hanging out with my sibs proves extraordinarily entertaining for me...

1. somehow we end up watching ESPN's World's Strongest Man. these men have biceps that are the size of my head. seriously. i measured my head. it's 21 inches around.

2. moneymoney ahahahahahaha. (scroll down to "funniest stuff")

3. intro to their cutest roommate, Toby

documentation of an odd day:

1. woke up on the wrong side of bed. almost late getting out the door for work due to anti-grumpiness routine.
2. blithering idiot. lack of verbal coherency in communications with patients. very bad.
3. to eat or not to eat? perhaps dinner will have redeeming qualities.

positive points.

1. did not get flipped off at work today.
2. ate salt and vinegar Kettle chips.
3. Janet is a responsible friend. i like responsible people. they make me happy.

new words in the English vocabulary: (according to front office staff)

1. moronity: noun. the mental state of a moron.
2. prussard: noun. a nicely appointed porch. with foliage. (per Florence)
3. plapluiot: noun. a state of excited frenzy. (per Daniele)

the SF Chronicle can be quite interesting...

this kid in San Lorenzo:

1. runs around in circles.
2. got an arranged marriage.

that is the bulk of the article. a couple of opinions: first of all, he collapses after he runs. that's drastic. second of all, he just skips all the 'pre-marital rites' of dating, etc. this means alot of things. let's say that you and your parents are in agreement, none of that runningawayfromhometobejoinedwithmytruelove deal. this means:

1. no major decisionmaking regarding life partner.
2. you could blame the marriage on your folks.
3. no constant preening to maintain whatever is going down the drain anyways.

ok, that's an odd number. i'm going to quit while i'm ahead.

due to the overwhelming gravity these days, i've decided to take time and effort to contribute some levity towards life in general:

1. my dad and i watched Justice League on the cartoon network.
2. we ate Coldstone's ice cream: coffee ice cream with a Heath bar mixed in. (tankyou, grace)

if you are grossed out by 'sensitive' topics, you may quit now, i'm going to expound on hair removal systems...(just want to shake things up a bit, b/c it's obviously NOT related to food in any way, shape, or form)

1. just tried Nair for the first time: overall evaluation: painless, but not really worth the lack of effort. my first thought: this is like a bad shaving job. or the 'five o'clock shadow' and it's kinda stinky. it's only worth it for those who fear the razor or the pain of waxing.
2. waxing: ahhh, this is not as cut and dry perhaps, but effective, well worth the effort. once you get the hang of it, it doesn't take that long either. if you get into in, you might find the whole process highly satisfying.
3. shaving: quick, though potentially risky. offers instant results, though not long lasting. but with a fresh razor, incredibly effective. swup, swup, swup, and you're done. the end.

that's the end of all forms of experimenting with hair removal for me. i've no interest to try bleaching, electrolysis, etc.

despite my policy (and external impedences) to watching tv, i've actually managed to follow the last three episodes of 24. Jack Bauer's adventures last for 24 hours. most of us aren't active that long generally, but occasionally, we are. this occured to me because I was 'activated' for 24 hours. 24 plus, come to think of it. this is unusual because i generally regard being in such a position as unlikely, undesirable, and unfavorable.

However, i learned some interesting, important things and since 'sharing is caring'...

1. On foggy mornings, the showers at the pool are COLD. You need to shower fast and employ cold-shower protocols.
2. ABC does not show weird dating shows or paid programming in the dead of the night. You can watch a talk show, Oprah, and lots of news.
3. Blood sugar level typically drop around 5 or 6 am. You will be hungry.
4. During the last couple of hours, operating vehicles (and heavy machinery, i suppose) is inadvisable. You could turn out worse than Mr. Bauer
5. At the Cheeseboard, the 'Wolverine' is fairly tasty. You would have a wider selection if you carried more than a dollar though.
6. Alameda is not a good route for going from Oakland to Berkeley. You should be familiar with actual, not theoretical freeway entrances.
7. Honey is good sweetner in a marinade. You can't taste test the meat if you are a vegetarian though.

More interesting points are logged in my little brain, but seven is a good number to end on. Even is not so good. An interior designed confirmed that design generally revolves around odd numbers. i think i read somewhere that pairs are ok.

miscellaneous thoughts:

1. a grill, but i'll settle for a cast-iron skillet until then.
2. public transportation in SF: great people-watching potential
3. Brother's Korean Restaurant #2: soon doo boo (per cheryl)

usually i regard my three little boy cousins as small terrors...but sometimes they surprise me...

dinner at grandma's. i opened the door to let in the two smaller cousins. the youngest one, 7, totally lights up at the sight of me and exclaims, "hey, da beu jie!" i'm already starting to melt. Then he wrapped himself around my waist without even waiting for me to lean down to hug him back and sighs, "i MISSED you." i can hardly believe my ears. he goes to take off his shoes and dump his backpack and tells me, "thanks for coming. i like it when you are here." then he pelts upstairs. i'm officially smitten with this one as the current favorite. especially since i still get hugs and kisses from him.

official fun person to hang out with: my grandma

1. she always offers me something to eat. and not just anything, something that i LIKE to eat.
2. when we walk around she likes to hold my hand.
3. when we walk around she doesn't walk too fast.
4. she's very cute.
5. she laughs at most of my jokes.

commentary on this morning's news:

the man who won the Bay to Breakers race finished in 35 minutes and 11 seconds. that 'jog' around the City is 7.5 miles. when i used to run around the Lake, which is 5 miles, it would take me 45 minutes. this means he was going quite fast, on average: 12.5 mph. technically, twice as fast i would be going at about 6 mph. in general, it is quite impressive, taking into account the hills. that's like when grannies are driving in the slow lane at, say, 50 mph, and this crazy NASCAR wannabe goes zipping by at 100 mph in the fast lane. i am a granny-runner...in fact, these days, i'm probably a great-grandma-runner.

this nudist couple who ran the race brought their baby. except that the baby doesn't get to go nude, she wears diapers. b/c the mom said it gets too messy when the kid goes naked. haha, can you imagine...

my good laugh for the day:

gifford and i went to watch dragonboat racing per audrey's invitation. audrey teaches at Lincoln high school and helps coach their dragon boat team. so we are standing around the grassy lawns where all the teams are camped out. some kids are playing around with a volleyball which inevitably gets lost in our direction. our bright friend audrey decides to give it whack with her foot. not such a bad idea, except that it goes whizzing by all the kids and into the street. audrey's clever response: oops...sorry. gifford and i thought the whole thing was hysterical. audrey's an excellent teacher/coach otherwise. wouldn't it be sketchy if she coached volleyball?

my baking for the day:

chocolate almond sugar cookies.

more potential baking ahead...so long as my cousins' kitchen is stocked to handle our baking agenda.

Highlights, so far:

1. i just landed one of the highest paying jobs of my life...which wasn't too hard considering I pretty much got paid crap for everything else i've ever done.

2. the local school pool is the yuckiest pool i've ever swam in it. this old lady bossed me outta my lane. flat out told me: i'm swimming in this lane. ok, lady.

3. driving after four months, more or less. been back less than a week and i've driven three different cars. it was great starting off with the stick, but i think it aggravated my poor joints. o well, back to public transportation.

4. starting off the cookbook project w/ honey wheat bread. yum. note: must purchase another loaf pan

5. sampling audrey's kitchen. i dined on: cuties (ice cream sandwich), artichoke/feta dip, lemon cookies, blueberry bread, pretzels, shrimp chips, etc. on top of which, we made yam fries, bruschetta and chocolate chocolate-chip mint cookies. i gotta visit again soon.

the food's been grand, but i think it's stressing out my stomach to eat so well. it has NOT been the happy camper.

the newest thing i tried: fish stomach in soup. yum. i liked it. i really did.

the sweetest thing i ate: lunardi's mango ice cream

the heavenliest thing: dark chocolate: 72% cacao. Lordhavemercy. how DOES my granny get such things, i don't know, but i love hanging out in her kitchen.

first official function completed: mother's day. we mainly celebrated by eating w/ the usual family crowd. i had fun hanging out w/ my granny who offered advice about boys. i forgot what she said, b/c i was mostly trying to egg her on. o wait, something arising out of the murky recesses of my little noggin... something along the lines of:

granny: do any boys like you?
me: no. but what about if i don't like them back?
granny: that's ok, you can like them later on.

good job, granny. she's clearly a diehard romantic. she cracks me up. a practical sort of lady, my grandma.
this was probably only entertaining for a selected few. if you are one of them, laugh it up. if not, sorry for the disappointing read.

C.A.L.I.F.O.R.N.I.A.

the flight back was a series of inventive sleeping positions which invariably became uncomfortable. on the first leg of the journey, i was seated next to this poor kid who'd never flown before and had little concept about sharing spaces. but at least i didn't have to sit next to anyone on the second half of the trip.

we (the family) went to IHOP in the dead of the night, b/c i was hungry and my dad said there was nuthing suitable to feed me at the house. ok. i think he just wanted to take us out. sometimes, i think he gets cuter w/ age. we end up ordering a skillet, an omelette, and hash browns. all of which came with two short stacks of buttermilk pancakes. that's fine. i just want to eat pancakes. i've waited a LONG time for pancakes. then my dad says, do you think that's enough? let's get the pancakes with bananas. (sorry, Youd, don't be overly grossed out, it's worth the read, trust me.) and we're like i think we have enough. and he goes, i dunno. and then we know...he wants to try the pancakes with bananas. so we tell him to order it. he gets this little twinkle in his eye and he's like, yeah, it comes with bananas. and nuts. and then we know...he REALLY wants to try the pancakes with bananas...and nuts. and then when it comes, he eats some and says: It's good. It has nuts. and then he passes some to my mom who tries it and goes: mmm, it has nuts. and then he offers some to me and says: it's good. it comes with bananas...and nuts. my sister and i really enjoyed this portion of the meal.

this is the first time i've been able to blog about me and my sister, come to think of it.

closing note: I LOVE my bed. I LOVE my space invader sheets. basically, i LOVE my bed.

yesterday was a very funny day. it was PIMP(pee in my pants) funny. things really got started AFTER 9:30pm. the game of skip-bo and the dinner of taco dip and tostitos was lovely, but not funny. we were driving home through downtown and there was this construction worker talking to a couple of other construction workers. For whatever reason, this pot-bellied man started circling his arms like he was swimming and shuffling his feet like he was doing the running man. i couldn't believe my eyes. we laughed SO hard.

steph told me a story about when she and her aunt went to a baseball game and the hotdog vender dropped a hot dog into her aunt's lap. just the hot dog part. yep, you got the right picture. then he picks it back up and puts it back in with the rest of the dogs. another great laugh. we looked pretty crazy walking down the street, laughing fit to die.

then when we got into the elevator, this forty-something lady gets out wearing a little shirt that says HOTTIE on it. again, fit to die for. what's with these people? don't you know that those shirts are for little runty kids?

a NEW cookie! lemon chewy crisps. so light. this is a new genre of cookies. i think if pat reviews CDs, i review food. the recipe is from allrecipes.com. this one is going in the recipe collection. it's almost meringue like.

today was a grownup day.

i've only had to be a grown up for all of like two hours. that's enough. i am tired of it. time to kick off the heels. good job.

i've been watching TV again. this is worth noting as i have not watched any TV, not even the news for the past couple of months or so. the lack of TV has been instrumental in developing a deep attachment to NPR. at any rate, the consequences of the revival of the TV in my life are a newfound interest in "that 70's show" and "the Hughleys." i like it.

from "The Importance of Being Ernest": In matters of grave consequences, style is always more important than meaning. (or something along those lines.)