I had the most realistic dream this morning, where I was in my apartment and then SUDDENLY found this crazy nice bathroom in it. It wasn't like it just suddenly appeared. More like, I was feeling really crappy about life but then I just went into this second bathroom that had really nice yellow tiles and soothing painted walls and just felt like everything was better than I thought. In the dream, I just stood in front of the sink thinking, "I take a lot of things for granted and at least I have this wonderful bathroom to keep me happy." And then I turned around and there was this STEAM VAC (which is something I've always wanted) and I was like "MY GOSH, my life is so splendid." I think I proceeded to clean a business suit.
And then I got out of bed, and I totally didn't realize it had JUST BEEN A DREAM until AFTER I had walked through the hallway, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I was in mid-brush when my mind was kind of like "wait ... do I NOT own this bathroom?!" And I had to think about the layout of my apartment before I realized that the magical bathroom was only a dream.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thoughts on groceries
Today I went to Trader Joe's before my classes to buy milk. I haven't had cereal in so long, which was ok when I was in Socal eating croissants and pastries like it was the end of the world. But nowadays I find nothing in my apartment to eat. Anyway, I walked around the entire store, looking for something else to buy because it seems stupid to make a trip all the way to Trader Joe's ... just to buy milk. I ended up throwing a bag of carrots into my shopping basket as well. There were very few people in the store - I really like going to grocery stores in the morning when most people are at work. But I don't really have a reason to go to Trader Joe's anymore. I guess Berkeley Bowl really is cheaper than Trader Joe's, plus their fruit is better quality. My obsession with hummus has died ... so NOW WHAT? WHAT can you offer me, Joe the Trader?!
Well, I thought the person who rung me up was pretty cute. Trader Joe's has a fairly youthful workforce. A youthful and predominately white workforce. As I left the store, I wondered how much time I had in my weekly schedule to go to Trader Joe's and flirt it up with the cashiers. Then I realized how creepy it was for someone to go to the grocery store multiple times in a week just to hit on people. So I will just shop once a week like normal people do.
Kristen said I am very pessimistic and I often blog very depressing posts. IS THIS TRUE? I am realizing how little self awareness I have. I wonder what people think of me. I didn't used to think that I was quirky or pessimistic. I thought I was very average and optimistic. What do you, dear reader, think of me?
Someone posted this on their blog and I laugh every time I see it.
Well, I thought the person who rung me up was pretty cute. Trader Joe's has a fairly youthful workforce. A youthful and predominately white workforce. As I left the store, I wondered how much time I had in my weekly schedule to go to Trader Joe's and flirt it up with the cashiers. Then I realized how creepy it was for someone to go to the grocery store multiple times in a week just to hit on people. So I will just shop once a week like normal people do.
Kristen said I am very pessimistic and I often blog very depressing posts. IS THIS TRUE? I am realizing how little self awareness I have. I wonder what people think of me. I didn't used to think that I was quirky or pessimistic. I thought I was very average and optimistic. What do you, dear reader, think of me?
Someone posted this on their blog and I laugh every time I see it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Grad students!
Angelica: I want to set Mel up with ______
Ryan: How are you going to get them to meet up?
Angelica: I don't know
Ryan: You could invite her to the engagement party
Angelica: Yeah!
Why I think that convo is weird: that I could be potentially set up on a date with a 28 year old, and that they thought the best way for me to meet this guy was through an engagement party. It makes me feel much older than I actually am.
I really like every person I've ever met through Ryan and Angelica. Maybe it is because I am predisposed to liking older people. And because all of their friends are freaking smart, speak incredibly well and are very knowledgable about the world. Today I ate dinner with them and some people they knew, including one married 23-year old and another guy who is 30, engaged and has been with his fiancee for TWELVE years. I did not tell mention that the year he graduated college, I was in middle school.
It was very cool to just sit at a table of like nine people and everyone had a giant glass of beer. Except me of course. Angelica had a pomegranate cider that I liked and would order again. The food at Triple Rock Brewery was really freaking good. I want to go here when I'm 21! Or when I'm using Tiffany's ID that has a picture of an Asian girl that people have said looks EXACTLY like me.
In my college years, I go out a lot but I don't party very much. I don't particularly enjoy parties so I tell myself that I'm not missing out on very much. But when I hang out with Ryan and Angelica I always feel like I'm not living out my full college potential. They and the people they know have done SO many things and they always have TONS of stories and it makes me feel like my life is so boring. :( They make me really want to go to grad school. Med school and grad school seem so cool.
---------
Just because this happened in the same day:
HAHA So after eating dinner, Ryan, Angelica and I drove down to Ici. I had called to check flavors and Angelica wanted to eat candied kumquat. I ended up getting honey lavender and it was pretty good. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been eating Reese's Pieces all day. Ryan ordered first and was paying for us (SO NICE) when the server finished scooping the first cone and handed it to me. I assumed it was mine so I was JUST taking my first lick when Ryan was like "is that mine?" I felt very mortified. Luckily, Ryan is not the type of guy who cares. ^_^ The server must have thought I was an idiot though. She was all like "do you want me to get you another cone since she licked yours?" WELL WHY DID YOU HAND IT TO ME, BIZNATCH.
Ryan: How are you going to get them to meet up?
Angelica: I don't know
Ryan: You could invite her to the engagement party
Angelica: Yeah!
Why I think that convo is weird: that I could be potentially set up on a date with a 28 year old, and that they thought the best way for me to meet this guy was through an engagement party. It makes me feel much older than I actually am.
I really like every person I've ever met through Ryan and Angelica. Maybe it is because I am predisposed to liking older people. And because all of their friends are freaking smart, speak incredibly well and are very knowledgable about the world. Today I ate dinner with them and some people they knew, including one married 23-year old and another guy who is 30, engaged and has been with his fiancee for TWELVE years. I did not tell mention that the year he graduated college, I was in middle school.
It was very cool to just sit at a table of like nine people and everyone had a giant glass of beer. Except me of course. Angelica had a pomegranate cider that I liked and would order again. The food at Triple Rock Brewery was really freaking good. I want to go here when I'm 21! Or when I'm using Tiffany's ID that has a picture of an Asian girl that people have said looks EXACTLY like me.
In my college years, I go out a lot but I don't party very much. I don't particularly enjoy parties so I tell myself that I'm not missing out on very much. But when I hang out with Ryan and Angelica I always feel like I'm not living out my full college potential. They and the people they know have done SO many things and they always have TONS of stories and it makes me feel like my life is so boring. :( They make me really want to go to grad school. Med school and grad school seem so cool.
---------
Just because this happened in the same day:
HAHA So after eating dinner, Ryan, Angelica and I drove down to Ici. I had called to check flavors and Angelica wanted to eat candied kumquat. I ended up getting honey lavender and it was pretty good. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been eating Reese's Pieces all day. Ryan ordered first and was paying for us (SO NICE) when the server finished scooping the first cone and handed it to me. I assumed it was mine so I was JUST taking my first lick when Ryan was like "is that mine?" I felt very mortified. Luckily, Ryan is not the type of guy who cares. ^_^ The server must have thought I was an idiot though. She was all like "do you want me to get you another cone since she licked yours?" WELL WHY DID YOU HAND IT TO ME, BIZNATCH.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
RCSA Socal Interviews
Just got back from socal! Apparently it takes me about about an hour and ten minutes to check all of my websites after three days without internet. I have yet to watch all the shows I typically watch and read the recaps but I've kind of lost interest. GASP. What if this is the weekend when I finally stop watching television? I wonder if my life would still have any meaning.
So this is the last year I will be going to socal to do interviews for RCSA. Pretty good weekend! We went to the Marriott in downtown LA this time. I liked how the bathrooms had a bathtub AND a shower. Not that I have the patience to take a bath. But it's nice to see gleaming white porcelein.
Friday night was Roy's OMFG SO GOOD. I think the LA one is better than the Pasadena one. The Pasadena one didn't have the Ahi Tartare that is my favorite dish made of fish in ALL of history but I got it this weekend. Yummers! Andria got one as well. I also ordered the Mahi Mahi by the waiter's recommendation but I think I should stop ordering things with creamy sauces. It came with a lobster bisque sauce that was good at first then hurt my stomach. For dessert I had the pineapple upside down cake MMM MMM.
The waiter was super nice to us and when he came out with the tartare he asked if we wanted chopsticks and I was like "no I'm not very good with them anyway." And then like three minutes later he comes back and very smoothly puts down these chopsticks that have this HILARIOUS "fun chop" thing connecting the two together. It's like this bendy piece of plastic that holds the chopsticks correctly and it teaches you how to use them. Patent pending. AMAZING! I was like "I'm going to take this home" BUT THE CLEANER TOOK IT AWAY. I thought it would be too embarassing to ask for a dirty pair of chopsticks back.
Saturday was crazy amounts of talking. I also ate an excessive number of cookies. There were breakfast pastries and I ate one more than I should have. Then we had lunch in the hotel restaurant 333, and the soup was AMAZING. Also they have the best iced tea I have ever had and I usually hate iced tea. Today I could kind of taste a peach flavor in it - I wish I know where it comes from. I ate a lot of cookies and then we went to the pool to nap. Then went back for afternoon interviews and found MORE desserts. Of course, had to eat those. Felt incredibly guilty afterwards.
Then, I was already very full but we had cheese/wine/crackers with the professors in a really amazing suite. It's a corner room that is two stories - the bottom is like a living room and bar area and the upstairs is a bedroom, office and bathroom. It would be nice to live in a place like that. I love two cheeses - one is white, round, with red powdery stuff on it and is very soft. The other is bleu cheese? Did I spell that correctly? Maybe it is just blue cheese.
So I was deciding whether or not to go to a musical with Andria and Christina but decided I would rather gym. Their treadmills are ridiculous. There is a tv attached to every treadmill, with cable tv, and you can plug your headphones in. I watched POTC and some Friends. There are also inputs for A/V AND a USB port. I am willing to bet that the treadmill is more powerful that the laptop I am typing on.
Went back to my room (which I had to myself!) and showered and then fell asleep while watching SATC. Woke up Andria called me and felt EXTREMELY disoriented. But I had slept in my dress so I just went out. I pressed the elevator button and it opened with Andria and Christina in it, and they screamed "OMG YOUR DRESS IS SO PRETTY" and I screamed "AHHH WHAT? IT'S WET SEAL!" because I was still very sleepy and sudden loud noises make me very confused and I say whatever comes to my mind. HAHA So we walked over the the Standard which was basically the only place open at 10:30pm.
We had gone with the intention of eating DELICIOUS expensive entrees but we got there and all they had were semi-expensive appetizer-like foods! So we debated leaving, but where would we go? So we decided ... TO BUY A SHITLOAD of food. Imagine ... most dishes are like $12-15 ... and we had $64 for three people each ...
Our waiter was quite CLEARLY confused. Here were three Asian girls (two very thin ones and one medium sized fattie aka me) who looked like they were just out to get drinks and when he asks us what we want, we ask in very concerned voices "Can we get a dinner menu? There's NO dinner menu?! Do you know a place where we can get dinner?" At first I was a little sad that we wouldn't be blowing our money on very expensive dishes, but it turned out to be just as fun to spend this way because who is EVER going to buy $12 fries?! We shared between us:
1. Crispy Calamari ($10 and pretty good, considering I hate fried stuff and seafood)
2. Creamy Dungeness Crab Cakes ($14 and the grapefruit made it really tasty. Best crab cake ever!)
3. French fries with Gorzongola Fondue ($12 but he gave it to us for FREE and it was REALLY good ... I will probably never be able to dip french fries in gorzongola fondue ever again)
4. French Pear Martini ($15 drink that was really really good)
5. Cosmo ($10? and oddly clear but still delicious)
6. Mixed Fields Salad ($7 but he gaves this to us for FREE TOO! because he said he didn't realize how much fries our entrees had come with, so he thought we should have something to balance it out. Really good viniagrette - I did not expect to eat so much arugula that night)
7. Kobe Burger ($16 I like how I am now able to say "I had a Kobe Burger. And I wolfed it down without a thought)
8. Mac and Cheese ($12 it wasn't amazing but it had orecchiette, bechamel and parmesean cheese so that was kind of cool)
9. Skirt Steak Frites ($19 basically fries with steak. By the time we got around to it, we just could not consume any more fries and forced ourselves to eat the steak)
10. Grilled Cheese ($12 but we ended up not getting this because we were SOOOO full. It would have had truffled manchego, brioche, and tomato jam. I am kind of sad that I didn't get this because I LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches)
and then we had a break.
A guy sat down at our table and asked if we wanted to go to the upstairs lounge with him, which is supposedly amazing and has like a pool on the rooftop and crazy MUCH stronger drinks ... ok I just read the description online:
But I guess Andria and Christina thought he was a little weird so we shut him down. Basically he said "Can I give you my number?" and we just all looked at each other like "uh..." and he said "... or not ..." Honestly, I was just wondering how we would be able to eat dessert if we went upstairs with him. After he left with his friends, we started the discussion that has been had with TMV, which is basically "I don't understand how we are supposed to meet guys if we don't like the people who are bold enough to approach us and if we don't make the first move."
So yeah ... by the time we had our plates cleared, the waiter came back with the obligatory "do you want dessert?" but he said "I don't suppose you want dessert?" and we were like "uhhh actually yeah we do" and he gave us a SUPER HUGE WTF HOW MUCH CAN THESE GIRLS EAT face and Christina finally went "You must think we're weird! What do you think of us?" and he was like "uh honestly? I kind of thought you guys had a little pot?" And we burst out laughing because I had totally called that and said he probably just thought we were crazy high. So we explained that we just had stipends to blow and he was like OHHH and was really nice about it. So we got dessert and it was CRAZZZZYYYY good too.
11. Apple tart ($7 and by far my favorite because I have never had something like this before. Came with pistachio ice cream)
12. Flourless chocolate cake ($7 and it was decent but I realized I am not a huge fan of chocolate cakes)
13. Yogurt panna cotta ($7 and SO good because I had never had this. I have seen this at Trader Joe's all the time and it is not appetizing looking at all. Well, I'm sure it can't possibly be as good as this one)
So yeah! Desserts were actually not that expensive. But we finally rolled out of there at 2:00 (and if you count Daylight Savings Time, it was actually 3:00) with a $126 bill. It would have been more if he hadn't given us things for free. We had $30 more dollars after tip and we were considering spending the rest of our stipends on more drinks, but I always thought that you should have a social reason to drink, so it's not really worth it to drink and just go home and sleep. So we went back ... and woke up the next day at 8:00 for more interviews.
So yeah, Sunday was more of the same crazy good breakfast pastries, interviews, lunch at 333 in the hotel (with MORE delicious soup and iced tea) and then an hour nap by the pool. An hour more of interviews, then flight home. AND NOW I'm HOME! Should probably have studied instead of writing this giant blog that most people are just going to glance at. But yeah ... ten more days until spring break! Must lose weight. Of course.
Plans for the future: Andria, Christina and I will be going to the Edison on my 21st birthday along with I'm assuming any other RCSA friends I've made who live on Socal. It sounds effing ridiculous and crazy expensive but if I have a job I am going to do it.
So this is the last year I will be going to socal to do interviews for RCSA. Pretty good weekend! We went to the Marriott in downtown LA this time. I liked how the bathrooms had a bathtub AND a shower. Not that I have the patience to take a bath. But it's nice to see gleaming white porcelein.
Friday night was Roy's OMFG SO GOOD. I think the LA one is better than the Pasadena one. The Pasadena one didn't have the Ahi Tartare that is my favorite dish made of fish in ALL of history but I got it this weekend. Yummers! Andria got one as well. I also ordered the Mahi Mahi by the waiter's recommendation but I think I should stop ordering things with creamy sauces. It came with a lobster bisque sauce that was good at first then hurt my stomach. For dessert I had the pineapple upside down cake MMM MMM.
The waiter was super nice to us and when he came out with the tartare he asked if we wanted chopsticks and I was like "no I'm not very good with them anyway." And then like three minutes later he comes back and very smoothly puts down these chopsticks that have this HILARIOUS "fun chop" thing connecting the two together. It's like this bendy piece of plastic that holds the chopsticks correctly and it teaches you how to use them. Patent pending. AMAZING! I was like "I'm going to take this home" BUT THE CLEANER TOOK IT AWAY. I thought it would be too embarassing to ask for a dirty pair of chopsticks back.
Saturday was crazy amounts of talking. I also ate an excessive number of cookies. There were breakfast pastries and I ate one more than I should have. Then we had lunch in the hotel restaurant 333, and the soup was AMAZING. Also they have the best iced tea I have ever had and I usually hate iced tea. Today I could kind of taste a peach flavor in it - I wish I know where it comes from. I ate a lot of cookies and then we went to the pool to nap. Then went back for afternoon interviews and found MORE desserts. Of course, had to eat those. Felt incredibly guilty afterwards.
Then, I was already very full but we had cheese/wine/crackers with the professors in a really amazing suite. It's a corner room that is two stories - the bottom is like a living room and bar area and the upstairs is a bedroom, office and bathroom. It would be nice to live in a place like that. I love two cheeses - one is white, round, with red powdery stuff on it and is very soft. The other is bleu cheese? Did I spell that correctly? Maybe it is just blue cheese.
So I was deciding whether or not to go to a musical with Andria and Christina but decided I would rather gym. Their treadmills are ridiculous. There is a tv attached to every treadmill, with cable tv, and you can plug your headphones in. I watched POTC and some Friends. There are also inputs for A/V AND a USB port. I am willing to bet that the treadmill is more powerful that the laptop I am typing on.
Went back to my room (which I had to myself!) and showered and then fell asleep while watching SATC. Woke up Andria called me and felt EXTREMELY disoriented. But I had slept in my dress so I just went out. I pressed the elevator button and it opened with Andria and Christina in it, and they screamed "OMG YOUR DRESS IS SO PRETTY" and I screamed "AHHH WHAT? IT'S WET SEAL!" because I was still very sleepy and sudden loud noises make me very confused and I say whatever comes to my mind. HAHA So we walked over the the Standard which was basically the only place open at 10:30pm.
We had gone with the intention of eating DELICIOUS expensive entrees but we got there and all they had were semi-expensive appetizer-like foods! So we debated leaving, but where would we go? So we decided ... TO BUY A SHITLOAD of food. Imagine ... most dishes are like $12-15 ... and we had $64 for three people each ...
Our waiter was quite CLEARLY confused. Here were three Asian girls (two very thin ones and one medium sized fattie aka me) who looked like they were just out to get drinks and when he asks us what we want, we ask in very concerned voices "Can we get a dinner menu? There's NO dinner menu?! Do you know a place where we can get dinner?" At first I was a little sad that we wouldn't be blowing our money on very expensive dishes, but it turned out to be just as fun to spend this way because who is EVER going to buy $12 fries?! We shared between us:
1. Crispy Calamari ($10 and pretty good, considering I hate fried stuff and seafood)
2. Creamy Dungeness Crab Cakes ($14 and the grapefruit made it really tasty. Best crab cake ever!)
3. French fries with Gorzongola Fondue ($12 but he gave it to us for FREE and it was REALLY good ... I will probably never be able to dip french fries in gorzongola fondue ever again)
4. French Pear Martini ($15 drink that was really really good)
5. Cosmo ($10? and oddly clear but still delicious)
6. Mixed Fields Salad ($7 but he gaves this to us for FREE TOO! because he said he didn't realize how much fries our entrees had come with, so he thought we should have something to balance it out. Really good viniagrette - I did not expect to eat so much arugula that night)
7. Kobe Burger ($16 I like how I am now able to say "I had a Kobe Burger. And I wolfed it down without a thought)
8. Mac and Cheese ($12 it wasn't amazing but it had orecchiette, bechamel and parmesean cheese so that was kind of cool)
9. Skirt Steak Frites ($19 basically fries with steak. By the time we got around to it, we just could not consume any more fries and forced ourselves to eat the steak)
10. Grilled Cheese ($12 but we ended up not getting this because we were SOOOO full. It would have had truffled manchego, brioche, and tomato jam. I am kind of sad that I didn't get this because I LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches)
and then we had a break.
A guy sat down at our table and asked if we wanted to go to the upstairs lounge with him, which is supposedly amazing and has like a pool on the rooftop and crazy MUCH stronger drinks ... ok I just read the description online:
The Roof encompasses a heated swimming pool, red AstroTurf deck, dance floor, bar, outdoor fireplace, vibrating waterbed pods and a grassy knoll with sculptured topiary
But I guess Andria and Christina thought he was a little weird so we shut him down. Basically he said "Can I give you my number?" and we just all looked at each other like "uh..." and he said "... or not ..." Honestly, I was just wondering how we would be able to eat dessert if we went upstairs with him. After he left with his friends, we started the discussion that has been had with TMV, which is basically "I don't understand how we are supposed to meet guys if we don't like the people who are bold enough to approach us and if we don't make the first move."
So yeah ... by the time we had our plates cleared, the waiter came back with the obligatory "do you want dessert?" but he said "I don't suppose you want dessert?" and we were like "uhhh actually yeah we do" and he gave us a SUPER HUGE WTF HOW MUCH CAN THESE GIRLS EAT face and Christina finally went "You must think we're weird! What do you think of us?" and he was like "uh honestly? I kind of thought you guys had a little pot?" And we burst out laughing because I had totally called that and said he probably just thought we were crazy high. So we explained that we just had stipends to blow and he was like OHHH and was really nice about it. So we got dessert and it was CRAZZZZYYYY good too.
11. Apple tart ($7 and by far my favorite because I have never had something like this before. Came with pistachio ice cream)
12. Flourless chocolate cake ($7 and it was decent but I realized I am not a huge fan of chocolate cakes)
13. Yogurt panna cotta ($7 and SO good because I had never had this. I have seen this at Trader Joe's all the time and it is not appetizing looking at all. Well, I'm sure it can't possibly be as good as this one)
So yeah! Desserts were actually not that expensive. But we finally rolled out of there at 2:00 (and if you count Daylight Savings Time, it was actually 3:00) with a $126 bill. It would have been more if he hadn't given us things for free. We had $30 more dollars after tip and we were considering spending the rest of our stipends on more drinks, but I always thought that you should have a social reason to drink, so it's not really worth it to drink and just go home and sleep. So we went back ... and woke up the next day at 8:00 for more interviews.
So yeah, Sunday was more of the same crazy good breakfast pastries, interviews, lunch at 333 in the hotel (with MORE delicious soup and iced tea) and then an hour nap by the pool. An hour more of interviews, then flight home. AND NOW I'm HOME! Should probably have studied instead of writing this giant blog that most people are just going to glance at. But yeah ... ten more days until spring break! Must lose weight. Of course.
Plans for the future: Andria, Christina and I will be going to the Edison on my 21st birthday along with I'm assuming any other RCSA friends I've made who live on Socal. It sounds effing ridiculous and crazy expensive but if I have a job I am going to do it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Busy busy week
I've been super busy this week. To the point that I haven't even had time to sit down and watch the Daily Show in the morning, which is part of my weekday morning schedule. I haven't even read the RECAPS for all the shows that I watch, which is kind of crazy. I feel like I already don't really know what is going on in the pop culture world. Did Chris Brown get arrested? Is Angelina Jolie pregnant again? Has Britney derailed before her tour? I DON'T know the answers!
This was part of my week:
In two days, I went to SF three times, which is like $20 worth of Bart tickets. But well worth it. I was a little disappointed by how few people were out at Civic Center today, but it was a weekday and I'm sure everyone was busy working. I'm just glad that I got off my lazy ass for a cause that I support, especially when it would have been so easy for me to just stay at home and have some relaxation time.
This has been the week of free food, and depending on tomorrow, might be the week of rejection for me. But I have the 3-day weekend in Socal with a $64 per day stipend for delicious foods (Roys and Cicada) I'm so excited. I just don't know if I will be eating in celebration or gorging in depression. The depression eating would require more chocolate.
This was part of my week:
In two days, I went to SF three times, which is like $20 worth of Bart tickets. But well worth it. I was a little disappointed by how few people were out at Civic Center today, but it was a weekday and I'm sure everyone was busy working. I'm just glad that I got off my lazy ass for a cause that I support, especially when it would have been so easy for me to just stay at home and have some relaxation time.This has been the week of free food, and depending on tomorrow, might be the week of rejection for me. But I have the 3-day weekend in Socal with a $64 per day stipend for delicious foods (Roys and Cicada) I'm so excited. I just don't know if I will be eating in celebration or gorging in depression. The depression eating would require more chocolate.
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