At last, daylight saving (whatever that means)! Sunshine!  

Yesterday, seeing the sun still out past 7PM was great. I was slumping big time in Feb. I’d walk around the house. Open my book. Nope. Don’t wanna read that. Sit at the piano bench. Nope. Don’t feel like playing. Look at the yarn. Nope. Don’t wanna knit either. NOTHING. I wanted to do absolutely nada.  Except shop for shoes. :p 

It’s hard to imagine how a tiny time change can change my mood so much. I can’t describe it. I’m just sproingier. That’s not a word. I feel it on the inside. My brain missed you Sun. My brain missed you a lot.

It’s Chinese. Not sure the exact province (Hunan maybe?), but it’s no-joke spicy. My dad and I were melting with all the heat. Tearing up, runny noses, sweat beading on the forehead, face turning red. We were a sight to behold. So a family walks in, sits, and when the waitress walks over to them to ask if they want some water, my dad yells “yes!” I would’ve chimed in but my lips were numb. Oh but the food was really good. I think we’re going to give ourselves a break before going back though. It was powerful. Also, there was a little kid with the family that sat down. We looked at the kid and then at each other, puzzling over what he could possibly eat in that place. Everything except for the rice and water are spicy. If there are no stars next to the dish, it’s spicy. If there is one star, smoke will come out of your ears. If there are two stars, you will singe your hair and burn your taste buds to oblivion. Good stuff.

There are already blogs dedicated to our president’s smart remarks but can’t help myself. I believe it was earlier this week he said, “I don’t think we’re headed to recession, but no question we’re in a slowdown.” ha! He’s such a jokester.

The first time I heard about this economic stimulus package, I was all for it. Money for me. Better me than the government who’s just going to waste it on more stupid wooden furniture to match the decor or some stupid thing like that. Well I changed my mind. It’s not going to do a darn thing for the economy and I bet the act of writing the law, getting it through Congress, and having the U.S. Treasury cut checks to all of us probably burned through more money than we’re getting back (unfounded guess, totally exaggerated - I hope). On top of that, is it even going to jolt the economy? I don’t see how $600/person is going to do much of anything. It’s a blip. So here’s what will probably happen. We won’t see our shopping allowance from Uncle Sam until sometime this summer. By then, gas prices are going to reach $4/gal which will only dampen shopping even more. Who wants to go shop when a trip to the mall costs $8 worth of gas? Forget it. Cute shoes or not. So I don’t know about you, but I think I’m just going to pay my bills with it or tag that for fuel. Maybe they should’ve just called it the gas subsidy.

I picked this recipe because it was easy, everything on the ingredients list was readily available in the kitchen, and most importantly, I needed something sweet to go with my coffee. Have been craving some sort of pastry for a week. They take no time to make and taste so good. Orange zest is amazing! I’d definitely try it again. Maybe a different flavor next time though. Also, mine didn’t come out quite right because I didn’t make the loaf small enough for the initial bake. I forgot that it expands and rises because there is baking soda in there. So they came out a bit on the large side. Also, don’t be impatient like me and try to saw the bars until the loaf cools down and hardens a bit. I cut mine when it was still warm so a few pieces crumbled at the ends (I hid those in my belly). Even if they don’t look right, they sure are tasty.

When I first signed up to be a uh… public servant, I had the intention of, at the bare minimum, staying for three years.  The thought of it (to my ADD-addled mind) was daunting - three whole years!  Then, as I went from one sketchy place to another, it seemed like the longer I was here, the further away that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be.  Of course, time passes so quickly in hindsight and now that I’ve made it, all of my memories have somehow turned a tinge of rosy pink.  Here’s how distorted my memories are: Abusive Drunk Boss is now the funniest experience for me during these past three years.  So much so, I’ve caught myself wanting to go back and work there!  I won’t.  But it’s crossed my mind.   

I’ve learned so much, made some friends, had time to keep up with friends, and had time for myself.  This was the right decision (thanks MeanFace! - aka my career counselor).  Today marks the end of the third year and I plan on staying (for now).  But it feels good to be a free woman.          

Takeshi Kaneshiro.  Jet Li.  Andy Lau. 

This movie is gory.  I didn’t like it.  I don’t like blood and gore.  It’s a Chinese period film - late Ching dynasty, a transitional time, with a  mix of guns and arrows.  These three characters are blood brothers and for survival (food), they join the army.  They are rockstars at leading their army and move up quickly.  Basically, you’re just watching one bloody battle after another.  I was a complete pain in the butt to watch with.  I had the DVD remote control and fast forwarded all the really violent scenes, which is pretty much the entire movie.  Looking away does nothing for your ears.  You hear all the squishing noises still.  Remember in the game Dune2, when you rolled your tank over the infantry, they’d let out a bloodcurdling scream and then there was a squish and then a puddle of blood?  It’s gory like that.  Screaming, squishing, and lot’s of blood.  I need therapy after watching that.  Writing about it is sort of therapeutic I suppose.  Thanks Internet, for letting me get this off my chest.  I’m going to go lie down and sing happy songs to myself now.      

Or resort to origami paper towel filters. Though I probably took it just a leeeettle too far with this.

Let’s see, 1,200 filters; let’s assume I make a pot everyday, which, believe it or not, I don’t… these will last me over three years. Yay!