Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Yes, I have not posted for awhile because I got a summer job and have been preoccupied. Nevertheless, I will give three personal anecdotes in this posting.
1. The Lists
My sister grabbed a notebook the while on the phone to jot some stuff down and little did she know that she had found a buried treasure. Our younger brother had written the following lists inside this notebook in January 2011 and had obviously forgotten about them. Keep in mind he wrote these when he was 9 at the time.I have left the spelling and grammar as is, enjoy.
My Bug List (implying he things that bother him)
1. being locked out of the house, it comes daily
2. friends fighting eachother
3.being interrupted
4. being tired for no reason
5. moving too much so I never settle in
6. cranky teachers
7. bullies
8. mom embarresing me
9.monika picking my face/back
10. nothing on tv
11. no videogames
12. too much homework
13. getting punished for no reason
14. movies (besides tom and jerry) when you can't hear words
15. people too loud
16. girls
17. being treated like a baby
18. having too easy of a challenge at Tae Kwon DO classes
19. terrible games
20. terrible books
21. venomus snakes
22. deadly spiders
23. biting dogs
24. scrtaching cats
25. boring fish
26. dumb zoos
27. back aches
28. headaches
29. annoying babies
30. jokes that aren't funny
31. moves with no special effects that are good
32. bad weather
33. sad movies (sometimes)
34. doing uecless things
35. art that doesn't make sense
36. obnoxious people
37. yappy people (people who can't stop talking)
38. embarresing things
39. gross dancing
40. hard math
41. small writing
42. broken pencils
43. broken computers
44. embarassesing things
45. broccli
46. brussle sprouts
47. colliflower
48. when people tease me
Things that scare me
1. when I get locked out of my house
2. when I get locked out of my house again
3. fainted
4. cracked my head open
5. nightmare "mom filles pool with sharks"
6. when sister choked
7. nearly got lost in MAll of America
8. blackout while watching a scary movie
9. neighborhood in NJ hit big storm
10. tornado alarm
11. suffocated by snow
12. *** nigthmare " crazy man cycho george Lopez T-rex rampage at school AHHHHHhhhhhhh....
2. Driving MOTHERB
While my car is in the shop I have to use my grandma's car. I thought it wouldn't be a problem until I got inside it. MOTHERB is a ruby red 1999 Nissan Altima with tan leather interior, AKA a typical grandma car. What makes MOTHERB so unique is its accessories as well as its unpredictable driving patterns. My grandma adorned her Nissan with a black leather extra padded quilted steering wheel cover that slips when you turn it, 3 bibles, multiple angel and Jesus pins, and the icing on the cake is her rearview mirror which is intended for a large truck and is 5 times the size of the normal rearview mirror. When I get in the car I often hit the rearview mirror with my head or some part of my face making the mirror off balance and permanently crooked. I put up with it but turning down the streets I drive like a drunk because I am often turning the steering wheel cover rather than the steering wheel itself. Ok, I will admit I have never been a good driver and all my friends who have driven with me would agree but I can in part blame MOTHERB this time. Everyday while driving the visor falls down at some point and you never know when it's going to happen(one time I ran a stop sign). When you start the car and put your foot on the gas you are never sure when she is going to go but she always makes a great rumbling noise while she is trying. The main rules I gave myself in order to drive without problems are: you never want to parallel park because you will indefinitely hit the car in front of you, bring tape in your purse to tape the visor up, never wear gloves, avoid hills, and ride your bike more. MOTHERB serves her purpose for my grandma to feed the father and go to her volunteer work but I am very happy to be getting my car back soon.
3. The Adventures of Hammy
As I have said before, my brother has a pet hamster named Hammy ( whom replaced Fluffy and was Fluffy's baby see previous Hammy posting if confused). As usual my brother took a shower and Hammy rolled around the bathroom in her ball. While showering the cat hide under my brothers bed. Yesterday the exterminator came because in our area (lots of vegetation and on the water) a lot of homes get mice and lucky us, we were one of those homes. So we have all of the traps all over the place and we are tip toeing around. My brother was getting dressed when my sister threw his door open and saw the cat under his bookshelf. She screams "OMG the cat has a mouse" and ran away screaming. My brother the curious 10 year old he is sticks his face right under his bookshelf to see the cat covering her face with her paws. He started to gently say "Kitty what do you have there?" in his high voice he uses with babies and our dog. Then opens her paw to find Hammy and screams out "HAMMY!!!". My mom yells to my sister to do something and she stands there wide eyed and begins to laugh. The laughter begins to become contagious, we are standing there laughing like the horrible people we are. My mom bursts through us throwing my sister to the floor and rescues Hammy who is dangling from the cats mouth. Everyone was uninjured.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Day 7:
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While packing for Hawaii, my grandmother found her 45 year old wig and came out asking if she should where it on the plane. By looking at the picture your reaction is quite possibly the same as mine. Compulsive laughter followed by, "what died on your head in 1960?" Then of course I had to try it on myself. (I looked like Barry Manilow!) She arrived safely in Hawaii today leaving a long message about how her and "fishy" made it safely and how happy they were with their dinner from a Costco pack of hebrew national she brought in her carry-on. While walking around the house today I found different colored post-its attached to obscure things (cuckoo clock etc.) with rules on who and when is allowed to touch it. Apparently, I am not allowed to touch anything.
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Friday, June 22, 2012
Day 3:
When my sister announced her pregnancy my mom and stepdad noticed my little brothers sudden need for extra attention. Their remedy for this was to buy him a hamster which he named Fluffy. Fluffy and my brother got along great. Fluffy was his new best friend and his allowance quickly went to toys for Fluffy. Two months ago my sister had come over for dinner and was very pregnant. She and my brother had been upstairs together when my brother started screaming at my mom, "OMG she is having a baby!!!" Naturally, my mom freaked out and ran up stairs to tend to my sister. Put off by my sisters laugh my mother slowed her pace up the stairs and entered my brother's bedroom where she found Fluffy not my sister having a baby. They had unknowingly bought a pregnant hamster. My brother had picked Fluffy out because well she was extra "fluffy".
One Hamster had quickly turned into four and my brother demanding to keep them all. My mother frantically called all the classrooms at his elementary school asking if them needed a class pet. After multiple people agreed to adopt and then fell through my mom was not very happy with the hamsters. In turn, Fluffy wasn't very happy with my brother. Fluffy had become very territorial and protective of her babies biting anyone who put a pinky in the cage. When the babies were old enough they were put up for adoption. My brother decided he would rather have a nice hamster and have someone else adopt Fluffy (I thought that was really mean!). Now he has Hammy the new light of his life. He loves Hammy even more than he had Fluffy.
This morning I woke up to an awful banging noise coming from the bathroom. My brother had been in the shower and I suspected he had fallen. I call out and no answer, I asked my sister if she knew what it was and she laughed. In the bathroom was my brother showering and Hammy rolling in her ball running into every counter, the toilet, etc. I asked my brother about it and he said that it was the best time for Hammy to exercise. So now I know to not panic whenever I hear a large banging sound coming from the bathroom; it is not someone in need but rather a hamster getting her exercise.
Books:
Bossypants by: Tina Fey
I laughed so much at this (I listened to the audiobook rather than read the book). It is classic Tina Fey including her witty opinions on the television industry, thoughts on motherhood, etc. all told through a first person memoir. I enjoyed the audiobook because she was the voice and tailored it as necessary (including jokes about audiobooks and a sound bite from he impression of Sarah Palin).
When my sister announced her pregnancy my mom and stepdad noticed my little brothers sudden need for extra attention. Their remedy for this was to buy him a hamster which he named Fluffy. Fluffy and my brother got along great. Fluffy was his new best friend and his allowance quickly went to toys for Fluffy. Two months ago my sister had come over for dinner and was very pregnant. She and my brother had been upstairs together when my brother started screaming at my mom, "OMG she is having a baby!!!" Naturally, my mom freaked out and ran up stairs to tend to my sister. Put off by my sisters laugh my mother slowed her pace up the stairs and entered my brother's bedroom where she found Fluffy not my sister having a baby. They had unknowingly bought a pregnant hamster. My brother had picked Fluffy out because well she was extra "fluffy".
One Hamster had quickly turned into four and my brother demanding to keep them all. My mother frantically called all the classrooms at his elementary school asking if them needed a class pet. After multiple people agreed to adopt and then fell through my mom was not very happy with the hamsters. In turn, Fluffy wasn't very happy with my brother. Fluffy had become very territorial and protective of her babies biting anyone who put a pinky in the cage. When the babies were old enough they were put up for adoption. My brother decided he would rather have a nice hamster and have someone else adopt Fluffy (I thought that was really mean!). Now he has Hammy the new light of his life. He loves Hammy even more than he had Fluffy.
This morning I woke up to an awful banging noise coming from the bathroom. My brother had been in the shower and I suspected he had fallen. I call out and no answer, I asked my sister if she knew what it was and she laughed. In the bathroom was my brother showering and Hammy rolling in her ball running into every counter, the toilet, etc. I asked my brother about it and he said that it was the best time for Hammy to exercise. So now I know to not panic whenever I hear a large banging sound coming from the bathroom; it is not someone in need but rather a hamster getting her exercise.
Books:
Bossypants by: Tina Fey
I laughed so much at this (I listened to the audiobook rather than read the book). It is classic Tina Fey including her witty opinions on the television industry, thoughts on motherhood, etc. all told through a first person memoir. I enjoyed the audiobook because she was the voice and tailored it as necessary (including jokes about audiobooks and a sound bite from he impression of Sarah Palin).
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Day 2:
My grandma and aunt arrived back from my cousin's graduation in Orange County today; naturally not alone. In tow they brought melted chocolate donuts, my cousins 3 day old dried out graduation cake (for us to taste test), some berries they bought on the side of the road and of course my grandma's favorite fish which she brought in a flower vase with her for the 8 hour car ride. My aunt said the fish sloshed back and forth the entire ride. This is not out of the ordinary, my grandma is notorious for bringing odd things while traveling. A few month's ago she brought her fish with her to our family's vacation house in Hawaii. She zipped up her fish in a plastic sandwich bag and walked right through the security; the TSA people didn't know what to do because it was clearly over 3oz of liquid but let her go through probably out of sheer astonishment. Along with her fish she often brings meats with her on airplane's that she wants to eat for special occasions. My favorite story is when she ordered lobsters from Maine and filled her entire suitcase with them and duck taped it closed for a flight from San Francisco to Ohio.
On her drive back from OC she stopped at Harris Ranch (the smelly part of the drive on highway 5) and bought herself a porterhouse steak. She came home sat at the dinner table and threatened us all that she bought that to bring to Hawaii with her next week and if one of us ate it we would have to drive the 4 hours to buy her a new one. I can't help but laugh out loud who would want a slab of meat that has been sitting in a hot car for hours? I am not sure how she gets away with it or how she hasn't gotten sick but no matter where she goes she always has her beta fish and a pack of sweating meat.
My grandma and aunt arrived back from my cousin's graduation in Orange County today; naturally not alone. In tow they brought melted chocolate donuts, my cousins 3 day old dried out graduation cake (for us to taste test), some berries they bought on the side of the road and of course my grandma's favorite fish which she brought in a flower vase with her for the 8 hour car ride. My aunt said the fish sloshed back and forth the entire ride. This is not out of the ordinary, my grandma is notorious for bringing odd things while traveling. A few month's ago she brought her fish with her to our family's vacation house in Hawaii. She zipped up her fish in a plastic sandwich bag and walked right through the security; the TSA people didn't know what to do because it was clearly over 3oz of liquid but let her go through probably out of sheer astonishment. Along with her fish she often brings meats with her on airplane's that she wants to eat for special occasions. My favorite story is when she ordered lobsters from Maine and filled her entire suitcase with them and duck taped it closed for a flight from San Francisco to Ohio.
On her drive back from OC she stopped at Harris Ranch (the smelly part of the drive on highway 5) and bought herself a porterhouse steak. She came home sat at the dinner table and threatened us all that she bought that to bring to Hawaii with her next week and if one of us ate it we would have to drive the 4 hours to buy her a new one. I can't help but laugh out loud who would want a slab of meat that has been sitting in a hot car for hours? I am not sure how she gets away with it or how she hasn't gotten sick but no matter where she goes she always has her beta fish and a pack of sweating meat.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Day 1:
Driving home was difficult; I was leaving my college career behind me, had caught the flu and my 7 and a half hour drive turned into a 10 hour drive. But I made it safely and entered the wacky world of my so called life. I live in an affluent area neighboring San Francisco but while going through a divorce my family lost our comfortable lifestyle forcing my mom and brother to move in with my 82 year grandmother whom I call Tutu. Tutu is labeled as your typical church lady; she volunteers at the local hospital, cooks dinner for the Father, and singings her heart out in the church's choir. She loves watching movies on her miniature tube crept up only inches from the screen and cutting the tops off of her tennis shoes and puff painting them as she only likes to wear sandals. After leaving Massachusetts my Aunt Lynn decided to come back to California and restart her life. She lives in the basement which she transformed to her apartment extraordinaire. She is the loudest person in the room no matter where you go and also perhaps the funniest. My sister lives 10 miles away but as she is having problems with her boyfriend her and her one month old are staying in the room next to me. My poor younger brother who is 10 is not living with 6 girls and all female pets. This house is crazy! We went from being a so called "normal" family complete with a white picket fence to a drastically different and entertaining lifestyle. In college I naturally gained a new perspective I never thought my post-grad summer would consist of this. I will keep the stories of my living situation flowing in this blog.
On a side note here are some things I have seen/bought/read/ or cooked lately that I liked:
Books:
Berlin Cantada by Jeffery Lewis
Through an array of voices this book discusses post-reunification life in Berlin told through a Jewish- American Character. You get to know and connect to these characters. Beautifully written I would suggest it to anyone who wants a light drama containing factual information. If you know Berlin or are interested in the ideology of the mental wall this is a plus!
May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I read this novella in less than 2 hours. It sucks you in through the character intersection and landscape of NYC in the 1940s. I loved this book it has a couple slow points but you must read it to the end!
Baking:
In the past week I have made cakepops, scones, white/dark ghirardelli chocolate chip cookies, and cupcakes. ( I also made homemade gnocchi that you should try I got from 101 cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/how-to-make-gnocchi-like-an-italian-grandmother-recipe.html)
I only tasted everything because I just found it to be therapeutic rather than a craving pineapple whipped cream frosting topped with toasted coconut. All you have to do is:
take one box of Trader Joes vanilla cupcake mix follow the directions and add a couple spoonfuls of frozen passion orange guava juice concentrate. For the whipped cream frosting (heavy whipping cre, sugar, and vanilla) fold in some lemon curd, heat some pineapple tidbits (Trader Joes) until it becomes almost liquid and fold that in too. The toast some coconut (spread out shaved coconut on a baking sheet throw in the oven for a couple minutes until lightly brown) and sprinkle on top.
Driving home was difficult; I was leaving my college career behind me, had caught the flu and my 7 and a half hour drive turned into a 10 hour drive. But I made it safely and entered the wacky world of my so called life. I live in an affluent area neighboring San Francisco but while going through a divorce my family lost our comfortable lifestyle forcing my mom and brother to move in with my 82 year grandmother whom I call Tutu. Tutu is labeled as your typical church lady; she volunteers at the local hospital, cooks dinner for the Father, and singings her heart out in the church's choir. She loves watching movies on her miniature tube crept up only inches from the screen and cutting the tops off of her tennis shoes and puff painting them as she only likes to wear sandals. After leaving Massachusetts my Aunt Lynn decided to come back to California and restart her life. She lives in the basement which she transformed to her apartment extraordinaire. She is the loudest person in the room no matter where you go and also perhaps the funniest. My sister lives 10 miles away but as she is having problems with her boyfriend her and her one month old are staying in the room next to me. My poor younger brother who is 10 is not living with 6 girls and all female pets. This house is crazy! We went from being a so called "normal" family complete with a white picket fence to a drastically different and entertaining lifestyle. In college I naturally gained a new perspective I never thought my post-grad summer would consist of this. I will keep the stories of my living situation flowing in this blog.
On a side note here are some things I have seen/bought/read/ or cooked lately that I liked:
Books:
Berlin Cantada by Jeffery Lewis
Through an array of voices this book discusses post-reunification life in Berlin told through a Jewish- American Character. You get to know and connect to these characters. Beautifully written I would suggest it to anyone who wants a light drama containing factual information. If you know Berlin or are interested in the ideology of the mental wall this is a plus!
May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I read this novella in less than 2 hours. It sucks you in through the character intersection and landscape of NYC in the 1940s. I loved this book it has a couple slow points but you must read it to the end!
Baking:
In the past week I have made cakepops, scones, white/dark ghirardelli chocolate chip cookies, and cupcakes. ( I also made homemade gnocchi that you should try I got from 101 cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/how-to-make-gnocchi-like-an-italian-grandmother-recipe.html)
I only tasted everything because I just found it to be therapeutic rather than a craving pineapple whipped cream frosting topped with toasted coconut. All you have to do is:
take one box of Trader Joes vanilla cupcake mix follow the directions and add a couple spoonfuls of frozen passion orange guava juice concentrate. For the whipped cream frosting (heavy whipping cre, sugar, and vanilla) fold in some lemon curd, heat some pineapple tidbits (Trader Joes) until it becomes almost liquid and fold that in too. The toast some coconut (spread out shaved coconut on a baking sheet throw in the oven for a couple minutes until lightly brown) and sprinkle on top.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
As of yesterday, I finished my last final of my undergraduate career at UCSD. My summer is unpredictable at the moment but come fall I will be off to London to attend graduate school at the LSE. I enjoy art, technology, traveling, culture, food, hiking, and will introduce this and more topics into my blog. I want to hear from others out there and their thoughts on the world around them while reading about the world around me.
Berlin:
After studying abroad last spring I was in love with this city. I was able to live another lifestyle while discovering the person I truly was. I will post more about this experience later. In March awarded a grant to film a movie at Kunsthaus Tacheles I am upon completion of that film now and will post it upon completion.
Berlin:
After studying abroad last spring I was in love with this city. I was able to live another lifestyle while discovering the person I truly was. I will post more about this experience later. In March awarded a grant to film a movie at Kunsthaus Tacheles I am upon completion of that film now and will post it upon completion.
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