leafing through

I look forward to this Smithsonian event on the National Mall every year. They choose a few cultures/nations to feature and there’s food, music, crafts, demonstrations, and tons of people! Going on until July 8th.

This lady is rehearsing with them before their performance of a traditional Thai dance.

These are wooden boat carvers representing the Bahnar ethnic group of Vietnam. It was amazing how they were able to aim so well with their axes. Each whack struck the same place. I couldn’t help but think, OSHA would totally be all over them. Improper footwear, no goggles, hunching over… Dangerous stuff this be.

It’s going to be a dragon.

Met up with pals for lunch at Tandoori Nights. Our waiter was this Indian guy who spoke Taiwanese!! Ok, it’s really Hokkien and it’s because he’s from Singapore so he speaks it. I thought it was cool. He was an odd bird, telling us this story of how back in Singapore he used to hang around Chinese friends and his mom wanted him to marry a Chinese woman and he replied that he was was going to get a gun and pop a cap in her… ok he just said he was going to get a gun and shoot her. It was all in good fun I’m sure. Then he told us how he got in a lot of trouble in Singapore and would call up his biggest friend who’d ride his motorcycle to his house and scare everybody away. Oh the people you meet!

The food was good, though it did take a while to come out.

We ordered garlic naan, chicken tikka masala and khile phoot, which is a cauliflower potato dish. The naan tasted like regular naan, good but not really memorable. The other two dishes were both very good. The samosa appetizer was excellent too. There were chunks of potatoes and even raisins in it. Interesting.

Afterwards, went to Michael’s to get some photo glue. The photo book I got from Australia is supposed to hold 4×6 photos, not 5×7s. I developed 5×7s and now I need glue to adhere the photos. Only I don’t think the glue I got is very secure. May have to get double-sided tape. Discovering my artsy-craftsy side. Then, wandered over to Whole Foods and got a ton of olives and 365 (Whole Foods) brand recycled toilet paper. I bought but haven’t tried Trader Joe’s yet but my sister thought maybe it’d be wise to do a side-by-side comparison.

Got this from pal, Nancy.

The instructions were to “Hit Forward, Delete My Answers And Type In Your Answers. Enjoy!” I didn’t have to change many of her answers because they applied to me.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Just a couple minutes ago (read this really sad/scary article about the VA Tech shootings)

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
Yes, I even have two styles (messy and neat )

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes, of course! I would totally worship me!!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT?
Just did, sorta. But no, not frequently.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
Yah

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Prolly not. *bok bok bok*

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Several from Trader Joe’s

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Yup, if they have laces.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MENTALLY STRONG?
Like a rock.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Vanilla

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their face

15. RED OR PINK?
Pinkity pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Teeth grinding

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
Dunno, I talk to people I miss so I stop missing them? Well, maybe my grandparents.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Yes

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue denim and Red

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Gorilla Munch cereal and soymilk

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The clicking of my keyboard.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Pink, maybe green

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Food

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Sister

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Synchronized swimming

27. HAIR COLOR?
Black

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Sometimes

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Practically everything!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Material Girls

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
both

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Chocolate anything

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Special K?

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Tigs?

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Sadly, none. The Sudoku book doesn’t count does it?

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
DELL

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
I didn’t watch TV

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Rain

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles, I suppose

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Australia

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Getting lost.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Taiwan

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everybody’s!

We went to Il Mee, a Korean Buffet. It’s actually surprisingly good. I mean, they have several dishes that they make even better than some sit-down Korean restaurants. It surprises me everytime I discover a dish they do better because I don’t like buffets. They’re not supposed to be good. They’re usually cheap slop, except Indian buffets. This place is definitely an exception to my overgeneralization. I like Il Mee.

Towards the end of our gorgefest, we started people watching. I get a kick out of watching people eat with vigor. I used to sit in the school dining halls and watch people heartily eat; it’s like I’m enjoying the food with them.

So they make really good naeng myun (buckwheat noodles with cold tangy broth), bulgogi, duk, and man doo gook. Duk are these white finger-like rice cakes. They stir fry them with vegetables and a red spicy sauce. It’s not that spicy and very fun to eat because the rice cakes are chewy!

For dessert you have the buffet regulars like fruits and softserve, and you have the traditional sweet rice drink and sweet cinnamon drink with pine nuts. My local Korean place doesn’t even offer dessert as far as I’m aware. Not like I’ve ever had room for dessert when I eat Korean anyway.

I reached my tipping point.  After many many days and many scoops of ice cream for the past few weeks, I overdid it.  This afternoon, I was happily eating ice cream and watching TV.  I made a pot of coffee, got another scoop of ice cream, mixed it up and guzzled it down.  Now I feel sick.   Time for a new obsession.

Lately, after I get home from work, all I want is some coffee (caffeinated! – and I have no trouble sleeping later on either which is another weird thing) and ice cream.  I might or might not have anything else for dinner but I have to have some coffee and ice cream.  That’s what happens when you stash 4 cartons of ice cream in the freezer.  They ALL call you.  You may be able to resist one tiny calling but if all four are hollering, that’s it.  And this is coming from a non-ice-cream fan (most of the time).  I’ve found that I like dark roast coffees too; the bitterness balances out the sweetness of the ice cream.

Saw it, liked it a lot.  My favorite line was when the dad was talking to his daughter’s boyfriend (Michael): What you feel only matters to you. It’s what you do to the people you love. That’s what matters. That’s the only thing that counts.

It’s so true.  This was in response to Michael telling him he loved his daughter after having cheated on her.

There’s the main couple, Michael and Jenna with their issues; Jenna’s parent’s with their issues; and Michael’s friend’s with their issues.  It’s just one big mess of couples dealing with different issues. 

I’m sure it’s just a passing craze. I like crosswords too, but the nice thing about Sudoku is that it’s always solvable without needing general worldly knowledge type stuff. Completing a crossword is however, more satisfying than finishing a Sudoku (generally speaking – there was this one hard Sudoku that was very rewarding to finish). Making up words to fit the answers so that I may see a more filled out crossword is not beneath me. Anyway, I was doing this puzzle yesterday and I don’t think it’s solvable. Where am I supposed to put the 4 in the middle column? Did I miss something??

Numbers in green were provided. I filled in the three numbers in black.

The pork and potato soup and soon du bu were still boiling when they came out.

The panchan and hae mul pajun.  Mmmm.  I invariably gorge myself silly whenever I have Korean.  It’s the panchan.

But I’m catching myself using some of them because they’re brainwashing me!!!

• Strategic
• Value-added
• Proactive
• Best & brightest
• Think outside the box
• Collaborative
• Effective (used in certain ways)
• Executive
• Forward-thinking
• Crucial
• Programmatic
• Optimize
• Complex
• Critical

I’m sure I will add more to this list.