rage

I just watched a 30 Days episode where a mom binge drinks for 30 days as an attempt to get her kid to stop drinking. This was so infuriating. The daughter was a selfless spoiled brat, and the mom was even more ridiculous by being a conscious enabler. There are 3 kids in the family, and it was so obvious that the father was such a better parent. His kid is staring in disgust, and the other son hates his drunk mom. If your kid drinks, gets drunk, and passes out on a weekly basis, that is time for DISCIPLINE not a 30 Days episode. No only that, but the girl learned absolutely nothing at all. She basically said, I wouldn't stop drinking unless my mom died from it. Well, mom, apparently you have to DIE before your daughter will listen to your concerns. Great job.

Maybe I'm just wired differently because I really can't stand it when people are destructively inebriated on a regular basis. I get it, people get drunk and want to party. To push yourself to the point of danger, death, and shame? Your brain and your body need to have a talk with each other because you are giving yourself a death notice.

GAH...I HATE DRUNK BITCHES.

kitchen appliances + 1

I am a new owner of a crock pot. I've wanted one for a long time now. This is the one reason why I finally took the 30 dollar plunge. Crack pot pho!

Other reasons are....
I like to make my own Chicken broth/stock.
Gas is too expensive to leave on a stove or oven for 4 hours.
More soupy delicious things to make for myself. Chili, chili cheese dip, beef stew, etc etc.
Finally can make pho

I've got to look up more recipes now, so I can figure out what things taste good in a crock pot. Personally, I'm just happy that I can make chicken stock without watching it and adding water every 30 minutes. I'm making a batch right now, but just with bones. We'll see how this one will turn out.

special k chocolatey bleh

I had a coupon for $1 off Special K cereal. I also enjoy chocolate, so I thought it'd be a good idea to get the Special K with the dark chocolate in it. Contrary to its description, it's not very delightful. They morphed the chocolate somehow so that it wouldn't melt in the milk, but it's just a weird taste and texture to me. I tried to fix it by using chocolate milk in the cereal. It kind of made it yuckier. Today, I just dumped a bunch of cinnamon on it, and now it's not bad. I'll probably just do this to all my bleh cereals. I think an overdose of cinnamon just reminds me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, probably my favorite kid cereal.

If you know me, you know that I don't like kid cereal. Even when I was a kid, I'd eat Crispix and Just Right, which I don't think they sell in the US anymore (boo). I think Lucky Charms are gross, and those marshmallows are like eating sugared styrofoam. Fruit Loops are also multi-colored grossness to me, but Fruity Cheerios are not bad since it still tastes like human food. Actually, all of the Cheerios are good.

My mom was very anti-food coloring when I was a kid, so I guess that's kind of transferred onto me. Plus, the first time I had a blue Garfield fruit roll up, I crapped out blue. MMMMM yummy.

weird....

First of all, I just have to say that I'm relieved that Cuddy & House FINALLY DID IT! 5 seasons of tiptoeing has finally come to fruition. If Cuddy has House's baby, I don't know what I'll do with myself. Haha.

On to other things, Mr. P and I had weird dreams the other day. Even though we didn't dream the same thing, we had similar elements in them. Obama, photo shoot, vodka, beating someone up. Interesting eh? Not sure if any of that is significant, but it's cool.

winding down in yomitan

It's my last month here in Yomitan. I'll miss it a lot, but for some reason Mr. P can't breathe here. My suspicion is bad air circulation. We've been looking for new places with our housing agency, Dynasty. Our trip yesterday was OK, nothing that seemed better than where we live (minus the 30-60 minute drive home to work). Today was more promising. We saw a place that was really big, and it was nice and close. Downsides were that the road to work is 2 lanes and can get backed up. On the other hand, it was backed up today but we still made it to the closest gate in 15 minutes. WOW, what a difference. I'm hoping we can live there, if nothing better shows up. The only downside is that the building is adjacent to some tombs. ..... I'll be OK though because the place seems worth it. It's possible that we'll be shown some better places later on, but at the moment, this looks really promising.

Note: Some people show their homes and stuff on okinawahai. Even though it's very nice of them to show others, not sure if I'd want to do that. I will say that Dynasty has been really great to us, and I really like our agent Mina.

exhibit #2

I knew this would happen. I got another 100% on the "Methods of Execution" Sporcle quiz. If anything ever happens to me, CNN will be broadcasting this blog. Well it was short, so I hope that doesn't make me too suspicious. We'll see.........

SUCCESS!!

I FINALLY got my dog into his kennel today. The Dog Whisperer is so inspirational. I love Cesar. I need to watch an episode everyday to get into my dog training mojo.

no blunch?

As most of you know, I love sleeping and sleeping in. I'm a complete night owl and rarely go to bed before midnight. Yesterday night was no different. Mr. P gave me a phone call this morning at 7:30AM, and who knows what happened to my REM at that moment, but I was awake. Very conscious. Couldn't go back to bed. Ended up staring at the swimmers in my eyes for a couple minutes. I was told to get up, shower, and eat breakfast.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this. My breakfast is usually brunch time. Actually, blunch time would be more correct, since brunch starts at 10ish. I don't usually eat until 11-2. Well, the upside is that I'll be able to go to bed early, provided I don't crash halfway through the day (VERY likely). Then again, even when I'm sleep deprived, I often get this weird surge of energy around 10PM. I also get very hungry too.

Well, time to eat breakfast. No idea what to eat, since there isn't much breakfast food in the house.

new location

Starting in June, I'll be living somewhere else on the island. I like where I live now, but it is way too far from base to continue living here. It's nice to be able to live away from base because people can't find you as easily. On the other hand, living on base means driving to work is <10minutes. We're at the 25-55 mark, depending on traffic. Yeah...far. Excessively far.

Things I like about where I live now...
1. Ocean View - right outside my window
2. Close to the beach - less than 10 minute drive to a gorgeous location
3. Vending machine around the corner (which is true for basically anyone living on Okinawa)
4. Roof top - Our patio extends to the top floor of the apartment

Here are all these nice things about our place, but I don't really take advantage of any of it.
1. Ocean View? Well, I forget to open my curtains to watch the sunset.
2. Close to the beach? Haven't been since February
3. Vending machine? ....good thing I don't have a Coke addiction
4. Rooftop? ....My dog likes it more than I do. Perfect place for watching a sunset.

So, my hope is that before June rolls around, I want to soak up all the nice things about this place.
1. Take a daily picture of the sunset, maybe watch it from the rooftop.
2. Go to the beach every other week & see the tourist sites close by.
3. Ignore the vending machine as usual.
4. Visit that baguette store at least once before I leave. Just once.

this one's for you, kim

Pretty much cried laughing. I can't believe I didn't find this before.

scaredy dog

My bulldog Gunny is scared of his kennel. Well, technically, he's scared of walking into it. He'll stay inside it fine. He'll exit out fine. For some reason, he's afraid of entering it. I think it's that little ledge in the opening of his kennel that he doesn't know how to outmaneuver. Anyway, I'm trying to get him to overcome it, but luring him in doesn't work. Well, I'll have to work on it for the next couple of days. My hope is that he'll be able to finally walk in by himself. Good luck to me...

compelled to share

This one is long, so it's better in HQ.

easiest=simplest?

I was trying to find something that would satisfy my demands for organizing/tying long cords.

a. sturdy like a ziptie, but adjustable.
b. adjustable like a twistie tie, but wouldn't look malformed after readjusting
c. unlimited length & capacity like tape, but doesn't leave sticky residue all over cords
d. cheap

conclusion.
string.

yes.

My usual attitude is "retardedly happy" according to Mr. P. Wow. For someone who likes to hole herself in the apartment 5 out of 7 days and who likes to leave mean facebook comments, I must be the happiest hermit in the world. Maybe I'm "retardedly happy" because I'm always laughing uncontrollably at my zinger comments. Or not.

One thing that doesn't make me retardedly happy is cleaning. Today, I'm proceeding to clean this place up, probably because Mr. P is coming home soon. There is a radius of seriously yucky clutter in the area I sit in. I'm a pretty messy person, but I suppose the dynamics of Mr. P and I work out. He makes less daily mess (thank you boot camp). I make more daily messes (no, I will never go to boot camp). On the other hand, he doesn't really do the get down and dirty cleaning, but I do. So, I guess it works out in the end, output=input.

Currently on replay: The French Kicks

aw...

lay's has the cutest commercials!!!



more...

tv tv tv

I decided to compile a list of TV shows that I currently watch on a weekly basis. When I had a TV with cable, I was never intent on being an avid storyline follower. This is probably because I would just turn on the TV and let it run whatever was on. Well, watching my shows online comes in such a nice organized format, it makes me wonder if I am spending more or less time watching TV. I'm watching more shows now, but I'm watching less random programs. Anyhoo.....

Weekly Shows:
24
30 Rock
Chuck
Fringe
Heroes
House
Kings
Lie to Me
Life
Lost
Mad Men
Psych
Supernatural
The Mentalist
The Office
Top Chef

When there is nothing else to watch....
Bones
CSI: Las Vegas
Family Guy
Futurama
How I Met Your Mother
Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon
Law & Order: SVU
The Colbert Report (good show for washing dishes)


Shows I wish I could keep watching...
Arrested Development
Chappelle's Show
Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien

I just realized all of my preferred shows have really short titles.

too much crime tv

I scored a 100% on Sporcle's "Common Murder Weapon and Methods" quiz. I think I officially watch too many crime shows. Or, I've been secretly thinking about it a lot. Definitely the former. The only way I have ever physically hurt someone is usually an accident or an "accident", depending on whether you are Mr. P or not.

I have a feeling if something ever happens, authorities will look at this blog and say I'm guilty.....Publish Post?

reading rainbow

I've been trying to read more lately. My last completed book was some Dean Koontz. Not my usual fare, but I gave it a go. It was only a confirmation that I was not really into thriller novels.

Since I don't know when, I've been sucked into the concept of "classics". What makes something a classic? Profundity? New concepts? Timelessness? Who knows... All I know is that when something is considered a classic, I want to know about it. In turn, that makes me a sucker for those "Top #__ (insert medium)" lists, i.e. Time's Top 100 Novels, Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, etc. Obviously, these lists are biased and don't contain books that are regarded as classics by many. Example, no Ayn Rand in the Time list ... flabbergast!

So, I've tiptoed into the 100 Novels list, and I haven't gotten very far. So far, I've completed G. Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Both were very good, though slightly saddening at the end. If you're interested in Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, and the like, I definitely suggest reading these two. Orwell is certainly genius when it comes to integrating literature with social systems.

The two I've begun but not finish are V. Nabokov's Lolita & S. Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March. Unfortunately, the prose for Augie March is kind of fleeting for me. It's hard for me to concentrate because there is not a lot of dialogue. Lots of description which I don't care for (hence, me no likey Wuthering Heights). It's a big book too, so I don't know if I'm ever going to finish it. Maybe if it was audiobook, I could complete it.

As for Lolita, I had a odd time explaining the plot to my cousin. "So it's about this guy who's old but likes 12 year old girls, because he fell in love at that age and hasn't moved on." I don't even think that's completely correct or even a fair description, but it's the best I could do with my shoddy Chinese. I've read Nabokov's Pale Fire before a long time ago, and I really can't remember much about it (the inevitable outcome of assigned reading). But, I didn't hate it, so that's why I went for Nabokov again. So far though, I've really enjoyed the book. This guy is really interesting, though legally a pedophile and (insert villainous term here). Still, it's interesting, and it makes me want to watch the Kubrick film. Definitely planning on finishing this one, if I ever get around to picking it up again.

I'm not a very disciplined reader. I have to get very interested in order to keep reading. Or, I have to be waiting for Mr. P in the car for 10+ minutes. I wish I was more into books like these 2 sisters I know, or even my own sister. Well, I guess my infantile mind needs pictures to keep me interested (yay for graphic novels!!).

photos

I finally finished posting my photos online. I had about 1000+ photos from Taiwan, and I pared the best ones down to 200. Either I take too many, or most of them are just bad. When the moment strikes, I really enjoy taking photos. Mr. P even bought me a digital SLR because it was so obvious I liked cameras and pictures. So now, I am in possession of a Canon XTi, with the standard lens. Unfortunately, I haven't really dedicated much time to learning how to use my new camera. My cousin who dutifully studies everything he encounters (i.e. cameras, soy sauce, herbal medicine, etc.) bests me in using my own camera. Oh well. I'm not an expert with Photoshop either, but I know how to play around with the basics. I generally just automate the image sizes of my humongous photos. I have a lot to learn before I feel worthy of being an avid photographer who owns a digital SLR. Aja Aja.

too much tv

Here is evidence that I've been watching too much of one thing. I recently had a dream (quite vivid) that I was in an episode of Lost. At the same time, I was also trying to figure out (in my dream) how this dream episode would figure into the latest plot developments and loopy surprises. Wow. Lucky for me, I can't watch the rest of Season 4 without Mr. P.

Oh, by the by, did you know that there are actual publicized theories on Lost? And that people have bought it? And reviewed it? This makes my dream episode seem less fanatical. See here.

PS
After I finished Meteor Garden, I had similar dreams of alternate endings and the like.

+1 for having vivid dreams. -1 for having stupid dreams.

recipe: tomato & tofu soup

I saw the recipe on a Taiwanese cooking show, where it was a side soup dish to Green Onion Pancakes. Well, on its own, this soup is simple and light and is something you can throw together fairly quickly. This is my version of the recipe, and it turned out pretty good. Apologies for the vague directions & amounts. I generally just eyeball everything and taste as I go. My general rule is just add as much as you want to eat.

Ingredients.
1/2 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
sesame oil
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped into slices or cubes (use whatever tomato you like)
1 container of tofu, chopped into cubes (cloth strained, firm)
1 handful of chopped cilantro (including stems)
water
salt & pepper to taste

Directions.
1. Mince shallots and garlic. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp of sesame oil into a medium stockpot, and stir fry the shallots and garlic until lightly browned.
2. Add chopped tomatoes to the pot, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. This will give your soup a redder color.
3. Add chopped tofu and desired amount of water into pot. Generally 2-3 inches higher than the combined ingredients.
4. Let the soup heat into a rolling boil, and keep it simmering for 5 minutes. At this point, add salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp, then keep adding to taste).
5. By 5 minutes, the soup should be finished. Some tomatoes will separate from its skin. Turn off the heat, and pepper to taste. (I used black pepper, but white will work too).
6. Top the soup with some extra sesame oil to taste. (Substitute with chili oil, if you want a spicier soup.)
7. Garnish with cilantro for extra flavor. If you have concerns with unclean cilantro (like my Mom), add it in your soup before you turn off the heat. Or, add it in your bowl, and pour the hot soup over it.

Optional: Add a starch into the soup--cooked rice or noodles will make this side soup into a meal, or just drink a lot of the broth and call it a day.

i heart design

Little known fact. When I was in middle/high school, I wanted to be an architect, then an interior decorator. Well, I never seriously pursued those careers because...
1. my Mom told me I wouldn't be a good designer if I couldn't even keep my room clean
2. I got a headache when choosing curtains for my Mom
3. I wanted to teach instead.

Even though I haven't really focused much dedicated interest towards home design/decor, I really do like casually looking at the magazines and blogs. Here are the sites I subscribe to when I imagine my dream home.

houzz

trendir

momoy

Stores:

design public (courtesy of ohsogeeky!)

hivemodern

MoMA

ponoko

back in town

I guess whenever I feel like writing 18 different status updates on Facebook, I turn to this blog instead. Facebook is not Twitter, yet I don't use Twitter as often or as extensively as Facebook.

1. I'm back in Okinawa, from a short trip in Taiwan. I saw my Dad, and my cousin's wedding. I met him and his girlfriend (at the time) in St. Louis. They're so cute together, and aesthetically well matched. I don't know if that a real thing to compare couples by, but all I'm trying to say is that they're both good looking people. Yay for good genes.

2. I talked to my other cousin, and I'm kind of happy for him and his life, and also for the fact that he wants to talk to me. I know that sounds weird, but I have a really large disconnect with most of my family members outside of nuclear family. I don't see why I can't talk to the ones I know and even speak English for crying out loud. Clearly, I am not with the family program.

3. I had an awesome time in Taiwan. It was short, but I like to look at it as condensed fun. I ate a lot (A LOT). My suitcase is full of things to eat that will mostly be sent back to my Mom. Everything I ate was freaking delicious. And then....I got this crazy outbreak of hives on my face. In the beginning, I looked like a leper. Now I look like I have lots of acne on my cheeks and around my eyes. At one point it was on my eyelids. Everyone likes to comment on how every time I travel, the food always does some shady business with my body. I am a weak, sickly child who eats whatever I can get my hands on. Cambodia = No. 3, as I like to call it. What is No. 3? Well, it's No. 1 + No. 2. If you don't get it yet, then stop reading. Oysters at the night market...never again.

4. If you've ever waited in line at the airport, and there's a person that holds up the line, that's probably me. For some reason, I can never travel between countries without some type of hold up. I blame Kadena AMC for letting ill-trained people stamp passports willy-nilly.
IF YOU EVER FLY AMC FLIGHTS, MAKE SURE THEY STAMP YOUR PASSPORT RIGHT! I live in freaking Okinawa, but I am on a temporary visa now. I need to get that fixed ASAP before I have another deportation fiasco (yes, "another" as in happened before).

5. I have tons of pictures probably in the 500's range, of which 5 contain my face. I love it that way. I need to figure out how to post all of these up. I'll probably rejuvenate my flickr account, and burn hard copies of the wedding for my cousin. Big camera = big pictures. Snail mail it is.

6. I jumped on the bandwagon of bobs. I cut my hair to chin length, and I like it. Wish I had bangs, but that's about it. My session lasted 2.5 hours. <30 minutes actually on hair cutting. The rest was washing my hair...twice; massaging my scalp and shoulders...yay; talking to the assistant about alligators in Florida.

7. It's not fun coming back from a trip full of fun family and then entering an empty house. I wish I could have stayed longer, but Gunny is probably driving the kennel staff mad. He's not exactly potty trained, so I have a feeling I'll be banned.

8. Teedha's coming to Okinawa! I will probably still be jobless, so I'll be running around the island having fun. I'm hoping on going back to TW so she can find Mike He, Wu Chun, and other assorted TW Drama actors with feminine hair and wonderful skin.

9. 5 days without Google Reader = 260+ unread articles. Mark all as read, PLEASE.

me me me

Despite my previous forewarning of how this blog wouldn't be about me. I guess that isn't the case anymore. Well, I'll try to keep this as non-egotistical as possible.

1. I've been abandoned again. I'll expect coming back on this blog more often to fill my days.

2. I just bought Madworld, a hyper-violent game for my Wii, and it is excellent!! I love action movies, fake people dying by the dozens, and creative ways to force someone's demise. I was actually laughing out loud at some points because the deaths were so awesomely violent. Now, I'm just stuck and frustrated. Freaking camera sucks sometimes. (1)

3. I've been listening to Blood Brothers, per Mr. P's purchase of the album, per the suggestion of Mr. P's Virginian hardcore hillbilly friend. (Hardcore as in music, not extremist hillbilly.) Anyway, I really like it. It took me a couple listens to get appreciate it, but now it's been playing in the car for a couple of days. It's starting to make me do a mild headbang in the car. Here's my impression of their music. Vocals aside, the music really has the capacity to be catchy and even mainstream. But, add in the vocals/lyrics and the unpredictable progression of a song and the entire album....you've got yourself something really original with lots of replayability. Yet, I'm fairly certain no one else will like this music. (1|2)

4. I'm going to be in Taiwan next week, and I'm really excited. I haven't been back since 2007, and quite frankly, I was banned from that country for a year because I overstayed my "visa". Never again will I take a trip overseas without planning carefully ahead of time. Well, I'm back, Taiwan! Legally!

5. The reason why I'm always excited for Taiwan is the food. For me, that is the main appeal of that country. The night market is the best thing ever because I just get to walk around and stuff myself on anything I want. I'm not really a big stickler on food sanitation. If I see other people eating it, then I'm there too. Hence, Cambodia trip = yummy food + Angkor Wat + lots of time on toilet. I'm just keepin' it real.

6. During my blog hiatus, I had a hard time trying to figure out what I was going to write about. In all probability, I was probably just uninterested in blogging for a period of time because I had a companion. Does that mean this blog is my companion? Oh dear... Well, I came up with two ideas. a) Talk/post about my workout. Everyone is trying to get healthier, and I need to get on that wagon too. I exercise alone, and it definitely keeps me from sticking with any type of schedule. Perhaps posting about it would give me some mild form of accountability. b) Talk/post about my quest to learn Japanese. My time here in Okinawa is limited, and I really can't be wasting it on just Hai/Iie/Wakarimasen. I'll do this...later.

not alone anymore :)

Yay....
Mr. P is back, and I am ecstatic that he's not in the hellhole village of hedonism anymore. That and I missed him. Heeeeeee...

What did we end up doing the first two days he was home? Watched Supernatural. The apartment is kind of creepy when it's just me, so I told him from the get-go, "I'm not watching that by myself." Then we watched Taken, which was so good. It totally washed away my chick flick cravings. I LOVE VIOLENT ACTION MOVIES. Probably my favorite, go to genre. Plus, I'm totally willing to sacrifice quality for violence. I'm not so forgiving for the others. After Action, I think the order goes like Drama, Comedy/Rom-Com, then Horror. Sorry, in-laws, I'm just a big scaredy cat wuss. Try living in a house with a lake, swamp, a dirt road, and 1 streetlight. Then tell me you like horror movies.

Even though my childhood home mimics a horror set, I do like watching Supernatural. It's like a bite-sized horror movie, just the right amount. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki (please cut your hair) definitely sweeten the deal too. Right, Teedha?

daft punk is great

I just have to say that Daft Punk is such an awesome band. I'm not really a big techno fan, but I like Daft Punk. As usual, the album was introduced by mr. p, like most of my recent music. I guess they've been sampled more frequently, so they're getting more worldwide fame. Not that it's important, because they've been famous/respected for such a long time. Plus, I really like it when artists decide not to show their faces. It's cool. I don't really like posting my face everywhere either. For a while my facebook profiles were fruits and bottles of tea, but I guess I'm more OK with it now.

Anyway....today I basically surfed the depths of the internet, and it was great fun. I was listening to Daft Punk, then I decided to youtube it, and here is what I found. Super cool & original if you ask me. (DP's actual videos are also amazing too. Well, "technologic" is a little creepy.)



After a certain point, it gets so fast. You don't really know if they're doing it accurately. WHATEVER, it's cool.



This one makes me laugh because it reminds me of high school.



This one just makes me think of Europeans...and then I get slightly nauseous.



OK well, obviously, everyone has tried to remake it. I thought it was funny. In all honesty, these videos are old. I like Daft Punk. That's all.

ps
Kim--Yes, I'm sure everyone knows how to surf youtube on their own. But, I insist on forcing you to watch what I want you to watch. That's right. Stupid string dances and fast hand acrobatics. I'm determined to make you as stupid and silly as me. MUAHAHA.

fun toys

New Nintendo DSi?? - Cool!!

I don't have a DS, so this looks super fun and neat. I don't need any more things to distract me, especially since I already have a PS3 and Wii (and a dog, husband, youtube, and this blog).

Tech sites like engadget really make me wish I was rolling in money and bathing in liquid gold because I want these ridiculously awesome cellphones!!! I want so much technology in my life that it'll make my life even more difficult. That's how much I want new gadgets.

OK. None of that was true, because I'm perfectly content with my basic cellphone, iPod, and Canon (sans expensive lens). I want lots of things, but I'm happy with what I have. The only thing I really really want right now is....new glasses. haha.

more hilarity

I think Stephen Colbert is hilarious too. The Conan-Colbert-Stewart feud was so funny.


I really want to eat Italian food right now.

lunatic+egomaniac+drunk=hilarity

Conan O'Brien, Gordon Ramsay, and Norm MacDonald try to cook, and it's disastrously funny.



If you don't know already, I think Conan is hilarious. I hope he'll still be funny on the Tonight Show. It probably won't be as off the wall as Late Night, since it'll probably be more toned down. Regardless, I'll still be watching it because Conan > Jay Leno. I wish Conan was my uncle.

the reader - movie review :)

The Reader - heavy but good

1. Kate Winslet was great. She makes an excellent old lady (and young lady, and middle-aged lady)
2. Ralph Fiennes had creepy hair.
3. David Kross – newcomer that I’ll be looking out for
4. Interesting take on the Holocaust. It seems to be more involved with the memory of the Holocaust, not as much the events that occurred during.
5. Very thought-provoking and dramatic, but not melodramatic which was good.
6. SERIOUS NUDITY ALERT! Full frontal male is definitely becoming more mainstream. (Zack & Miri, anyone?)

I recommend the movie, but it isn’t light fare, as all movies about the Holocaust never are.

Similar movie recommendation: Les Misérables (not the one you’re thinking of), La Vita é Bella

Another excellent Kate Winslet movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

nick and norah's infinite playlist - movie review :)

Nick and Norah - Good movie (and good God, no, I am not a NY-loving hipster.)

1. Michael Cera & Alexis Dziena are good actors and did a great job with the characters--totally likeable. (Although I definitely hope one day that M. Cera can do a different type of character.)

2. For a teen movie, pretty good. I would have liked it even more if I was still in high school.

3. Annoying NY scene. I get really aggravated by how so many movies, books, comics (EVERYTHING) is set in NY city. I really don't buy the whole "NY is the pinnacle of all things great" attitude. The only time I've explicitly seen Tampa in a movie is The Punisher--not very impressive. Well, there's that one dog racing scene in Ocean's 11, but no one knew it was St. Pete...

4. The banter was silly, but it's definitely watchable and actually cute.

5. I liked how they filmed the "sex scene". Blaring question: They didn't have sex as in coitus, right? I don't know, because they didn't show it. I just want to get that straight, before someone calls me a perv. But, the whole recording studio panning was definitely novel. (Afterthought: I thought straightedge people refrained from sex, but I guess I was wrong? According to wikipedia, that is hardliners. Confused...)

Overall, it was a cute, rewatchable movie. Higher caliber teen/high school movie. It definitely placed a little "awww" smirk on my face. I feel like high school movies made after my high school years were better than the ones during/before high school because I wish this movie was made when I was still in h.s. Instead, I was blessed with gems like Bring It On. groan.

someone like you - movie review :(

Someone Like You -- not so good.

1. Hugh Jackman - hot
2. Ashley Judd - really cute cute hair
3. Greg Kinnear - likeable douchebag

Otherwise, bleh.

1. plot - bleh
2. chemistry - bleh (more friendly than loverly)
3. psychotic heartbroken women - super bleh

the escapist - movie review :)

The Escapist -- Good Movie

1. Good performances & characters
2. Great plot
   
3. Nice gritty feel
4. Very good splicing and timing
   
5. Nice progression of the movie with jumps in chronology (no idea what the film term for that is)
6. Homage to Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" (cliche--yes/no?) (just making the reference, not be literature snobby, but to not spoil the ending)
   
7. Ending wasn't as good as the bulk of the movie, but the ending scene is certainly clever, which then made the title clever.
   

I liked it. Watch it. Especially if you're into movies a la Guy Ritchie.

nice girls do what...?

Clearly, no one should ever make or eat deep-fried cannolis, but watching Paula Deen and Conan make them is sure as hell funny.



Here's another hilarious clip posted on a funny blog. I need to be friends with this Grandma for real.

p.s. I don't know how to keep the clip from overtaking my blog frame.

my alone problem

Well, I know I said I wouldn't really talk about myself too much in the blog, but I might make an exception or two. I was discussing with my ever needy smart and beautiful sister in law about my overall content with being alone and living alone. That's right. I enjoy solitary confinement. Of course, I miss my husband, duh, but I do a pretty good job of staying happy in an empty place. So how do I keep myself from going crazy? TV!!! That's right. Hit up ninjavideo, hulu, torrents, and just watch everything and anything.

Here's a stupid trend I've noticed. When my husband is away, I watch all these love stories and romantic shows. FYI, I just started Devil Beside You, it's a Taiwanese drama that Teedha is in love with (actually she's just in love with Mike He). It's an old show, but I never watched it. Plus, I think it's time to brush up on my Chinese, and dramas actually help oddly enough.

Well, so now I'm alone and watching cheesy love stories about girls and boys who can never tell each other "I like you". Why? BECAUSE ASIAN PEOPLE HAVE NO FEELINGS. That's totally not true, but I do think that they have problems being verbal about their emotions. Hence, every romantic drama is 20 episodes of beating around the bush, and the last episode features the first kiss. Wow...what a tease. If I watched nip/tuck after a drama, I might die of shock aka "aiya! shockuuuu! too much secksssy!" hahaha. (for some reason, fob humor has reappeared in my life, and it has never been funnier.)

update: I was wrong about the plot for Devil Beside You. Getting to 1st base every other episode is progress to me! Sigh...how did I get sucked into another drama?!

food dilemma

A dilemma (Greek δί-λημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering at least two solutions or possibilities, of which none are practically acceptable; one in this position has been traditionally described as being impaled on the horns of a dilemma, neither horn being comfortable.

Thank you, Wikipedia, my husband's favorite site.

So what's my dilemma? Well, by definition, it's not a dilemma. (-5 for the math minor student who barely made it.) So what's my problem?

I DON'T WANT TO EAT ANYTHING IN MY HOUSE. I have food. I just don't want to eat any of it. I would like have some pizza. But, in an effort to be healthy, I'm trying to not buy unhealthy foods (minus that bag of tater tots). In another effort to economical, I'm trying to not buy any groceries, until I clean out my fridge & cabinets. For some reason, this has led to more incidences of eating canned/preserved food, than using that dying cilantro in the fridge. I've eaten so many preservatives, I can probably (1) survive a cyanide attack, (2) maintain a preserved digestive tract post-mortem, (3) develop photos with my stomach acid.

The one extraordinary thing I have accomplished since this weird goal of mine was that I made Green Onion Pancakes aka Cong You Bing (蔥油餅). They were pretty good, even though they were kind of labor intensive for a novice like me. I found this recipe, which was great. I followed a youtube instructional, which was OK. I definitely want to try it out this Taiwanese cooking show method, because this old lady looks like she knows what she's doing. (That wasn't nice. She's probably my Mom's age, which makes her JUST like my Mom--Taiwanese, old-ish, awesome cook. haha) OK, I'm looking at all these dishes on this youtube channel, and I'm about to die of hunger by salivation. (And one of the hosts oddly looks & acts like my cousin...weird.)

Peace Out...side. HAHAHA.

slumdog millionaire - movie review :)

I don't feel very motivated to write this review right now, even though Slumdog Millionaire was definitely a good movie. In the spirit of simple & concise aka Teedha-style, this will be short.

1. Good Movie. Good Plot. Good weaving between present and past (have no idea what the term is).

2. Characters are fairly likable. They were cuter as kids, but the older brother seemed to be oddly hardcore later on.

3. Do not want to visit India.

4. The ending dance garnered a "huh? wtf?" moment from me, but I suppose a movie with Indian people in it can't be without dance/song. Ok, probably not true. I'm just not used to it, and I feel silly as I watch it. Unexplainable.

Definitely go watch it. It's definitely entertaining, despite my criticisms.

persepolis - movie review :)

Persepolis, great movie. I heard about this movie when it got a fair amount of press when it was nominated for 2008 Oscars and won the Animated Film award. Sinan watched it recently, reminded me about it while telling me that she really liked it, so I went ahead, acquired it, and watched it. It was really good, and I really liked it.

1. It was animated. I really enjoy animated movies and animation, regardless of whether it is for children or adults. The animation style is Persepolis was simple, mostly black & white, and really excellent use of silhouettes and negative space.

2. Great storyline minus the stupid decisions she made sometimes. But hey, good characters need character flaws.

3. Likable characters. The grandma was the best. Serious OG.

I really want to read the graphic novel now that I've seen the film. Generally speaking, I try to read a graphic novel before its movie comes out (i.e. Sin City, V for Vendetta, 300, Watchmen, Marvel anything...). I skipped that step this time around, and I semi-regret it. It was still a fine movie, and I hope I didn't miss out too much by watching the film first. My assumptions & hopes are that I didn't miss too much because the author, Marjane Satrapi, was involved in the film and also because the look of the film is fairly similar to the g.n.

sakura at mt. yaedake

2 weeks ago, my husband and I went to Mt. Yaedake near Nago to see the Cherry Blossoms. Again, I received information about this via OkinawaHai, but since sakura (cherry blossoms) are a big thing for Okinawans & Japanese, there was plenty of literature about it around base. I've known about cherry blossoms for a long time now, but I've never seen them before. So, for my first year here in Okinawa, I did the ohanami aka cherry blossom viewing. We drove all the way up to Nago to Mt. Yaedake, drove up Mt. Yaedake up some REALLY narrow roads, and saw cherry blossoms planted all along the roadsides. It's strategic, in a sense, because it makes the drive scenic and enjoyable. On the other hand, if you want to look at them up close, you'll have to walk along the side of the road. I was expecting a park or something where people can stroll around and observe, but all/most of them were on the roadside. Nevertheless, it was really nice. It was certainly a photo taking opportunity.

Unfortunately, we went a little too early. The most of the trees were not completely in bloom, so only the ones closer to the top of the mountain were completely pink. Needless to say, this was not the cotton candy-like experience I was hoping for, but I'm glad we went to see them even if they didn't look as poofy and pink as the postcards. I'm sure that they are really quite nice by now, provided strong winds didn't come and blow them away.
Luckily we went on a weekday, so we didn't have to wait in traffic to see them, while possibly being run over observing. We did go pretty late, so the festival stands were closing. My husband didn't really want to do the festival activities like prizes and food, which I was OK with. The only thing I wanted to do before we left was to purchase some tangerines called tankan which are like mikan but so much sweeter. YUM. There were a good number of stands with people selling citrus, vegetables, and other produce. I'm assuming they are local farmers who are selling to tourists. It was good stuff. There were also so unmanned stands with bags of produce out, and a little coinbox for you to pay. These people are SO trusting!!
They were also selling something called taimo, basically taro that grows in water instead of the basic dirt types. Didn't buy it, because I didn't know how to cook it. I asked the man at the stand how to cook it, but all I figured from my crappy Japanese was clean it, cook it, mash it. What comes after that?? Well if it's just taro, I can figure out the rest. I wonder if they sell it at the local markets now that I've forgone the mountain supply.

All in all, I do recommend seeing sakura anywhere on the island. My rationale is that you should probably see cherry blossoms before you leave Okinawa. That's all really.

new to know: 01.29.2009

This will be my first entry of hopefully a series of entries. It'll just be a list of things I've discovered recently, regardless of how mainstream or unknown it is to the general public. It's new to me, and that's that.

new to know: 01.29.2009

lie to me: a tv show on fox starring Tim Roth; it's basically about a team of people who are adept at lie detection.
current opinion: not a bad show, lots of old footage to possibly vilify historical/known liars in the past, something I plan to watch casually

morissey - "glamorous glue": found the song after doing a wiki on lie to me
current opinion: I like Morissey to an extent, and it's a fairly good song (video)

ryan star - "brand new day": the theme/intro song to lie to me
current opinion: pretty good song; not the most original thing I've heard in my life, but it does a good job at being catchy (video) (lyrics)

persepolis: animated movie about a young girl who grows up in Iran during tumultuous times
current opinion: excellent movie, review to follow

design public: introduced to me by the ohsogeeky, site with lots of furniture and everything for purchase
current opinion: the stuff on here is really cool and to my taste when it comes to home decor, expect a look that looks modern but not sterile, recommended.

burnt kettle corn: 2 attempts to recreate sweet caramel-like pop corn gone bad
current opinion: after two semi-failures, I've concluded this much--keep the stove at medium, lift & shake every 3 seconds, mix margarine + vegetable oil (not only margarine); conclusion #4: dogs like popcorn, even if mildly burnt (recipe)

fashion behind

Per Sinan's request, I image googled "legwarmers" to explain how to wear them. As suggested by the title, I am not fashion forward even though I do like to concoct trendy outfits in my head. I found these particular legwarmers, which I thought were really cute. They're like knee socks, but leggings. Ingenious. Anyway, they are by Maria la Rosa, and cost $110.00 according to momist.com. And, they came out in 2006, so they are seemingly unavailable. As I said, fashion behind. Also, I am fashion broke, because I will never buy $110 for something so expired trendy that I will probably never wear. It would probably look really cute with a short pleated skirt that matched these stilettos, a black long sleeve boat neck, and long patterned scarf maybe houndstooth or plaid. Odd pairing, but it looks nice in my head.

Another cool item I saw today while browsing around on thisnext.com is this cool hoodie by headhoods. It's a hoodie with a card suite Queen printed on the side so that your profile looks like the Queen of Hearts (or Diamonds). Again, I will probably never buy it because it's mildly expensive and out of stock. Fill in the blank--vv is fashion ______. They have other nice ones like a similar King pattern, the Audrey Hepburn, and even possibly the Lego. This purchase is more probable for me just because it's casual wear which is my self-prescribed uniform. I'll keep it in mind if I want to treat myself one day.

While watching Fringe today (on ninjavideo, of course), Astrid was wearing a super cute sweater. It was pink, cable knit, with a slight Mandarin collar with frog buttons/closures. I WANT IT! But, where do I find it? Moreover, is it less than $50, and will they shop to a FPO box? Probably not. Well, I'll be looking out for something like that. Plus, it fits my wardrobe criterion--a simple, classic design with just enough embellishments to make it unique and timeless. Unfortunately, this usually translates to solid color, basic design/cut, comfy, & cheap. My wardrobe reality is not nearly as poetic as my wardrobe theory.


I've always dressed that way, and I think I might have even gotten seeds of that idea from Joy, my sister. I don't really dress too much like her, but I do like a good portion of the clothes she wears. On the other hand, my sister-in-law and I have interchangeable wardrobes. I used to raid her closet on a daily basis, and I still would if I lived with her (or even close to her). Then, I would never return the items...until she reclaimed them by attempting to raid my closet only to find many of her clothes in there.

Whenever I indulge myself into purchasing a trendy piece/outfit, I never wear it.
1. I don't have the balls to sport something outside of my comfort zone.
2. I never have an occasion or place to wear it to.
3. My husband laughs at me and names it something embarrassing and irritating, like "the Prince shirt".

I had a shirt that looked like that but in pink, and well, I haven't worn it since I showed him. My husband isn't really that evil, and my self-esteem isn't really that low. Most of my clothes aren't to his taste, probably because he hates jeans and gray (which I always wear). Plus, he thinks that girls look best in slacks and a tight dressy top, aka the Asian China doll look that was popular 6 years ago where we used to live.

In the over quoted words of Sarah Palin, "Thanks, but no thanks to the style I can wear nowhere." (...which includes the Prince shirt. What was I thinking?!)

australia - movie review :(

I watched Australia the other night. That was a short sentence, because I don't have many good things to say about it. Australia, a film directed by Baz Luhrmann, stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, with a medium sized supporting cast. To begin, the story was also by Luhrmann, and to say the least, I was not a fan. The film was very long and contained a lot of mini-plots within the entire movie. First there is Kidman's character and her transformation. Then there's Hugh Jackman with another transformation/epiphany. There are small landowners trying to stick it to the big, ruthless corporation. There are stolen children. There is a war. THERE WAS SO MUCH STUFF. I like epic films, I really do, but this film was so unfocused. I think the most prevalent binding idea behind this movie was just chronology. I guess this makes sense, because one of the many many themes in this movie was living a good life worth telling.

I think what went wrong was that....
1. this was a Baz Luhrmann's movie. Luhrmann also directed Moulin Rouge, and he has a really obvious, special effect-y, crazy angles type of direction. I thought that style worked for Moulin Rouge. It's about theatre, music, flamboyance. The direction matched the tone of the movie. In a movie about nature? Well, Australia is a pretty place naturally. Why did they need use an airbrushy look? Why was there so much slow motion? Why were there so many obvious closeup shots that didn't flow with the pace of the movie? Why did I think I was watching a really campy Indiana Jones musical set in Australia?
2. Luhrmann wrote the movie. Not all directors can write. House of Flying Daggers suffered a lot of similar problems as this movie. The movie became a showcase for the director and his/her tricks in a bag. The aesthetic of the movie outweighed the characters and the plot. I like pretty movies like Gattaca, because it was balanced. On the other hand, Australia was like a really long music video.
3. what kind of movie was this? In the beginning, it was comedic. It wasn't very funny comedy, but I could see a lighthearted tone to the movie. Then it was adventure. Then it was happy & fairytale-like. Then it was this hardcore action war drama. What the hell?! This doesn't even qualify to be bipolar. It was quadpolar, but I think that defies the definition of polar. It was all over the place.

Good things about the movie:
1. Hugh Jackman's hot. Sorry, but that might have been the best part. I've liked him since middle school, and I still do.
2. The intent of the movie. I think this movie was poorly executed, but I do think the subject material was worthwhile. Bringing up the Stolen Generations and shaping a good majority of the plot around aboriginal people and culture was a good decision. Concerning the Stolen Generations, I think that Rabbit-Proof Fence was a better film when it comes to that issue.
3. Costume and wardrobe were really excellent. I don't know if they were authentic, since I don't know anything about that. The colors were well chosen and really added another element of characterization to these people.

So...is this movie worth watching? Sure...if you have a lot of time, and if you're easily amused. I'm just kidding. This movie is decent. It's something my Mom would like. For me, it's one of those movies that I would put on and not pay complete attention to by washing dishes or some other chores. That's my assessment.

pho - dao in naha

This weekend, we went to Dao in Naha to eat pho. I found out about it in OkinawaHai, and since I'm totally in love/craving pho, we went. Actually, I knew about it for awhile, but we never bothered to drive all the way to crowded/not-fun-to-park Kokusai Street. Nacho, one of Mr. P's friends, was leaving soon, and the Southeast Asians really wanted some pho. It's kind of odd, since he was leaving for the states where his mom would make delicious pho for him, but we went anyway.

It was a decent experience. I got the "Vietnam Set" ("betonamu seto"), and it had fried eggrolls (4 half rolls), spring rolls/goi cuon (1 roll, 3 slices), fish sauce for dipping, soy sauce for dipping, 1 bowl of rice, 1 side of veggies stir-fried w/ soy sauce & garlic, 1 small dish of fish, 1 small bowl of pho, 1 Vietnamese coffee (hot/cold) or tea, and 1 small dessert dish. The spring rolls were kind of dry. The veggies were simple but good. There were only 2 small slices of fish, but it was heavily salted so the proportion seemed adequate. The dessert was good. It was basically the 3 bean drink, but as a dessert. Unfortunately, the pho was subpar, but satisfying enough.

What was wrong with it? Well, there was only slices of cooked beef. No tripe, no meatballs, no rare slices of beef. There wasn't any basil, hoison sauce, or Sriracha on the side. They did add bean sprouts in for you though. The broth was fragrant, but not quite it. I'm no pho expert, but it just didn't seem right. How would I know? Because my lip didn't stink when I was finished. Not very scientific, but pho eaters know what I'm talking about!

So, the best part about the Vietnam Set was the fried eggrolls and the Vietnamese super-strong/pry-your-eyes-open coffee. Actually for the set, there was a lot of food for a really decent price. I don't remember how much exactly. My guess is 1250 yen, but it was definitely less than 1500 for a lot of food. Proportion-wise, this was definitely a deal.

So my verdict? I really need to learn how to make pho for real. Dao was good, but I'm not planning on driving 45+ minutes and pay for parking to eat it.

P.S. Sorry, I didn't bring my camera. There are photos of Dao elsewhere plus directions, which were really handy. Basically, get yourself to the Starbucks on Kokusai. You'll notice that Starbucks is on a corner. Situate yourself on the Kokusai side of Starbucks. If your back is to Starbucks, and you're on Kokusai St, cross Kokusai to get to the other side, and go the right a little bit. You'll see OPA (but don't pass it) and right before it is Shijo Hon Dori (I didn't see it written in English, but that's what it's called). It's this covered road that's basically a marketplace, and walk in for a minute or so. You'll see assorted shops and some produce for sale along this "street". Dao will be on your right. You'll see the sign and the window display. You'll climb some stairs to get to the restaurant, and you're there. (Map in Japanese)

soon to be abandoned

Well, it looks like I'll be by myself for a little while. Mr. P is shipping out. For the sake of OPSEC and the fact that I know nothing about its rules, we'll just leave out all of the details. I'm already bumming around as is, but I will probably reach the peak of my yucky laziness when he's gone. I should probably work out some type of schedule so that I make sure I'm exercising and getting out. I don't really want to waste away in front of my computer and find cobwebs in my nostrils...or something ridiculous (yet probable) like that.

Another issue? How am I supposed to get my mail? It usually goes through the office, so now I'm unreachable via mail. Question time...

1. Can I rent out a personal PO Box at the Foster P.O.? Or are they reserved for PSC people? I hope not, bc I want my mail w/o going through the slow office process.

That's just technical stuff, I suppose. I should be spending my limited time with my bald husband. We had a really nice 4 day weekend aka 96. He finished his tattoo background, and it looked very painful & bloody. He also stained the pillow last night with his inky scabs, but thankfully that came out.

We spent about 2 days furniture/house shopping. We're trying to make our place look more like a home, instead of a badly put together dorm room. We're thinking of moving when the lease is up, so I'm concerned about having too much furniture, if we should move into something smaller. I feel so adult-like when I talk about furniture and living arrangements---.

We also went to Naha to eat pho. That was a very filling experience. We didn't stay very long because we were late for our furniture delivery. 1 hour late, I'm so sorry! Please don't punish me Karma.

Another fun activity? We went to see cherry blossoms aka sakura at Mt. Yaedake. It's around the Nago area, and we had a good time. (Well, I did.) I'll post some photos up along with a longer post, but it was very nice.

I don't think I've ever done as much as we did this 96 than any other weekend/weekends combined. I feel awesome and culturally engaged. That was a really cheesy evaluation, but I think it was fairly accurate. Most weekends are spent playing games, watching tv, and watching people get drunk and annoying. This was definitely a great improvement.

first taste

Here's my first taste at posting that created this entire brouhaha of blogging frenzy. OkinawaHai.com is an awesome site for military spouses & members about living in Okinawa. There are always interesting places that people have visited, where I want to visit and probably never will. Regardless of whether I will go or not, it's a great site for people like me who always have random questions about living here. It's also a great site for people like me who never get out and explore via other people. I believe the word is vicariously. Anyway, I posted, and I was happy about it. (haha, lame! I know!! I get excited about silly little things.)

OkiHai - Thai Ingredients?

turkey broth

So this is what basically drove me to get a blog. I wanted to tell everyone that....I was cooking old X'mas turkey bones to make turkey broth. REALLY inane, I know. I also wanted to say that...

1. Turkeys are so incredibly loaded with fat. There was a 1" layer of fat on the broth.
2. What am I supposed to do with the fat, other than throw it away?
3. It's kind of late to be cooking leftovers with X'mas turkey, but I'm gross like that.
4. Turkey broth is so potent. I have boiled over 4 pots worth of broth out of 1 turkey.
5. This will probably make some tasty ramen/udon/noodle soup later. Not traditional, I know.

I love food. I like cooking. I hate cleanup. I detest dishes. I wish I could be hypnotized to like doing dishes. Handwashing piled up dishes is the most not fun thing to do in the world, and my apartment has no dishwasher. How do the Okinawans do it???

blog manifesto

I think that a manifesto is in order prior to me establishing a blog for myself. That sounds kind of odd and unnecessary, since it's my blog--I do what I want! Then again, I'm also very wary of my "google footprint" so I think that whatever I post will last here forever, and I don't want to be embarrassed by it 8 years later. So, this manifesto is more of a guideline for me. I hope to stick to it--after all I named it manifesto, kind of a big deal. But, this is also for when my blog finally becomes publicly read, and the reader know what to anticipate from here.
wow. i sound so dry. here goes...

Why am I making a blog?
To have somewhere to post things I want to say and others to read. To have somewhere to casually talk about anything I feel like talking about.

What are the contents of the blog?
Anything? Not really. Mostly questions, possibly complaints, hobbies/interests, things that I think are worth sharing.

What am I avoiding?
Emotional rants...just because 1. I'm a robot, 2. I feel awkward putting myself out there, 3. I'm an awkward robot.
And, poor grammar. Well, I just broke a couple of rules there. I'll probably just capitalize my sentences and maintain the look of a coherent English speaker/writer.

Level of anonymity?
For now...high. Later on...probably moderate. I'll let you know my real name later and even what I look like. haha

So again, why are you making a blog?
I have no friends, and I need someone to listen. Even if it is the abyss of the internet. Like I said, friendless, awkward robot.

first post is long overdue

So after reading blogs for years on end, I think it's finally time to just make one for myself. I always have these random thoughts that I want to post somewhere but never did. I guess that's what blogs are for. slow vv. I'll have to thank Sinan for finally pushing me to do this. On the other hand, I don't think she's aware that she did that. Thank you revoked. haha.

Hmm, lots of these sentences are starting with "I". This might be a new thing for me.