Influential people in my life

Disclaimer: this post is long and wordy and I wouldn't be surprised if you don't want to read it. It's just that I'm hung over and feeling inspired to write. So.. if you choose to do so.. read on!

Sometimes, when I think about how I want to do something, I find myself thinking about people whom I admire and asking myself, "what would this person do?"

Allow me to give you some examples.

• My coworker Mike Wie: he is my adventure hero and my party hero. I have started using the phrase "pulling a Mike Wie" when I do things that I think he'd do in a similar situation. When I went to Chicago and took the wrong bus, I "pulled a Mike Wie" and decided to take the bus to the end of the line and get a view of South Chicago. I saw things that normal tourists wouldn't see and gained a little perspective. That is something Mike would do. Also, he throws great parties. He invites a good mix of people, he has good drinks, makes yummy appetizers, and makes sure no one goes hungry or thirsty. Now when I host a party I think about what Mike does and try to do the same.
• My coworker Janet - she is my house hero. Her house is awesome. Everywhere you look, there is something interesting and new to examine. She doesn't just decorate with "stuff," she decorates with meaningful items; souvenirs, gifts, vintage things. Also, when I was house sitting for her, I noticed she had a box of Kleenex in almost every room. I've always been a fan of just using toilet paper to blow my nose, but those Kleenex boxes made a difference and now I'm a convert.
  
• Sam G. and Sam Z. are my work heroes. They're both smart, motivated, and interested in their work. Being younger guys, they are not affected by cynicism and discrimination and treat others with respect. They are what I'd envision as ideal employees at my workplace.
• John Z. is my aging hero. The guy is 81, has been retired for 15 years, and still comes to work every day. He is still one of the leading scientists in his field and travels the world attending conferences and giving presentations. He pays close attention to his health but never passes up a treat. He hikes every weekend, 5-10 miles each trip, walks during his lunch hour, bowls, does step aerobics, and lifts weights. He is fluent in German and sings in a German choir. I hope when I am 81 I am as healthy, motivated, and accomplished as he.
• Jim W. is my quiet hero. I feel like I can tell him anything and it won't immediately be broadcasted to the world. I respect that.

That's all for today.

UW Hospital Cafeteria food

The food at the UW Hospital cafeteria used to be good, but lately I've noticed it's kind of nasty. I'll never forget the time I got the chicken teriyaki bowl. It looked good - brown rice, steamed chicken and veggies - until the lady dumped on the teriyaki sauce. A huge brown glob of thick, gelatinous, slimy, tasteless sauce. I tried dumping on a bunch of pepper but it still tasted bad. So I sought out some hot sauce and dumped that on the food, and that seemed to make it more palatable.

Last week I tried some cashew turkey (turkey?) stir fry. Again, the Asian food counter disappointed me. Thick, salty, gooey brown sauce, woody celery, and way too many cashews. Plus the rice wasn't sticky at all and I suspect it came from a can. However, I was in the mood for grease and was not failed in that respect. The turkey was hot and crispy and delightfully breaded and fried.

Yesterday I forgot my lunch, so I came back. I gave the "international" food counter a try. They say it's "international" and that they rotate the nation of choice every two weeks, but I've never seen anything but Mexican food there. Not that I'm complaining.. I happen to like Mexican food. I was craving lots of calories, so I got a chipotle chicken burrito with both cheese and sour cream, which is unusual for me. The chicken was cold and greasy. Little rivulets of orange oil ran down my wrist as I tried to consume the burrito. The cheese was really cold, too. Come to think of it, the only hot part of the whole burrito was the black beans. Again, disappointed.

Now I understand why so many people are in line for the salad bar.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover beef/pork curry with green beans, sweet potatoes, and corn
Basmati rice

Martha Stewart weekend

I did so much stuff around the house. On saturday I worked on making this futon cover using a pattern from diggs magazine (see the link here). The futon came with the apartment. Not only did the cover completely mismatch the carpet (and the whole ambiance of the place) but it had holes in it and I just wasn't comfortable sitting where someone's bare ass might have been.

Before: futon with its southwestern-style cover


The new futon cover:


It only took 3-1/2 hours to make it, too, from cutting the fabric to sewing on the velcro. I have to admit, however, that I'd intended to make the cover months ago when I first moved into the apartment, but ended up draping the beige fabric (which is actually a $3 sheet from Wal-Mart) over the original cover since my first week there.

Other domestic weekend activities included making cookies and some yummy beef/pork/sweet potato/corn/green bean curry with basmati rice. Basmati rice is so good. Seriously, where has it been my whole life?

Social weekend activities consisted of visiting Madison's Art Fair on the Square and going to La Fete de Marquette, a Bastille Day festival (Bastille Day is France's independence day). There was music, food, and vendors with a French theme. There was a lot of French African culture there, too.

Speaking of French Africa, have I mentioned that I've (speculatively) narrowed down where I might go for the Peace Corps? I believe my recruiter nominated me to attend a program in a certain country but she can't yet tell me what that country is. However, she said I'd have to know French to go to that country... So I've researched which countries in Africa use French as their official language, and which of those countries is involved with the Peace Corps. Here's what I've narrowed it down to:
Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Madagascar

In other news, Kitty (aka The White Princess) threw up a hairball on my window sill this morning. Stay tuned for photos of my little beast.

Today's Lunch:
Forgot my lunch, so UW Cafeteria food

Happy friday

Here's a picture of some cupcakes that I made this week. Next week I'm making a vegan chocolate cake for a coworker's going-away party.

Happy friday

I'm so glad it's friday. I'm ready for a weekend.

Here's a picture of Kitty for your viewing enjoyment.

Jamaican me hungry!

Kevin's mom is visiting from Jamaica and she brought a bunch of food for him. So last night he brought some over. We had:

• Jamaican patty - flaky pastry dough filled with spiced ground beef. Kind of looked like a small pasty or empanada but with a unique flavor.
• Snapper - small snapper (fish) cooked with a lot of spices. You eat everything - the skin, the eyes - everything but the bones. It was very good.
• Breadfruit - I first read about this in Mutiny on the Bounty. It's a starchy fruit that is the size of a small melon. It is first roasted, then you can cut it up and prepare it in other ways. Kevin said it's kind of like the potato - you can fry it, bake it, boil it, etc. He cut it up and fried it in oil and sprinkled it with salt.
• Christmas cake - a dense, dark, heavy cake flavored with wine or liquor. It tastes like molasses and its texture is reminiscent of gingerbread.
• Drops - a cookie that is made of grated coconut and grated fresh ginger, boiled in a sugar syrup until carmelized, then scooped onto a sheet to cool. They were so good!

As soon as my Red Label (Jamaican liqueur) comes in, I'm going to start soaking fruit so we can make Christmas cake.

Jamaican patty:


Breadfruit (roasted):


Christmas cake:


Today's Lunch:
Potato with cottage cheese
Christmas cake

Camping photos

Setting up the tent




We followed a trail hoping it would lead to the lake. Instead we arrived at this beautiful overlook.




So we followed another trail, which eventually took us to the lake. By this time we were dying of heatstroke but were desperate to explore before it got dark.


I like this picture - maybe it will become my new thumbnail.


Me and my honey...


I really wanted to jump in the lake but it was too weedy.






Kevin grilled the shrimp while I worked on the carrots. He rigged up this makeshift grill using:

• 2 grill plates found from an old gas grill standing on the side of the road
• 2 coat hangers to hold them together
• A wire rack to support it in the middle

Part of the fun in camping is finding ways to solve problems. He's only been camping once and he's already a pro.

Canoeing on Lake Mendota

Here are some pictures from Houjiang's and my canoe trip last wednesday.

Houjiang, my Mandarin tutor and colleague


Me


A nice view of the Capitol and Madison skyline.


We canoed to the beach at Picnic Point, jumped out of the boat, and hung around.




I should mention that throughout our trip we saw some nasty blue-green algae in the water (notice the bright turquoise globs). That stuff is toxic to humans so many of the beaches on Lake Mendota are closed.


The shoreline, with all the algae and blue-green algae. Ew.


Up close and personal.


Today's Lunch:
Potato with cottage cheese
Baby carrots

Things are looking up

My work life wasn't so hot the last few months. I was upset because I didn't have enough work to do.. but now I have work! I'm developing a building materials permeability study with my coworker Sam G., and I finally got some help with my thesis publication so I can take it to the next level. Finally! Now I have things to do and I'm excited about that.

Also, I've been dentally cleared for the Peace Corps. Now I'm just waiting for medical clearance. I may be speaking too soon (knock on wood), but maybe it won't take as long as I thought. Maybe I'll know where I'm going sooner than later. Maybe!

Kevin and I had a blast camping last weekend. We did some exploring and made the most kickass camping food - fire grilled and pan-sauteed shrimp with scallions and fresh thyme, fire-roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, boiled carrots with scallions, and fresh pineapple for dessert. We tried fishing later on at night but it was dark and buggy and weedy so we didn't have much luck. We also walked through a huge patch of poison ivy; fortunately I didn't get a rash. The way my skin reacts to fly bites (huge welts) makes me worry about poison ivy and the like.

The bat that was in my apartment friday was picked up by Animal Control to get tested for rabies. And if it is tested positive, I think both Kitty and I will have to undergo rabies treatment. Strange, yes, but also kind of interesting. How many people can say they've had rabies shots???

Today's Lunch:
Peanut butter sandwich on Trader Joe's Italian bread
Baby carrots
Peanut butter Twix (I really needed chocolate)

Internet slamming

I think it's one of the most immature things a person can do. "Hi, I'm mad at you. But instead of talking to you about it or keeping my thoughts to myself, I'm going to tell the whole world and hope they all hate you for it, too." So freakin' lame. That's why I'm not going to make a single comment about the comments on friday's post. Same goes for the person who blatantly disapproves of the HPV shot for young women. I'm just keeping my thoughts to myself, something that has taken me my whole life to learn how to do.

Camping!

I'm so excited to go camping this weekend. Kevin and I have been planning this trip for a couple of weeks. We're going to drink beer and grill shrimp and go fishing and swimming. I'm probably going to bring a canoe and maybe we'll catch some big ones!

My July 4 holiday was nice. I took Houjiang canoeing to Picnic Point and we noshed on bananas, mangoes and grapes. In return he bought me some Glass Nickel pizza - yummy!

I saw this movie titled "Poison Friends." It's a French film about college students who are duped by a pathological liar. I enjoyed it and was glad that I was able to pick out French words that I knew.

Tonight - pina coladas at my friend Mike's house. This morning I found another dead bat in my apartment, in almost the exact same spot.

I wish I had more exciting things to write about, but I don't. I've been so busy lately that it's hard to sit down and come up with creative thoughts.

Today's Lunch:
Peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat (finally done with the turkey)
Banana
Baby carrots

My hair

Yup, I'm writing about my hair today. It's been on my mind lately. I look at my profile pic, which was taken about a year ago, and my hair is exactly the same as it was back then. I've been trying to grow it out since, oh, 2004, and it really hasn't changed much.

I get my hair trimmed every 7 weeks. I don't want to wait any longer to get a trim because my hair starts to look ratty at the ends, so I think my stylist should start taking off less.

Humph. My hair should be really long and luxurious by now. What the heck?

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lite Miracle Whip
Baked Doritos

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Weekend in review

It was a good weekend. Friday ended with a canoeing trip to Picnic Point, followed by a campfire with s'mores and good conversation.

Saturday I woke up early and cleaned my apartment. Later I had a couple of people over for mint juleps (I was craving one!), then went out with Kevin.

Crystal's Mint Julep Recipe

Mint syrup:
1 large handful of mint leaves, washed
1 C water
1/3 C sugar

Combine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Keep covered and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; strain and chill.

To make the mint juleps:
Pour a shot of mint syrup into the bottom of a glass. Fill with crushed ice. Pour Kentucky bourbon over the ice; garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

Sunday I just relaxed. I watched TV, took a 4-hour nap, ate good food, and took Buddy to the park (a car ride + a new place to explore = a very happy dog). I did some gardening for my landlords and planted about 30 plants in all. It was a lot of work, so I hope the plants survive.

Today was my last day of hanging out with Buddy. He went to grandma's house because some visitors are going to live at my landlord's place for the week. I will miss having Buddy around. I like it when he trots around the yard, following me while I water plants. I also like taking rides with him. He's such a quiet, well-behaved dog. However, I won't miss picking up his poop and smelling his dog breath. :)

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich with lite Miracle Whip on whole wheat
Pluot