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)