The Hunger Games

Until last week, I did not know why people were talking so much about The Hunger Games--now I know.  This happened with the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series, just to name a few. And for some reason, I wanted to join the crowd this time. I was never curious about Edward and Jacob; I still am not. But I was curious about Katniss, Gale and Peeta. Who is this Peeta that everyone is talking about? Honestly, I just wanted to understand all the Peeta memes.  There were SO many out there!

I read it in about 5 different sittings. I usually cannot read a lot in one sitting, but this book was hard to stop in the middle. The story was easy to follow but there was enough action and drama that kept me interested. The fact that it was told in present tense (except for some parts where Katniss reflected on the past) made the reading go fast as well.  Although there were times when I wished for more detail, this story was a good read as is probably because it captured how quickly the events were happening in the Hunger Games.

The setting is very interesting, and I found Katniss likable. An honest narrator and a confident character. She doesn't complain about participating in the game or her helpless situation. If I could, I would've sponsored her.

I purposefully waited until I finished the book to watch the movie. I'm glad I did. It is almost impossible for movies to capture all details presented in the book unless they are hours and hours long. "The Hunger Games (2012)" was not an exception. The movie couldn't develop the characters as much as the book did. For me, the movie was just a good visual after reading the book.  (Also, on a different but related note, I did not find Peeta or Gale in the movie as attractive as people have told me. Maybe I was too focused on the story and amazed by how brave Katniss can be?)

There are 2 more books to read in the series.  As soon as I was done with the first book, I got on the public library website to find the second book, Catching Fire. 87 people before me who are waiting for their turn to read the book. What a demand. I'll have to find a different way to read Catching Fire to avoid waiting months before getting to it. I'm looking forward to the next reading!

Happy Moments in Life

Falling in Love.    

Laughing so hard my face hurts.










A hot shower.

Getting mail.

Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.

Hearing my favorite song on the radio.

Lying in bed listening to the rain.

Waking up and realizing I still have a few more hours of sleep.

Chocolate milkshake.
Chocolate.

A long distance phone call.

A bubble bath.

Sweet dreams.

Giggling.

A good conversation.

The beach.

Laughing at myself.

Running through sprinklers.

Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.

Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.

Friends. Laughing at an inside joke.

Making new friends.

Spending time with old friends.

Song lyrics printed inside a new CD so I can sing along without feeling stupid.

Getting butterflies in my stomach every time I see that one person.

Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

Holding hands with someone you care about.

Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

Discovering that love is unconditional and stronger than time.

Hugging the person you love.

Watching someone's face as they open much-desired present from me.

Watching the sunrise.

Getting out of bed every morning and being thankful for another beautiful day.

Captain

"Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen. This is an American flight ### service to Columbus. I am Captain blah blah...."

This is the message that we hear from the captain as we wait for the airplane to depart.  I heard it again, as usual, on my flights from LA to Columbus as I was flying back from my spring break. I am very used to this announcement because I'm used to flying, but today, this familiar message from the captain didn't just pass through my ears. A new thought came into my head: Why haven't I ever heard from a female captain?

Every flight I've been on, the captain has been a man. I've seen plenty of female and a good number of male flight attendants. But never a female voice make the captain's announcement.

Then I started to ask myself some questions: Is this job not preferred by females? Is it because this job requires a lot of time away from home and women don't want to leave home, away from their family and kids? But there are many female flight attendants in the same position who probably leave home for days at a time. Why?

It might have a very simple answer to it, and I might have been over thinking it.  But I spent the whole time the captain was making this announcement thinking about it--why aren't there any female captains? A very random thought, but also pretty interesting to think about...

Like Crazy (2011)

I can't remember how exactly I found this movie, but saw it for the first time during this Spring break. I fell in love with it instantly! 

I've never been in a long distance relationship like Anna and Jacob have in the movie. But I do understand their love for each other. Most movies need dialogue in order for the audience to understand the story line. But in "Like Crazy," the conversations don't necessarily need to be said because the movie is more about emotions and feelings rather than understanding of the exposition-complication-climax-resolution sequence. There are many parts in the movie when Anna and Jacob don't talk but still have a form of conversation through their feelings by looking at each other or holding each other. These feelings and emotions almost can't be shared through words.

Also, this movie got me thinking about change over time. Things don't stay the same--especially human relationships, love. As time passes, as two people interact more and experience things together, things change. We call that "building a relationship."  Day after another, people interact with each other and build more to their existing relationship, which changes over time.  "Like Crazy" shows how that change might occur, what it might look like, and what it brings to people after a period of time. It tells an honest story of two people and their relationship over time, and that nothing stays forever.

"I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it, but I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn't realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was a rather luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me."

Changes by Seu Jorge

Had this on repeat while working in my office after kids left. It was one of the best ways to leave work after a long day.

Rainy Day

Sometimes, on a rainy day like today, I picture this to get through the day.

The fitful alternations of the rain,

When the chill wind, languid as with pain

Of its own heavy moisture, here and there

Drives through the gray and beamless atmosphere.

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

How To Get Out of a Funk

1. Dress up. Not in the Saturday-night-going-out outfit, 

but something that requires a little more attention and effort to wear.

2. Karaoke in my car on the way to the mall.

Today's selection included Biebster's "Baby", 

Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and 

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough".

3. Get an iced drink from Starbucks. 

My top 2 choices: tall iced mocha, no whip or grande iced black tea. Classic.

4. Buy workout clothes.

5. Day dream.

Picture myself looking fierce and sharp in the new workout clothes for my new obsession, 

Mike Nicholson's Hiphop class!

6. Buy work clothes.

7. Day dream, part II.

Picture myself looking fashionable and charismatic in the new work clothes 

like Miranda Priestly from "Devil Wears Prada."

At the end of it, I don't even remember that I was in a funk!

Woman's Logic

I bursted out laughing when I saw this because I knew I was guilty of it...

Chocolate Orange Cake

Following the 2 successful attempts at Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, I've decided to try a cake!

I searched and searched until I found something that seemed simple enough for me to make and that I would actually want to eat. I found a perfect match for me--Chocolate Orange Cake! 

The recipe I found was very simple to follow and didn't have any foreign ingredients.  

Duration: 1.5 hours

Level: (for me?) Intermediate

1. I mixed 4 eggs, 1 cup of orange juice (pulp free), 1 cup of oil, and 2 cups of sugar. (The recipe didn't specify brown or white, so I just used brown sugar.) Then combined that with 3 cups of flour, 2 tsp of baking powder, and a tiny bit of salt. 

2. I divided the batter into 2, and poured melted dark chocolate into one. 

It started looking very pretty from here!

3. Then I poured the batter mixed with chocolate into the baking pan, and added the batter without chocolate on top. 

4. Then mixed the two batters a little bit to create a cool swirl. Well, it didn't turn out as cool as I wanted it to, but considering that it's my first cake, I was happy with it.

5. Baked at a 350F degree oven for 40 minutes, and voila!

My first cake, my first Chocolate Orange Cake is done!

Now, I did create something that looks like a cake, so I gave myself kudos on that. But when I took a bite, it tasted like it was missing something... There was some chocolate and some orange, but I could've used more chocolate and orange. And I was hoping for a cooler swirl effect! 

I can criticize my product forever if I can go on, but I won't. I will give myself two thumbs up for successfully baking a cake--it looks like one and it holds like one! 

I was hoping to bring this into work tomorrow to share with my co-workers. I might have to reconsider... OR maybe I should bring it in so those more experienced bakers can tell me how to improve my cake! We shall see.

First day of real real snow!

It's "wrap myself in a blanket with hot-chocolate" kind of night!

Jan. 10, 2012

On my way to work on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, I found myself driving towards this perfectly round Moon.  It was getting ready to hide itself for the day, right near the horizon.

It looked like a faded white stamp of a circle. Yet, there was something romantic about it. Only seen in the middle of winter. 

This is one of many reasons why winter is my favorite season.

Move, Learn and Eat

I ran into one of these videos a few months ago, and I've run into it again.  This time, there's not just one; there are THREE, each titled: MOVE, LEARN, and EAT. 

Once again, I'm inspired to be adventurous and explore the big, wide world!

MOVE

LEARN

EAT

Sauteed Shrimp with Zucchini

As a part of my New Year's Resolutions, I'm going to start recording/documenting my cooking and baking life!  My first creation of the year is...

Sauteed Shrimp with Zucchini

Where did the inspiration come from? Well, I had those ingredients in my fridge...
My theory of cooking is that you can create anything with ingredients you have.  Yes, sometimes you do need to go out and buy certain ingredients for a more planned dish.  You would also need a specific list of ingredients for a nutritionally balanced meal. But for a simple dinner on a Sunday night? Using whatever I had in my fridge worked for me.

Ingredients: shrimp, zucchini, celery, olive oil, black pepper, and minced garlic
Cooking time: About 30 minutes

First, I heated up the pan with olive oil and minced garlic. Then added shrimp. I divided each shrimp into two, the long way. When cooked, these long pieces (as opposed to chopping the body into chunky parts) each looked like a shrimp!

I added zucchini and celery.  I added celery--well, just as you might have imagined--because I had some in my fridge. It turned out that the celery added a little bit of a sweeter taste to my dish! At this point, I also added some black pepper to control the smell of shrimp a bit. I love seafood, but sometimes, they need to be toned down a bit.

While this was cooking, I started cooking quinoa.  (*Next time, I would start with quinoa since it takes a bit to cook it. If I had started with quinoa and watched it while cooking shrimp and zucchini, both would've been done around the same time.)

I gently put the shrimp and zucchini on a bed of quinoa. (I have been wanting to use this fancy restaurant language. I think it fits this dish!)

Voilà! Sauteed Shrimp with Zucchini is finished!

Epilogue
I found this one by WholeFoods that is almost the same as mine. They added tomatoes and used more herbs and seasoning. I'll try using those herbs next time.

New Year's Resolution

Eat healthy food. Get fit. Get a better job. Save money. Take a trip. Be happy.

Typical new year's resolutions. These were some popular ones I found when I googled "new year's resolution."

Oh, No.
These are too common and too general!

I've written my own (during my train ride from DC to NY on Dec. 30, 2011), a set that I actually felt pretty confident that I would be able to accomplish in 2012.  Originally, I came up with 15. Yes, I was feeling a little too confident.  But I've reduced the list a little bit, and I made sure that my goals are more specific than "be happy." The most important part about my resolutions--the part that I am very happy with--is that each of my goals has a reason it made on the list.  These resolutions were not included just to have a solid-looking list (A list of 5 does look better than a list of 2).  They were not included so I can say that I have new year's resolutions. I've carefully thought about my resolutions and I feel that I can accomplish these by pushing myself throughout the year.

So here it is. My New Year's Resolution for 2012.

1. Keep a journal

There are moments that I want to remember.  At those moments, I tell myself that I'll remember, but how many of those do I remember from 2011? Can't even begin to think about them.  So the best way to guarantee that I'll remember those small moments is to keep a journal and write in it.  I did it as a kid. My second through sixth grade teachers made me do it.  Now as an adult, I will write on my own, for my own, because I want to write in my journal.

2. 5k

I started working out when I moved to Columbus in September.  I've slacked a little bit with the holidays and my nye trip.  But it' time to workout/run with a specific goal, and I've decided on a 5k!  I used to run for my school when I was little. Well, the runner me is back in 2012.

3. Read 50 books

One book/wk seems like a good goal.  I won't restrict myself further by specifying which 50 books I'm going to read. There are many good lists out there that I can choose, but I want this list of 50 to be based on my interests. *Children's picture books don't count. Some children's chapter books are ok.

4. Keep up with current events

Probably by reading the newspaper/articles or magazines.  This will already be hard for me (as it has been for the past several years) so I'll gently remind myself daily without saying "read the news every day."

5. Study a (new) language

Spanish is ok. It'll be smart of me to choose Spanish since I have 4 years under my belt.  This is another one of those goals that I've been keeping on my list, but haven't been able to accomplish. Well, it's on the list again, and this time, it's happening. For real.

6. Pick up a new hobby

It doesn't matter what it is.  I want to try something new.  I'm assuming it'll be related to food--something like food photography or finding/keeping/trying new recipes.  Since I enjoy eating, and cooking has become a new, fun part of my daily life, this would be an easy way for me to enjoy a part of my day with a little more focus and a purpose!


There it is, my core list.  I have more, as I always have too many things I want to do. However, I don't want to overwhelm myself with a full list of 15.  This will push me forward and I will still have to challenge myself.

(One resolution I've cut already: cut sarcasm/silliness.  I asked for some of my friends' opinions. They think my personality will be gone if I cut silliness.  My intention was to be a little more adult-like and mature. But I'm thinking that I can be mature in different ways. I can be silly and be mature. Right? We'll see how this goes this year. I'll reconsider this for future years to come.)

Bring it on 2012!

Train Travel

1:04pm. December 30, 2011
Union Station, Washington DC - Penn Station, New York City.

This was my first train trip in the US. I didn't expect too much of it because I have travelled on trains in Korea.

Clearly, I had forgotten how fun that is.

As my Amtrak began rolling its tracks, I saw bare trees of the winter, and clear and still rivers. Never-ending wires and wooden wire posts passed my sight like a metronome keeps its steady beat. People on my train were either occupied with a powerpoint presentation for their next meeting, listening to their favorite tunes, or reading on their Kindle or Nook.

I was looking out the window with my ipod on listening to Metheny Mehldau. Then I realized that this trip, this moment couldn't be wasted with just a song and a brief thought, "hmm I like this trip!" This moment needed a more proper documentation.
Hence, this blog entry, a photo and a NYTimes article.

The author had a longer train trip, from Florida to Boston.  My 3-hour train ride is nothing compared to his 26-hour long trip, but I still share his impression of traveling on a train.

"From a single trip on a long-haul train, I don’t know whether I’d call myself passionate, but I was certainly a happy customer, given that I was in no rush."

I was certainly a happy customer, a happy train traveler! If and when I get a chance, I would like to travel coast to coast on a train!

Home

This winter break (lucky me to still get to call this "winter break"!), I'm spending my Christmas in Columbus.  When I decided not to go home, which happened about 2 months ago, I didn't think too much of it. I thought I could handle it--no problemo.  I actually thought it would be great to have a white Christmas and feel the holiday spirit to the max!  Well, things didn't go as I planned. As I sit in my apartment and look out the window, I see rain falling, not snow!

A few days ago, I heard on the radio that there is 23% chance of Columbus getting 1 inch of snow, and 0% chance of 5 inches of snow.  Since then, I've been feeling low. I checked flights last minute to see if I can go home.  I clicked the refresh button on weather.com several times hoping to see the chance of snow magically increase.  But nope, I had to settle with rain and no family for this winter break--at least for the first part.

Hence, I'm pretending to be at home in California. Good thing that I'm pretty good at imagining things!
First stop, San Francisco!

And my final destination, Southern California/Home!

Merry Sunny Christmas!