Wednesday, December 22, 2010

See D Sew

After seeing some amazing dress get made by Wei-Ling and AJ for Dicken's Fair this year, I have decided I am going to try (again) to Learn How To Sew.  It's been an off and on interest for years but I've never really moved past doing a couple of seams and (mostly) straight lines.  During high school my sister sewed quite frequently, and my mom made all our baby clothes.  (Of course, my grandmother apparently made ALL her kids' clothes but I'm going to safely say that sort of thing is for another generation!)

The off and on of learning or sewing at all is largely due to my extreme laziness.  I like making things, but few projects go to completion.  Still, I figure since I'm around the gurus of sewing, it's time for me to learn - and while a Hello Kitty sewing machine may give its last gasp towards the making of a Victorian Era dress (seriously, Wei-Ling, HOW did you go from not sewing to doing that with no in betweens?), I'm confident the little Hello  Kitty Machine that Could is going to be enough to get me through the basics of sewing, or else I guess I can always borrow my mom's machine. :)  Um, and I got that sewing machine as a present last year, so I'd better start putting it to really good use!

So, Project One - Buttons:
McCall's M6035, EASY Pattern


As a side note - patterns are EXPENSIVE!  At least at Joann's Fabrics, they are, because they don't accept coupons for patterns.  That is when Doris turned into ANGRY DORIS who went deal-shopping at Hancock Fabrics who are having a sale now on patterns.  Score!

UPDATE (12/23/10):
Not just buttons which I haven't even gotten to.  Sleeves! Collar! Convinced the instructions missed telling  me something! >_<

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tea Time

Back to blogging! My coworker's been drinking a lot of tea lately and got me back into it. Mostly because I saw her with this beau-ti-ful tea strainer/cup thing that's so clever - double walled, glass thermos with a strainer to keep those pesky leaves from being drunk! Because of course the best tea always comes in loose leaf tea form. :) I love drinking containers, glasses, bottles, and when I get a new one which is more often than I really should, I do find I drink a lot more liquids. Which is good, right? Even if they happen to be caffeinated drinks.
New tea container

Ok, seriously tho, I really just like this because it reminds me of the power cell from Ewoks 2 - The Battle for Endor.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Little Squash of Horror








Hey guys, this almost really happened to me!  For reals!

Add caption


Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Anti-Social Biker



Of course it didn't really happen, like that. :)

I don't have a pink helmet.



Sunday, July 25, 2010

Cheers!

Cheers to Dave and Shannon for finish their first marathon! Watching you guys run has been super inspiring for me, and woah, you guys are speedy mcspeedersons....excellent finish times! Very happy for you guys :D

Friday, July 23, 2010

Amok Office


Amok Office, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.

This happens so often the office it's about time we videotaped it and set it to the music that we hum while fighting. Yeah...ok we're nerds.

Microblogging - Let's go! (Just in case I time travel)

Now this blog will include entries from Facebook - I share so much on there I ought to document that in some way, for later self-reference. Sometimes I think about things like, wouldn't it be useful to know how to distill penicillin from moldy bread in case I am ever flung backwards in time to pre-antobiotic days, or crash on a deserted island (with bread.)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Thoughts on 30


Oh dear, was I supposed to have gotten wiser by today? 

Wisdom has never been my department, but I do have some thoughts that seem appropriate for the day.  Turning 30 never seemed like a big deal to me, nor did getting older.  This probably stems from a childhood where I was allowed a birthday party only once every five hears until my sweet 16.  And in that case, we skipped the 15 birthday.  So to me, every birthday is a chance to throw a party! 

Oh right, back to wisdom.  If I’m going to be honest, I’m developmentally about 5 years behind my true age – and I already did my freaking out about What I’ve Accomplished Compared to Other People earlier in my twenties…combine that with youngest child syndrome so that leaves me slightly confused about what things I ought to have learned by now.  I realize the age I feel physically will start creeping up on my in the forms of aches, wrinkles, and cellulite (hey that hit me in my early 20’s so I’ve had a lot of time to get used to it) despite my “youthful spirit” so…I’ve come to the conclusion at the moment that 30 is a useful road marker and that’s about it.  At the moment I’m not in a terribly retrospective mood to worry about what I haven’t yet done in life, but looking forward instead to all the things I’m going to do after 30!

Things I have learned in the past 30 years perhaps worth mentioning:
  1. This is the one really serious thing on the list that the universe has decided to point out (see previous blog entry).  People you love will leave you whether by choice or because death or circumstances.  As you get older, it’s just going to happen more.  However, it does say something that you did get the chance to love someone before at all.  And the more people you get to say you love, the better.  One day you’ll leave them too.
  1. Ok. Enough heavy stuff.  I learned sometime in these past 30 how to put on makeup that Makes Me Feel Pretty!  Huzzah.  It really only took like 28-29 years to get, and my teenage self really didn’t think it was ever going to happen, but I learned how to put on makeup!  And, in a coup d’etat, recently, I did someone ELSE’S makeup and hair.  Double huzzahs!
  1. I have too many faults to count.  But it’s OK – now I realize there’s some I can try to fix and others, it’s smarter just to work WITH them and not beat myself up against the wall for things that will never change. 
  1. There are plenty of things I’m pretty decent at.  I can bake a mean pie, good for nomming.  I take pictures I like to look at.  And I organize great Christmas parties with intimidating large amounts of food.
  1. Now that I’m out of my twenties, I have more excuse to feel less obligated to do things I don’t really want to do.  It’s ok, I’m older and therefore more crotchedy!  I can say no with less guilt.  

Things That Seem Great to do Between the Ages of 30 and 31 list:

  1. Marathon, Triathlon, Century ride between July 13, 2010 and July 13, 2011.  Totally doable.
  2. Publish something.  Blogs don’t count, but self-published comic strips do.  I’ve always wanted to be a published author!
  3. Save up money for my own place!  As many of you know I did move back in with my parents; I make a pretty modest salary so this is the fastest way to do it.  Aiming to be ready to look towards the end of 2011, although I imagine I will take my time about it.

Random, closing thoughts.

1. As I get older, the “Dessert First” quotient goes up, big plus!  (Cuz I care less. Not at the point where I don’t care, but one day I totally won’t.

2. I seem to be in better shape the older I get.  Bionic awesomeness surely awaits me by the time I’m 90. 

3.  I am nothing without my friends: oyster binge of 2010; The Infamous Mud Bath; dancing like a tribal cow while hurling Mongolian bowls; nerding out at the Star Trek exhibit, watching the stars from a rooftop in Thailand, pounding out the endless miles in summer heat, daily IM conversations (you know who you are!), diving face first into pie and hambones, astounding waiters at Mongolian hot pot restaurants at how DAMN MUCH WE CAN EAT, fellow shaving cream vandals, virtual coffee dates, Amok Time fight scene re-enactments, online shopping enablers, beach buddies, hike buddies, trek buddies, ride buddies, FOOD BUDDIES, museum buddies, piezookie buddies, a special vine dancing buddy…

Thank you. :)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

July 7, 2010, sometime past midnight

This is the entry I didn't want to write.

My cousin is dying.  And my cat is dying.

It hasn't been such a good year for me in that I've spent a lot of it depressed and angry at things out of my control.  Which, I know perfectly well is pointless because well, out of my control.  It was out of anyone's control that fifty one years ago my cousin was born with a bad heart; that two months ago he sat down at home to do some work and his daughter found him cold in his chair.  I'm still angry.

One month ago I came home from a wedding to find my cat panting and weak.  I rushed him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a "highly fatal" condition where his chest cavity will fill with fluid.  A leaky valve, the vet says, and they usually never find a cause.  So maybe 3 years and 6 months ago, my cat was born with a bad valve.  They drained the fluid but the vet said it stressed him out so badly they thought he could die right then.  The vet said, the fluid will come back.

With my cousin we had hope at first he'd come out of his coma.  We'll never know how much time his brain went without blood, only that it was too much.  After days and weeks passed the doctors said, no.  He's not coming back, ever.  Brain dead.  So  his wife decided to wait until his fifty-first birthday passed and then to take him off the life support.  Do not resuscitate him if his heart goes again.   They took out his feeding tube; he has water, and a morphine drip to keep him as comfortable as possible 

It's not like the movies where the little line goes flat and you hear the beep - at least not for him.  It's been three fucking weeks.  I think every day is going to be it.

After the first few days after the vet I thought my cat was going to die right there.  They drained the fluid and he felt better for a little while, but it's coming back.  I'm watching him decline slowly knowing that soon I'm going to be the one who decides for him when it is time to say goodbye and I'm having nightmares about it. 

Ok. Um. I do take comfort in the fact that  if he didn't have time to get out of his chair, hands still on keyboard and mouse, my cousin probably didn't have time for fear or to feel it coming.  The family has had two months to get themselves ready to say goodbye.  And I keep telling myself even if I only have six months with my cat, that's six months of love I was able to give him he wouldn't have had otherwise.  Maybe fate knew he was going to have a short life so that's why he was given to me, to make him happy at the end?  (I don't really believe in fate or higher powers generally, but at the moment I'm believing in bad universe mojo.)  \

Waiting for something bad to happen is much worse than having it happen.   







Thursday, June 17, 2010

Santoka Ramen, Shio flavor


Santoka Ramen, Shio flavor, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
ramen haiku:

Santoka Ramen
first of my noodle reviews
good but not the best

So the Great Ramen Adventure of Summer 2010 begins. There's a ton of fabulous ramen eateries in the area and in my circle of noodle devouring friends there's lots of debates of which one is the best. Who has the best noodles? The best broth? Who has the best meat?

Of course there's personal preference involved; do you like a clean ramen, a fatty ramen, spicy? So this is just going to be a review of the one that is the best to ME. Luckily (or not?), I've been accused of being a ramen addict after suggesting it for every outing in a two week period. I'd like to point out that we only went for ramen, like, once in those two weeks, proving I only kept suggesting it because we didn't go!!!! Also, this isn't a superpower (or is it?) but I can eat hot noodle soup in any kind of weather. That's what A/C inside restaurants is for.

Getting down to business, then. I'm told that Santoka is a chain that is very popular in Japan, so popular that people will wait in redonkulously long lines for it. Luckily for ME, there's one in Mitsuwa, my local big Japanese supermarket and I didn't have to wait in line at all aside from my friends who were ordering ahead of me.

My favorite ramen is the Tonkatsu broth; thick, fatty, pork goodness. Hey, it's the most green! You use all the yummy bones and gelatin and fat to make the savory and delicious broth. Santoka doesn't offer a standard Tonkatsu flavor, but their Shio broth (normally a clear, salf broth) was pretty much the same thing. Rejoicing and and slurping commenced as this pretty bowl landed in front of me - high marks for presentation. (bowl presentation only. Santoka is in a very food court-type of location, so no atmosphere, disposable utensils, etc.)

I liked the broth - savory and rich without being salty. In fact, there was a slight sweetness to it that a fellow ramen-slurper pointed out. It might not be for everyone but this glutton didn't mind. However, the noodles were a bit mushy, perhaps slightly overcooked? Topping were acceptable, sadly they were out of the special fatty pork but the meat was of good quality. (I could have eaten more meat.) Portions are somewhat smaller than at other ramen joints.

Overall: 3.5 burps out of 5
I'd eat there again, but not my favorite joint.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

ISO - Spa Addicts Anonymous


lisadaiye-17, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
I have decided that spas are one of the greatest inventions of mankind, right in front of USB ports and slightly behind the chocolate chip cookie. If I ever had so much money I didn't know what to do with it, I'd hire a personal masseuse every week and outfit my palatial bathroom with a full hot soaking hot tub complete with a servant to throw rose petals in it for me. It's not just the pure, delicious luxury of a spa, though. It's the joy of sharing such an experience with your girlfriends (one day I'll convince my guy friends to give it a try. They'll pretend not to like it, but I know they would secretly enjoy the experience.)

I have a bit of a massage and spa addict support group with my friends, but we didn't get the support group part quite right. We really just encourage each other to go. Our wallets are pretty much only saved by the fact that we're all so busy it's hard to schedule a time for us all to go together.

This last weekend we inducted a new member - Lisa! The bride-to-be got her first massage EVER and was suitably glowing and ridiculously relaxed. The rest of us just did a little mani/pedi pampering to brighten up for spring. Afterwards, Lisa finally understood why we all like massages so much and said we must go again.

Yes we will, Lisa. Yes we will. :)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Palo Alto Caltrain Station


Palo Alto Caltrain Station, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
I think it is interesting to note that on my first day riding Caltrain, I witnessed a fatality on the tracks. Like, the clean up crew and CSI type people and a leg..I think...and organs...and things. It's true what they say about a car wreck, you just can't look away no matter how grossed out you may be! And since this happens about once a month, the rest of May should be smooth sailing, right?

That aside, I'm enjoying the new commute method two weeks into it. I calculated that it's saving me 190 miles of driving a week! Holy crap, that is a lot of miles.

Third note, this photo combines my love of two things - train station interiors and fun iPhone photography apps. choo choo!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Groom and Clean


Groom and Clean, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
Why do my dad's toiletries and the wallpaper around the house amuse me so?! There's enough to do a bunch of still lifes, I'm sure. Somehow the combination of these two things looks sometimes HILARIOUS and sometimes ominous to me. Love it!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Bad Mojo, redux

Hey folks.  Has it already been 4 months since I wrote that I felt there was some bad mojo floating around?


I noticed there's bad things that happen to me the longer I'm stressed out about something.  Very short term intense stress leads me to power through and solve problems.  Short term intense stress leads to some panicked feelings.  Longer term (a month?) of stress leads me to become a basket case - like forgetting things, knocking glasses of water over onto my computer.  Feeling like every bad thing is happening either because I'm distracted, or bad things feel worse when I'm less equipped to handle them.

You can imagine what four months of high and low level stress from multiple sources is doing to me, and the result negative affects only stress me out more.  Can we say bad cycle?  I feel like every time I make some progress up these last few months, something comes and knocks me down again.  Try to fix one thing and something else breaks.

It is very hard to not start to expect these bad things to start happening to you.  To not attribute everything little thing into a string of never ending badness.  Right now, this moment, I can't sleep and I feel like I'm trying to hold myself and life all together but it's not quite working.  I ask myself, are things really so bad?  Really?  Things could be a lot worse, right?

Tell you what, though.  I'm up at 3 whatever o clock and I feel bad.







Monday, March 22, 2010

Bubbling Kimchi


Bubbling Kimchi, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
Oh kimchi, why do I love you so? I'm a total spice wimp so I can only eat the milder forms, and yet I'll eat so much that my lips will feel burned the next day.

Plus, I can't get over the awesomeness of having THIS happen every time I open up a fresh jar. Nothing says AWESOME like some insane bubbling followed by the spicy fermented vegetable goodness. I'm happily stinking up the office with some now...although, my co-worker's eyes just started watering and he just had to leave. Eeeeep...sorry!! O_o I'm THAT annoying coworker.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Farmville!


chard , originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
When I moved into my current apartment I was thrilled to discover there was a patio included in our living space. It's actually pretty sizable, although mostly concrete. There's a dirt edging the concrete and I instantly thought about planting a garden! I'd gotten so far as to put in flower bulbs through most of the before I realized how much fun it would be to start a vegetable garden!

Of course once I had this idea I'd had these dreams of growing enough to just have mounds of fresh leafy greens at my disposal. I'd have beets and radishes spilling out of my vegetable crisper and I'd give them away to friends and family who would be duly impressed.

Turns out growing things from seed during an El Nino year, with limited sunlight at all and poor light in the yard doesn't yield a lot in the way of beets and carrots and radishes, However, I've been having some decent luck with lettuce and chard (not from seed) in a planter box. This picture is my first chard harvest. Weeks of growing and some monetary investment went into producing these leaves that were enough for....one side dish to serve...one. ME! Ha! Not exactly the bonanza of fresh produce I was hoping for!

I just read a great article (thanks Dave!) about a man in Brooklyn running an experiment to see if he could live off his backyard for a month. And he did! Sort of.. .enough for one meal a day for 3 weeks, after spending $11,000 -
http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/37273/

I'll admit even after reading this I still have dreams of having enough tomatoes to make jars of sauce, or enough peppers or squash to preserve for the winter. After all I'm not trying to LIVE off a home garden, and at least I feel better knowing that my parents' garden ALREADY produces enough fruit to make tons of jam. But I'm jazzed to keep on with my experiments in vegetable gardening in a bigger, sunnier space. I think the key will be to aim for plants with higher yields.

Wish me luck!

Monday, March 8, 2010

2010 Big Eat SF #47 - La Mar


La Mar, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
I missed out on last year's Big Eat list of 100 things to eat in SF for the year (ok, the list is about things to eat before you die. For the year sounds better.) When Shannon's sis came to town while she was away for work, it was the perfect time to take her out and try one of the items on the list.

La Mar is a Peruvian restaurant on the Embarcadero where it seems like everything is delicious! The ceviche made it on the list and it is certainly limey, refreshing, yummy and fresh. This sampler has it done four ways. Sadly I can't remember now all the ways except the two on the left are done a Chinese and Japanese influence. I could have had just this for dinner!!!! mmmmm!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Duck in a pool!


Duck in a pool!, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
I call this guy CEO Duck. He's been hanging around for about two weeks, finally caught him on video. Like a rich CEO he has a pimping ginormous pad; he's so rich other people clean it for him. His friends are much poorer and are hanging out in the puddles of a nearby shopping center. But like a lonely human CEO, CEO Duck must be so busy in life he can't find a nice lady friend to live in his pad with him. Good luck in your search, CEO Duck!

Friday, February 26, 2010

it's not lady-scented!


 I saw this commercial last night for the first time - I almost fell off the couch laughing.  Then I had to rewind it and watch it multiple times in a row.  I'm not into Old Spice and I don't have a man to buy the body wash for, but I feel like I want to buy a bottle just because this commercial is so awesome.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

peanut butter jelly time

peanut butter jelly time, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
Does anyone else still enjoy seeing how long they can preserve part of the smooth surface of a peanut butter jar? I've done it since I was about five years old and I'll do it when I'm 95. As you can see, 3/4 of the jar has been excavated to the bottom. I'm going to have to start scooping up from the bottom up and that last ledge of smoothness is going to collapse soon.

This is one thing you can't do with those all-natural nut butters!





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Coffee. Colorful. Hot.


Wed, 24 Feb, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.
Two posts in one day? Un-possible! That's what happens when lazy blogging is made even easier by being able upload things straight from my iphone and blogging straight from flickr without having to cut and paste links and resizing.

If it was a secret before, it's not now that I'm highly attracted to colorful glowing things. Wave them front of me and I'm like ooooh, shiny. This coffee dispenser was recently put into the building across the way as a way of apologizing for the closure of the coffee kiosk outside our building since last summer. Poor substitute, but I'm highly amused by the futuristic lights/shiny/steam as if my coffee is being beamed in from a faraway (and mediocre) cafe.

Yes, I am easily amused. :D

Missing paradise...


IMG_3869
Originally uploaded by dorisaurus
Whenever I have a crappy day, I like to look back on my vacation photos and remember how great it was! I'm not having a crappy day right at the moment, but I'm feeling kinda stressed and a lot tired. Life was pretty perfect at the moment when this picture was taken.

Testing out this Flickr link/blog thing.  Kinda nice! pictures make blogs look busier.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I can has security, plz

"I feel like I'm at the bottom of a huge hill...mountain.. Small steps, vitamin D. You ran a marathon starting from not being able to run 1 mile. You can do it!"

 

This is the mantra I'm adopting today.  What's been going on in my life?

It's been a busy month for me...in that brain stewing way.  I have to move again in a few months, and if you look back only a few entries, you can see that in fact, I only just moved a few months ago.  This is a situation I'm getting horrifically tired of, because at heart I'm a nester.  I like having my home be my home, and for the last year the solidity of that home has been in question for various reasons that were out of my control.  When I was first studying landscape architecture, I read a bunch of essays about house/home psychology - like how pregnant women sometimes have this compulsive need to clean and do house things (makes sense, right?), and how the home is an extension of your personality (also makes sense to me.)  Maybe that explains some things about my state of mind over the last year, constant looming threat of being laid off besides.

I for one am freaking tired of having to move all the time.

So all that leads to some brain churning, and talking to my parents about what I'm going to do.  The end solution is, I'm going to move home with my parents to save for my own place.  And, since I've never been good about saving money, I'm starting from an embarrassingly close-to-the-beginning stage.

Woo.  Staring down the idea of saving tens of thousands of dollars is really depressing.  Trying to save that money, living with the parents again, dealing with a commute that hurt my back? (It's probably about an hour of driving in traffic each way.)  This is going to take some (a lot) of time, and a lot of discipline.  My income is pretty modest, VERY VERY modest for the area I live in.  Right now I'm getting really depressed because it seems impossible.  Seems like I'll have to sacrifice a lot in terms of lifestyle (i.e. going out to have fun.  Living with my parents again.  Being "independent".)  Seems like it'll never happen.  Last time I lived with my parents some pretty crappy things happened to me psychologically.  I'd go so far as to say I was mentally unhealthy.

In trying not to dwell on the negative, here's some positive things to remember, and that will keep me inspired along the way.

1. This is an investment in my future.  Invest now, reap the benefits later. 
2. Living with parents means more time to read.  More time to do some creative writing. Home cooked meals, space to garden, running trail so close.  That novel and that graphic novel will get so much work done on them! 
3. My main activities now in the evenings anyway are training for triathlons and marathons, dance, and soon woodworking classes - not partying, hehehe.  I don't EVEN go out late anymore.
4. Eye on the prize.

Most importantly on the seeming impossibility of it all - a few years ago I couldn't run a MILE.  I hated running.  I swore I'd never run if I didn't have to.  Then I started to train, I forced myself to, I cried, I thought I'd quit, but last year I ran a full marathon, 26 POINT 2 miles, thank you. If I could do that, I can do anything!

 

 

Monday, January 25, 2010

Mojo

There's some bad mojo floating around lately for some friends.  Some incidentally bad mojo (or at least some highly emotional situations) for me. 

Yay, 2010.  I'm not being entirely sarcastic in saying, hey, we can just go up from here?