I’ll make a second trip and donate my chair and a rug (neither of them belonged to me). It feels so nice to clear it out!

Happy Holidays!

So update:

- what’s up with this facebook meme of changing your profile picture to your favorite childhood character to stand up for child abuse? Changing your picture doesn’t help a child not get hit just like announcing your bra color doesn’t prevent breast cancer.

Yes I did change my profile picture to Winnie the Pooh but first I donated to ChildHelp. I highly recommend to those who change their profile pictures to contribute as little as 10 dollars. If you’re changing your profile picture to say you’re “aware” then donate! Besides, it’s the holidays–let’s give! I mean as much as I was eyeing that dress to wear to the company holiday party, it ended up going to ChildHelp. Oh yes, this complete another thing on my list #49 Do 10 random acts of kindness–so far 3/10.

Honestly Winnie the Pooh isn’t my favorite childhood cartoon–in fact I don’t even remember my favorite childhood cartoon. I just chose it because I remembered a while back I told the eye doctor how Winnie-the-Pooh characters were a representation of mental and social disorders because he kept saying Pooh jokes.

What else? Oh yes work holiday party!

Grr…yes…my eyes do get chinky when I smile–trying to work on that!

And the night ended with pool.