Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup

This is a fuzzy cell phone picture of soup, but what it represents is significant: the first time I ever cooked for my boyfriend.

I don't really cook much in general, especially since during school, I have a meal plan at my dorm. Spending this past summer on the East Coast, buying groceries and doing stuff with them, gave me motivation, though, that I wanted to cook a little for myself and share the food with my boyfriend. Visiting a friend, who cooked delicious ceviche for his visiting girlfriend, my boyfriend, and me, provided even more motivation.

Instead of going out to eat before watching a ballet Saturday, my boyfriend and I had a home-cooked meal. It was up to me to decide what I would prepare. What ended up influencing my final decision for a dish was that my boyfriend was recovering from a cold, so a warm bowl of soup on a cold evening sounded wonderful. I found a recipe for Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup, courtesy of the blog vanilla sugar. My boyfriend especially seems to like creamy soup that's good for dunking bread into, so this definitely fit the bill. I would definitely consider this comfort food.

One of the things that I like about this recipe is how easy it was to make something so yummy, especially on my first attempt. I did feel a little bit of pressure (from myself), though, because I wanted to make a good first impression in the kitchen. Before starting cooking, my nerves definitely were getting to me when, for example, I couldn't find the milk that I had bought and my boyfriend had to go out and get some more. For the 10 minutes or so he was out, I was probably 80 percent done with chopping a medium to large onion (I'm not very confident in my knife abilities and tend to chop slow). However, things ultimately ended up working out for the best!

This is a dish where you can use whatever you have on hand in terms of leftover poultry and vegetables, which also helps cut down on the cooking time. Since I didn't have the "luxury" of leftovers, I used cubed pieces of turkey breast and grilled chicken from a supermarket's salad bar and a can of strained vegetables that had carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, and potatoes.

I served this soup with slices of French bread that had garlic rubbed onto them, along with butter, cracked black pepper, and parsley. The bread unexpectedly got a little too toasty after just a couple minutes of broiling in the oven, but on the bright side, they weren't that burnt. Since this meal is hearty and kind of rich (with the creamed corn, cream cheese, milk, and mozzarella cheese), I served something light for dessert: fresh blueberries -- yum!

All in all, it was a great meal. My boyfriend and I were very pleased, and I definitely would like to cook again in the (hopefully near) future, not just for sharing food I had cooked (He also helped me a little in the kitchen, too), but also for myself.

Trick or treat

Smile! :-D

This was my first ever attempt at carving a pumpkin, though really, it was a team effort between my boyfriend and I. I designed it to be like a pirate with an eye patch. When I was carving the smile, one of the corners came too close to the eye patch, so we used toothpicks for support. The toothpicks actually added a cool effect. If we could have found a flimsy, black piece of fabric to put over the patch, then I wonder what kind of effect it would give it.

On Halloween, I also got to go trick-or-treating, something that I hadn't done in years! I was part of a group who dressed up as characters from the "Star Wars" films. Ahead of time, we had gone to thrift stores to find clothing to put together costumes at an affordable price. The results were amazing:

I was Princess Leia, and I probably spent less than $25 to put together an outfit that consisted of a white robe, a white skirt, and her famous hair buns that covered each ear. I pinned dog mullet wigs (go figure) that were each in hairnets to the sides of my head.

Afterward, we watched "The Others," starring Nicole Kidman:

Kidman plays a 1940s mother to a girl and boy, who all live in a big house in England. The children are sensitive to sunlight, so (conveniently) the rooms are so dark and add to the mysterious atmosphere when the family thinks there are ghosts haunting the place. The movie is suspenseful and there are parts that can make you jump, but it's not a film filled with blood and guts, which is good, since I can't stomach (ha ha) violence and gore. I was also familiar with the big twist of the film without having seen it. While that might have "spoiled" it for me in that regard, at least I could watch the film without being too jumpy and running out of the room.

All in all, it was quite a nice way to spend a Halloween evening.

October 25 -- Pancake Breakfast

More than 10 days ago, the big event that I've been co-organizing for the past few months finally took place ... and I've been recovering from it ever since. I've recovered from it enough that I'm dusting off the cobwebs from this corner of the Internet to provide you, dear readers, with some updates.

I was one of the co-organizers of a fundraiser/outreach event at my work. My boyfriend was kind enough to take some pictures during the event and share them with me afterward. The photo above shows a centerpiece that was on each of the tables. Believe it or not, the base is actually a red plastic cup. However, it has become more classy with the help of ribbons and leaves (As you can see, the event had a fall theme). The cup was topped off with a flat, clay pot, more leaves, and a tea light candle. Unfortunately, the candles couldn't be lit, due to the sensitive nature of the building (it's made of wood!).

In that picture, you can also partially see the program, which looks similar to the flier. You can also partially see the menu; have a better look:

The days leading up to October 25 were particularly busy. Among other things, I was responsible for much of the computer-based designing for the event. I especially liked how the donation drawings sheets turned out, which were used to showcase the different prizes that were available for people to buy raffle tickets. The prizes were pretty impressive -- who wouldn't want a chance to see a performance or visit an amusement for the fraction of the normal price?

Side 1

Side 2

Here's a picture of the dining room. Flags representing countries from all over the world are present, like at all of the previous Pancake Breakfasts, but my co-organizer and I wanted to focus on our theme and do additional decorations that were different. Warm shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown made up our color palette. Fake leaves and butterflies were hung from the ceiling with fishing wire, as well as on the walls.

The event really was like running a restaurant, with the residents of the dormitory helping out at different positions. The residents wear traditional clothing from various countries, and some of them perform, as you can see above. Overall, we served more than 300 people that Sunday morning.

I am SO glad that Pancake Breakfast is over. It was definitely stressful sometimes, and I didn't get very much sleep. On the other hand, we received a lot of positive feedback for the event, and it was a good personal experience when it came to event planning, which I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

10 more days ...

... until Pancake Breakfast, an outreach event / fundraiser I've been co-organizing at my work! At this event, the residents of the dormitory will cook, serve, and entertain hundreds of people during the morning of Oct. 25.

The residents wear clothing from different cultures while performing these tasks and interacting with guests. My workplace has some donated clothing of that sort, and Wednesday night was the first date that I started checking them out to people. 

It was interesting to see people trying on the exotic apparel -- sometimes it felt like a culture clash like the photo above depicts with the young woman using new technology while wearing a traditional dress.

I've already posted the Pancake Breakfast flier, and when they're finalized, I'll post other materials that I've made. I've designed the tickets, which will be simple leaves on colored paper. We've been so fortunate to have received so many great donated raffle prizes so far, and once all that has been finalized, I'll show you the prize information sheets that the people selling the raffle tickets will carry. 

I've also designed menus that will be on each table. Even though it's called Pancake Breakfast, we'll have three distinct buffets:

an American breakfast of pancakes and all of the related trimmings for that, scrambled eggs, bacon, beef sausages, and hashed browns

a Persian breakfast of lavash bread with toppings such as butter, feta cheese, labneh cheese, and mint leaves, and the bread is paired with a lentil soup called adasi

an Asian breakfast with pajeons (Korean pancakes) of scallions and kimchi that can be eaten with soy sauce and sesame oil and a Japanese miso soup

I've been so busy with the designing (gotta do programs too!), planning, and managing. Part of me is looking forward to Pancake Breakfast, while the other part can't wait until it's done and things have calmed down. Pictures from the event will be posted at this blog in the future, so stay tuned!

(Photo by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogersmith/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

)

'That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, Homeskillet. '

I wanted to watch something from my big pile of library DVDs (I've already watched a few of them). I was in the mood for something relatively brief and decided to check out "Juno." I heard so many good things about it, such as an Oscar win for its screenplay.

The story of a teenage girl having an unplanned pregnancy isn't exactly an original concept. Juno the character and the words she and the other characters say are suppose to give this film something extra. There were times when I felt that the film overdid it with cultural references and attempts at "witty" remarks, like the title of this post, so that got a little annoying. Maybe I felt a slight letdown from high expectations.

Still, there were nice moments in the film that were funny, touching, or made you think. Not sure if this would be considered a SPOILER, but one of my favorite quotes from the film is advice that Juno's dad gives to her when she wonders if "it's possible that two people can stay happy together forever":

"Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."

Direct and interesting word choice, but the sentiment is so true.

The music on the soundtrack was pretty cool. I recognize a Belle & Sebastian song because a special someone introduced me to that band a year ago. I also recognized Cat Power's version of "Sea of Love," which was a standout song to me when a friend wanted to check out her CD, The Cover Records, and let me borrow it from him.

OK, one DVD done, but so many more left!

It's raining, it's pouring

People often associate sunshine with the Golden State, a.k.a. California. Today, though, there have been storms throughout the state: so much wind and rain! Luckily, I didn't have to go out that much or spend a lot of time outside. On the other hand, my sister, who goes to a university in another part of the state, still had to attend her aqua aerobics class, which takes place in an outdoor pool!

When I did head out, I was armed with an umbrella that I had bought in May in New York, where I attended training for my internship. I didn't bring an umbrella or hooded coat when I went to the East Coast over the summer because I didn't expect it to rain so often -- yet it did in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. During that time, I was definitely missing the sunshine and lack of much humidity back in California.

I look forward to the future, though. It should be sunny later this week, and I'll be attending a musical performance this Saturday with a special someone -- I'm definitely excited!

By the way, the picture above is appropriate to me, not just for the rain, but also for the Stormtroppers. I'm going to be Princess Leia for Halloween! I need to put together an outfit and figure out what I'm going to do to my hair to give myself nice, thick buns on each side of my head (my hair is just past my shoulders). Oh well, I still have time!

(Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
(P.S. Check out more photos by Stéfan of Stormtrooper figurines -- one for each day starting on April 3, 2009 -- doing fun stuff, such as playing "Wheel of Fortune," slicing kiwis with Darth Vader, and going surfing).

'I love you too, but I'm gonna mace you in the face!'

Out of context, the above quote may seem funny. In context, it's just plain hilarious in the film "The Darjeeling Limited." This Wes Anderson film is about three brothers, played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman, who all have baggage (literally as you can see above, but also figuratively) and go on a "spiritual quest" together across India. Things don't go as planned, however.

This is the first Wes Anderson film that I've seen, though I've heard of his other ones, such as "The Royal Tenenbaums." I wouldn't necessarily recommend "The Darjeeling Limited" to everyone, because it is an acquired taste. I found it an interesting experience.

"The Darjeeling Limited" is one of a few DVDs that I recently watched. I don't go to movie theatres that often, but I do watch DVDs sometimes -- I have a pile of them from the library. Here are a couple other ones:

"Man on Wire" is a documentary about Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker and street entertainer who performs his art illegally in 1974 between the recently constructed World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City. Through reenactments, old footage and photos, and interviews with those involved, the historic event and the planning and action that precedes it comes alive. Viewers also learn more about Petit and two previous daring, illegal performances he has done at famous locales.

There were a bunch of superlatives on the DVD case, and this documentary has won many awards, including the Oscar earlier this year. It certainly deserves the acclaim. Even though I know what happens (the DVD case basically spells it out), I still waited with anticipation for how it would transpire. Reenactments in documentaries can be cheesy and unnecessary, but they really did help tell the story in "Man on Wire." The camerawork was interesting, though there were a few times when the filmmakers made the introductions of certain people so overly dramatic that it was comical.


Finally, the other film I recently watched was "The Triplets of Belleville (Les triplettes de Belleville)," a French animated film about a grandma who goes searching for her missing bicyclist grandson and is aided by a musical trio. The images aren't cutesy and bright; they have character and use a lot of earth tones. One of the songs from the film was used in a cool dance a couple years ago on the television dance competition, "So You Think You Can Dance":

'I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.'

That's a quote from the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who will be getting a proper, long overdue funeral this Sunday in Baltimore. During his life, one of the cities that Poe lived in was Philadelphia. Over the summer, I had a chance to visit a house he shared with his wife and mother-in-law in Philadelphia 1843 to 1844. That building is now known as the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site.

The above mural is a portrait of him, and it's painted on the side of a nearby apartment complex (Sidenote: Philadelphia has awesome murals all over the city, thanks to the Mural Arts Program. I took pictures of murals whenever I had a chance, though my pictures represent just a tiny sample of the over 3,000 public artworks. Maybe I should do a post about Philly murals someday). Here's a better look at the text on the Poe mural:


When you first enter the building (for free), you're not entering the actual Poe house because the historical site is made up of two small houses, the original and a neighboring one. There's an optional short video you can watch to learn more about Poe's life. Then you can take a self-guided tour during which you then enter the actual Poe house.

What's interesting about this place is that rather than being renovated and having furniture there to set the scenes, the house is basically bare empty and you can definitely see the wear and tear. There are paintings and signs in the rooms to suggest the original purpose of each area, such as the one below:


It was a little eerie going around the house in general because it's so empty. Plus, I was the only one wandering around, so it was quiet -- too quiet.

My digital camera is relatively old and sometimes it distorts colors (over-saturation, pink clouds, etc.). Sometimes that can be a good thing in the case of this picture of a raven sculpture in the house's yard (I didn't mess with the colors; my camera did):


Poe wrote his famous poem, "The Raven," in this Philadelphia house, as well the short story, "The Black Cat." A U.S. National Park Service employee told me that the basement may have served as inspiration for the one that's in a critical scene in the story. The basement was definitely a little creepy. It took time before I felt comfortable enough to venture further into the basement. Pictures can't fully capture that feeling; it's all about the mood and atmosphere of the room.

All in all, the Poe house provided a place to learn more about the writer in what's left of one of his houses. After all of the hardships that he had gone through, such as alcoholism, the death of his wife, and his own unfortunate death, it's great that Poe has had so many fans over the years, and he'll get his proper due Sunday. Rest in peace.

Yes, soup for you

This morning, the skies outside were gray, so there was nothing like a hot bowl of soup for a cold day.

While I wasn't drinking chowder from a bread bowl (doesn't that look nice in the picture above?), I savored a cultural dish from the country my parents (and many other relatives) were born, Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar). I've seen different versions for spelling the dish, such as Ohn-no-khaukswe (a.k.a. coconut noodles), but it's basically noodle soup with curry chicken and coconut milk.

My mom had made that soup and brought some over to me during the weekend. The coolest (or hottest) thing is that I got to share the dish with a special someone later on -- not only was I sharing the food itself, but it was like I was sharing part of my cultural heritage (even though my family and I are ethnically Chinese, the Burmese culture is also a big part of our lives). Food is a great -- and yummy -- way to share your culture and your life.

(Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/estreya/ / CC BY-NC 2.0)

A look back at the last Pancake Breakfast

This is the flier (above) and menu that I designed for the spring 2009 Pancake Breakfast at my work. The menu was on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper that was folded in half and had the same image on each side.

I was aiming for a retro look and feel with the fonts, colors, images, and shapes. Besides the flier and menu, I designed the program, tickets, and donation drawing (raffle) information sheet.

I'll be designing all that stuff for this fall's Pancake Breakfast, which I'm also co-organizing. The event is on Oct. 25 -- only 17 days away!

Shakespeare + shoes

My previous post reminded me of a window display for the boutique Shoe Woo at Union Station in Washington D.C. (the most impressive train station I've visited so far).

Suffolk in William Shakespeare's "Henry VI, Part 1" speaks this line in Act 5, Scene 3:
"She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd;
she is a woman, therefore to be won."

You are beautiful

I have a copy of the September issue of Glamour, which has this now famous photo of a radiant, smiling woman who just happens to be naked, just happens to be size 12-14, and just happens to have some stomach flab. She could have been a model from the Renaissance, had she been alive back then.

When heading over to the magazine's Web site to post a link, I noticed that there are more photos of "plus-sized models" and other body image articles that have spun off from this photo and the strong, mostly positive, response it has received, such as this story.

One of the things that caught my attention in that spin-off story was that "Not all commenters lauded the photo, however; a sizable minority objected to it on health grounds." While it's not good to be too overly strict on dieting and exercising, there is definitely something to be said about eating right and exercising regularly. Besides maintaining good physical health, exercising in particular can be a good way to relieve stress and release endorphins, which make you feel happy. Still, bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and having curves all over isn't something to be ashamed of -- it's something to embrace instead of forcing your body to be a size 0 when it's a size 6 or above, for instance.

Why I decided to write about body acceptance now is because on Saturday night at a family gathering, someone made a comment about my weight. Since I heard an English translation that may not be word-for-word for what was actually said, I don't know the full context, only that the person commented on my gaining weight. However, I still felt hurt and offended nonetheless, even to the point of tears. The fact that the person in question wasn't exactly slender just made me upset.

I do admit that I don't exercise as much as I should, and while I do try to be aware of what I eat and the portion size, there is room for improvement -- I should work on all this in a healthy (read: not obsessive) manner. I'm surprised, though, how a comment about me gaining weight had emotionally affected me in such a negative way, making me feel ugly and inferior.

However, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Everyone has traits and features that make him or her wonderful, including me. Part of being beautiful is having a healthy dose of self-confidence and self-love. That is something that I definitely need to work on and keep in mind.

After all, there is only one of me, take it or leave it.

(Photo by JPhilipson)
(P.S. You Are Beautiful)

Night night, sleep tight

I've been busy the last couple of days, but I really appreciate receiving my first comments to this blog here and here! Also, I want to welcome another follower!

Life can be such a balancing act, trying to manage different facets of it. One of the things that keeps me going is coffee (yum!), but perhaps something that I really need is sleep! Considering that I mention this when it's almost 4 a.m. where I am and that I talked to my boyfriend earlier this evening about stress (yet still doing some work in the middle of the night), it's ironic -- and kind of sad.

Anyways, I'm heading off to bed soon. Thursday is another day.

(Photo by Gianluca Neri)

A blog post about blogging

I went to bed last night in a good mood. I was in such a good mood that I updated my blog an additional time.

Know why? I got my first ever follower! (The good, Blogger kind, not the bad, stalker kind)

In the past, I have started blogs (personal ones and class-related ones) at different Web sites, but the keyword is "started." Such is the case for many things, it is easy to start a blog, but maintaining one can be challenging.

You'd think that when I took a new media class a couple years ago, where I got a thorough introduction to blogging, vlogging, etc. and some hands-on experience to boot, that I'd keep it up. I guess what I really needed was inspiration. An unofficial hiatus from non-academic writing plus a summer internship where I wrote articles and started writing for myself again certainly provided that.

Over the summer, I also started reading blogs regularly, particularly Smitten, which has different writers. One of its main bloggers, Joanna Goddard, stood out to me -- I like her written voice and personality -- and I started checking out her blog. From there, I started checking out other blogs and finally decided to start my own.

I've continue to gain inspiration from other people and have even started following a few blogs. Earlier today, I read a post by Michelle called Advice for New Bloggers at Oh, Mishka. While I'm not necessarily a new blogger, I still took it as a helpful, blog-related pep talk.

In recent weeks, I've started to become more regular about updating this blog, and I hope that I will continue to do so. While I started this blog for myself, knowing that there are people who read it makes it even more worthwhile.

(Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/barnett/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 )

'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'

Earlier this evening, I watched "Forrest Gump" with at least 11 other people. While I've seen this film many times before, this opportunity was a chance to look at it from a different perspective.

It had been years since the last time I had seen it, so it was kind of comforting to watch something familiar. Also, some of the other people had never seen this film before, and many of them are international students, so it was cool to share that experience with them and sort of see it through their eyes, which is basically what this movie is all about: seeing life through the eyes of one unique man, one unique life. Though events have been re-imagined in this film, it's a good conversation starter for those who are unfamiliar with U.S. history.

One of my favorite moments in this movie takes place at the Washington Monument, which I got to see from afar when I spent this past summer on the East Coast. This photo came from a weekend trip to Washington D.C. with my younger sister when she flew from our home state of California to visit me.

One weekend was definitely not enough time to spend in D.C. For instance, we didn't have a chance to get up close to the Monument, nor did we see the Lincoln Memorial or any of the different war memorials. Plus, there's more to D.C. than museums, monuments, and memorials . This is all the more reason why I should return someday!

A whole new world

That's me flying without a magic carpet. No really, it is.

In the virtual community Second Life, everyone can fly (among other things). I first heard about this Web site two years ago in a new media class, but yesterday was my first time actually trying it out. When you are creating a new profile, you can select a first name and then choose from a list of last names. You also choose a base look for your avatar and can later personalize his or her physical appearance and clothes.

Not long after activating my account and arriving at the "starting point" called Help Island, I exchanged hellos with a fellow new member who approached me. Moments later, this person used this tasteful come-on: "can y fuck you?" (his exact words, not mine)

There are a lot of things wrong with this picture. Besides the missing "I" in that request (which he continued to misplace time and time again each time), it's such a direct, rude statement to say, especially to someone you don't even know. If he (I assume it's a "he") was in an equivalent place in real life (or first life, as it's known in this community), would he use the same approach and language with a woman who he has never met before? Would he use such language to her face? Would he really expect someone to fall for such a line? If so, then's he has really got to work on his game, not to mention his manners.

When I asked him why he wanted to do that, he replied that he wanted to know what it was like in this "game." Maybe that's a problem: Some people forget that on the receiving end of communication in this so-called game, or in the online world in general, there's a living, breathing, thinking, feeling person. Sometimes what people say to each other online shocks me.

In Second Life, there are preset gestures you can do such as laughing or blowing a kiss. If there was a gesture for hard slaps across the face, then I'd keep using against him because he kept following -- or should I say stalking -- me around with the same request. He was not long joined by another guy who said, "yes, give me your ass." What is wrong with people?! I was feeling very nervous and uncomfortable during all this, even making such audible gasps that my roommate wondered what was wrong.

My boyfriend, who recently started using Second Life for a class, saved me by teleporting (yes, teleporting) me to his location. Our avatars then ended up going to a club-like place called Dance Island, where we danced together for the first time ever -- fun times.

All in all, while I can see possible benefits to Second Life, such as real-time online communication through vivid imagery, I'm still getting use to it. My first impression of this second world was very awkward, but it improved from there.

Now, if only I could get my boyfriend to dance with me in real life, making that a reality. Borrowing a line from one of my favorite films, he would quote Mr. Darcy: "Not if I can help it."

'Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.'

"... If you live" is the key phrase, people.

That Mark Twain quote is from a piece called "Taming the Bicycle," and that's exactly what I've been doing over the last few weeks: attempting to tame a bicycle (specifically a Mongoose).

You see, up until now, I had never ridden a bike without using training wheels, which, according to an avid biker who can tackle hills, is not the same as biking at all.

After more than a decade-long gap, I've given bike riding another go with a special teacher (said avid biker) -- this time sans training wheels. I've definitely realized from firsthand experience that training wheels are just a crutch to lean (or roll) on. There's a lot of balancing on two wheels that needs to happen to make it successful.

Learning to ride a bike is hard work, and it can be so frustrating, nerve-wracking, and scary when you're just starting out. However, once you get the hang of it, it can be exhilarating to travel at a pace faster than you can travel by foot -- believe me, I know.

It can also be quite painful, as I learned the hard way Friday when I fell down not far from my end destination. With scrapes, scratches, bruises and a sore knee that is currently giving me a slight limp, I'm definitely going to take it easy and take a break for now.

However, I'm still alive and have not yet regretted trying to tame a bike. The bike sure isn't going to tame me.

(Photo by wvs)
(More bicycling quotes from Quote Garden)