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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.
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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