First change: garlic -> onion. Attempted to faster caramelize it (via the Food Lab @ Serious Eats), didn't turn out so well. Was paying more attention to the carrots and the onions ended up a little burnt. Wasn't so bad though.
Second change: carrots. I actually thought this was a smart addition. The sweetness matches with the onion but the texture would contrast. Didn't turn out as well as I excepted, but it wasn't bad either.
Third: proportions. Too much pasta, too little egg. The yolk was suppose to be the sauce, except well...too much pasta. Too much carrot, too little onions. Easily fixed as I just chopped up the other half of it. Onions were also spouting e_e" Too much salt <-accident.
Despite this all, at least the dish looks nice. Ribbons of carrots weaved throughout the pasta~ Wish I had some purple ones, would contrast the yellow pasta so well *u* Also wish I had some parsley, but green onions did the trick. Black sesame = works on annnnything.
Couldn't find an image of the lavender field that Gerry (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hilary Swank) first met, but this will do. Oh, the way they met was adoraaaable! Especially the dog scene *u*
I liked the movie o_o Don't really know how I feel in more detail. Reflection has yet to catch up with me.
Oh it was sad. Normal sad though...few tears at the end. But a few minutes after I finished the movie, I started to cry uncontrollably lol. Guess it also takes some time for feelings to catch up too. Think Grace freaked out a little when I called her about it right after, I apologize XD
Want to watch the drama soooo badly ;_; and actually, the only dramas that I watch are the martial arts ones that's either based off books or a game (in this case).
So tired today. Made the same mistake 5 times in excel before realizing that it was a mistake. Was planning to sleep through lunch, except people started talking about anime. oh yeah. I'm tired cause I squeezed Darker Than Black into my timeslot for sleep. mehh. Hei is awesome.
Not looking forward to tomorrow either. No sleeping in because of co-op. No getting home early because of eng club. No proper dinner because of work. No sleeping early because of work.
I didn't plan for these to become muffins, last minute improvisation when I found out that my loaf pan was missing.
Recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, one of my faaaavourite food blogs. I have 100% trust in them, everything I've tried from their turned out fantasticccc.
To add to the atmosphere, open up this link and this link in separate tabs :] (via reddit via my twitter feed)
Contrary to how Rui felt about Mark Zuckerberg's character in the movie, I don't think he's a friend betraying asshole. He had this own vision about how facebook should turn out and stuck to it, which I think is quite admirable. His co-founder Eduardo Saverin, obviously had different priorities for the site, as he is the the cfo. Both did what they believe is the best for their company's development and it's unfortunate (well plus communication problems) that their visions didn't quite match up. Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake) is just manipulative, gotta be impressed at how he completely charmed Zuckerberg.
And for you comp sci people (and nerds in general), the scene where Zuckerberg is testing the interns is quite funny.
... ... ...
In other news, got new glasses! Sorta looks like those korean-y nerd glasses, not as extreme though. My degrees changed (left actually went down!), so wearing them makes me feel dizzy @_@" Will take a while to get use to.
A very very good use of 1 hour. It makes me look forward to stats class in univeristy haha. Or in the case of not getting into Shad, summer schooling Data Management (anyone else potentially doing this?)
At some point in the video, I was reminded of the giant tower in The Place Promised in Our Early Days. By the time I'm typing this, I already forgot when and why, so please remind me if you see a correlation XD (speaking of Shinka, his new movie will be out soon! *u* Can't waaaaaait)
Near the end of the video, it mentions a really cool site: wefeelfine.org I can see myself spending hours reading the different feeling on there haha. The way the site displays the information is ridiculously awesome. Makes me want to be a data visualizer (well, if engineering doesn't work out haha) XD
Fun fun day haha. photos are over on facebook. Not sure if I have the men's permission to upload them here.
disclaimer: the mask idea was 100% justin's. I just help cultivate it...and persuade other people to join haha. Power of peer pressure.
Half day at school was overall alright, the up (fun puzzles in physics) cancels out the down (terrible math test). Headed to Lyndon's afterwards, Mel, James, Jason, Ryan and I went on a quick detour to Loblaws for some cucumbers (for the cliche spa look). The others walked and grabbed lunch without us D< Afternoon was pretty much spent playing around with the masks and video games. Mel is a beast at Dance Central XD
Stay got cut short cause of work. Why'd I have to get a box shift ;__; Money in, money out.
The lady at The Amore was reeeeally nice and gave us so much samples haha. Very good marketing :]
After arriving at Jason's (much thanks for getting me ultima haha), we managed to convince Justin to try the multiberry peeling mask (pink package at the bottom) . He was initially skeptical, but his skin is now beautifully smooth :] Later we had afternoon tea with biscuits lol. Ryan's water took a reeeeally long time to boil and he used some complicated tea making thingy. Also convinced Jason to bake us some awesome cake ;D Best game of the day is the Naruto Storm! It's hilaaaaarious to watch people play it. Button mashed my way to winning haha, hand was so sore afterwards XD
Later update: blog makeover! Felt the need for brighter colours to carry me through the winter. Stuck with the structure, though the width has been increased to accommodate youtube vids.
Started on Darker than Black (be very proud of me Kenn & Sean). finally. 4 episodes in and I must say Hei is awesome when he is pretending to be a normal human. I would totally fall for him like that haha. His landlady is awesome too, especially when the cat came by.
Finished Evangelion 1.01 (or whatever numbering you are (not) alone is). finally. Loveeee the ending theme!
[It's only love]
If one of my wishes were to come true Let me sleep by your side Any place will do [Beautiful world] Without wavering, I gaze at you [beautiful boy] You've yet to realize your own beauty
[It's only love]
Sleeping and waking to comics I hated myself in that dream filled with images
What is it I want? I'm not even sure Nevertheless, I want it Lukewarm tears running down my cheeks
There's nothing I have to say to you I just want to meet you one more time
Unable to express what I want to say Maybe I'm a coward But it's all right
If one of my wishes were to come true Let me sleep by your side Any place will do [Beautiful world] Without wavering, I gaze at you [Beautiful boy] You've yet to realize your own beauty
[It's only love]
Trying anything It seems like a loss... besides gaining a little more experience
I don't need newspapers The important things aren't mentioned
How have you been lately? If you are well, I'll be fine
If we can meet before my world disappears Let me sleep by your side Any place will do [Beautiful world] Amidst the fleeting days that pass us by [Beautiful boy] This uneasy feeling is inevitable, isn't it
If one of my wishes were to come true Let me sleep by your side
Quite a relaxing 5 days of school. No need to subway down to co-op, no projects or tests, late start tomorrow followed by 2 half-days (to be spent at jasons and lyndon's), bliiiissssssss~
Planning on catching up on some anime (maybe, depends, so much trouble), books and magazines (definitely) and have some nice cups of tea.
On the topic of being chill, I came up with some pretty good reasons to not get angry at someone in the service industry.
1. It stresses you out. If a situation is already not going the way you expect it to (emphasis on the way you expected it to), why stress yourself out more?
2. The person serving you doesn't want trouble either. Personally when I'm working, if anyone comes up to me with a problem, I really just want to solve it asap and move on. If you are yelling and bitching at the person serving you, s/he will be less willing to solve the problem for you. Also 99% of the time it isn't his/her fault. Happy server = better problem solving=happier you.
3. If you make a scene and hold up the line, the person serving you will be distracted by the other needy patrons and therefore devote less attention to solving your problem. However, if you have an ounce of patience and just wait for a little bit on the side, the person serving you will be able to give you his/her full attention. Also it gives you time to calm down.
But if you do rage, it'll give the workers something to make jokes about later on ;D
From a purely artisitic point of view, the "collapsed space" of the witches in Madoka is aweeeeesome. Strongly reminds me of The Count of Monte Cristo's unique texture overlays. (think I blogged about that before, will try to find it, nevermind, didn't. A google image search will bring out beautiful pictures though :]).
Behold:
(for David, if he will ever read this. Your dream combination of girl + big ass gun).
Found an interesting analysis of the usage of space over at Behind The Nihon. (it's quite lengthy) Some images credits to that and others just off google. Should be unlazy and take my own screencaps though.
1. [this is glamorous] THE perfect inspirational blog for me (had to use 2 kinds of emphasis in that). Loving everything that she's posting up. Her favourite place is versailles too! I think this is the feeling you get when you meet your match, except on the internet and in the form of a blog. Very glamorous ;D
I need you to understand something. I wrote this for you. I wrote this for you and only you. Everyone else who reads it, doesn’t get it. They may think they get it, but they don’t. This is the sign you’ve been looking for. You were meant to read these words.
I don't quite get it, so it must not be meant for me haha. Very unique blog though, everything is up to the interpretation of the reader :] Though as Gekko says in Wall Street: speculation is the root of all evil. (quite true for gossips in highschool)
Haven't had a brunch post in a looooong while eh? I blame general laziness and sunday morning shifts. Work is tiring "orz
Anyways, blueberries aren't usually associated with soup right? My mom felt strongly about this and was very very skeptical about trying it. Turns out she loved it, success!
The pictures however, are not. None of them turned out focused ._." Also recovering from a rather depressing manga (Immortal Rain, will review someday as well), so no effort was put into editting them.
Typical evening: I was tired and was reading manga, and so I begin to think.
Is there something, doesn't have to be realistic, ANYTHING in the world that would, guaranteed, make you the happiest person alive if you obtain it?
For me, kindaaa. Will explain: A person on mousehunt forums posted a question:
Aside from change, what else is permanent in this world?
I think I will pretty darn happy if I find the answer to that question. (Becker argues the reasons in his book The Denial Of Death, which I will share my thoughts on some other time)
On a different note, I think I got over my sense of doom regarding the english essay and is gaining motivation to work extremely hard on it. Sure hope efforts turn into results.
Aside from the various activities in the resort, my family chose to go on a tour of the Punta Cana countryside. The tour, Bavaro Runners, took us to a local elementary school, a sugar cane/tobacco planation, and a local organic farm.
Our bus! It was quite something riding on that, especially on the bumpy mountain roads. Our guide, Rene, joked that the tour came with a complimentary mechanical massage XD
Short video of us exiting a small town.
First stop: local elementary school
Didn't see much of it, just sat on the bus and listened to our guide explain the education system. They get free university education! ;_;
Moving on the roads
View of the distant Oriental mountain range (I think...) So dramatic that the peak is shrouded in clouds.
Royal palms, a main building material in Dominica. One can differentiate them from coconut trees from the pointed stem at the top of the tree.
Coconuts, yuuuuum. These belong to a plantation.
Second stop: sugar cane and tobacco plantation.
om nom nom. Use to eat a lot of fresh sugar cane back in China, they taste soooo goood.
Our driver skillfully skinning a sugar cane with a machete.
and on a larger scale, mechanically juicing the sugar cane.
Fermented tobacco leaf.
We got the best cigar roller on the plantation to give us a demonstration of how they're made.
Bottle of mamajuana, Dominica's national drink. A bunch of roots and leaves (each family has their own blend) soaked in rum, red wine, and honey. A very very strong drink, you take shots of it like vodka ;D Our guide also explained the process of transforming sugar cane juice into molasses and rum.
Third stop: Maria's farm.
Her colourful kitchen. It smelled absolutely divine when we stepped in.
Rene holding a vanilla vine. I was very disappointed that I didn't find any beans sold in bulk ._. Nor rum cakes "orz
Did you know that a banana tree can only fruit once? After it's picked, it will be cut down.
I like the pop of bright blue roofing ;D
A fruit of some kind, didn't catch the name. It's used to make bowls and containers of other sorts.
Cacao beans! Interesting fact about them is that they grow from the trunk or branches of the tree.
My favourite picture of the trip. Tis a rippened coffee bean.
Roasting in the sunlight~
And then smashed to remove the husk. (my first thought after typing that was how in ragnarok frontier the beetle husks in Umbala got nerfed cause everyone was making millions off it. A friend of mine had a few thousand in storage and was majorly pissed off.)
Next up is cacao! Looks pretty gross right out of the pod. The beans will be dried under the sun and then roasted.
Our guide working the grinder ;D
and out comes cacao nibs, intensely delicious.
The farm gave us quite a few samples: Fresh coffee, black.
Hot chocolate, beats the commercial kind any day.
Ended up buying 2 jars of cacao, 1 jar of sugar, and a bottle of coconut oil (in hopes of making my hair nicer).
Last stop: lunch.
Our lunch place as beside a zip line ground.
Close up of a different tower.
Didn't bother taking pictures of the food, though it was quite delicious. After lunch we were dropped off at our resort to continue with the rest of our vacation~
Not feeling an in-depth analysis of how the year went. Saving those for long sleepless nights xD
I think the most important lesson I have learned is just be straightforward.
Guessing game are not fun for very long times, annoyance and frustration usually ensues. I endeavor to just speak what's on my mind in almost every situation. Here's two interesting links on the subject: one & two (later edit: I feel a little more writing would do this point well, but I'm halfway into my zoneout mood)
Also learned to just speak up and ask for whatever you want. No amount of secretly praying to whatever deity you believe in is gonna work as well as going up to ask. It's always harder to refuse someone, and so what if they said no. This has worked pretty well for me: got free cake, few half marks on tests, chairs to sit on during lunch, etc etc. So I will endeavor to keep this up and see how far I can get~
