swanky library

This is the public library in Milpitas, CA. It's a suburb in the whereabouts of nowhere. Okay. Not quite nowhere because the BART does almost reach there. But clearly, they have enough money. This library is amazing! The lighting was gorgeous.

 There's a new modern part, and an older classic style part. There's lots of empty space, which could be utilized by a lot more books. But seeing as how libraries are jumping on the techno-bandwagon (much to my chagrin), computers are climbing up the priority pyramid.

More with kitchen chemistry

Experimenting with popovers. Half of these are with all-purpose flour, and the other half are made from a batter with 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all-purpose flour.



This is dulce de leche. Notice how it's drippy because patience is simply a virtue not everyone is endowed with.

My homework

I'm taking this class about the chemistry of cooking. Our first assignment was to make pizza on a regular baking pan:
and compare it to a pizza on a pizza stone (terra cotta tile):
Both were tasty, but the crusts were texturally different.
lesson learned: pizza stone pizza > baking pan pizza

Hello, December

Certainly my favorite time of year. I've come to love the frosty breathe of winter's air. You can't find that in San Francisco, but I take solace in counting down the days to when I can once again mark my path in the season's snowfall.
I guess moderate temperatures can have its advantages. Sitting outside is more comfortable and it is more likely people will sit outside. Look how they've left seat cushions for people to sit on. It's nice when they consider features like that to make public space more inviting.

In the oven

Yeast is so demanding of patience, but worth it. I made bread last weekend. My obsession with hummus continues.

Roll Model

University of California, Berkeley claims the record for longest California roll, taking it away from somewhere in Hawai'i. All it took was 102 pounds of dry rice, 582 sheets of seaweed, 67 pounds of avocado, 65 pounds of cucumber, and 167 pounds of imitation crab meat. The whole thing was 330 feet long. Of 57 tables, the last two were vegetarian. It was verified by Japanese Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine. This event was part of a year long celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Center of Japanese Studies.

Re-used

The window "curtains" at the Plastiki exhibit at Pier 45 in San Francisco. Cool form of of reuse and created luminous mood lighting. Must be difficult to open the blinds.

New at the market

Happy autumn or fall! To ring in the squash season, I bring you zucchini bread. I love the changing of seasons. California doesn't know what they're missing.

At the Academy

Hello, Academy of Science. After a sunny day running in between and around the convention center, volunteers got free admission and a ride to the after party at the Academy of Science. The line to the planetarium show was monstrous, I'll get to it next time. The sun exited as graceful as ever in a purple glow. The moon shone bright and round from the deck of the green roof. It was lovely.

hello, brother

My brother visited me before he started school because he is on the quarter system and I'm on the semester. He really likes banana bread. I'm actually not sure if this is true, but he will eat it willingly. I will bake it willingly. We are also pizza fans. I wanted to make dough from scratch and realized that yeast takes forever and a day to rise. So we made alternative plans and postponed the pizza-making. We used unorthodox ingredients. It was whatever I had in the fridge!

My brother is the best. We have so much fun. 

Approaching Abjection

"There looms, within abjection, one of those violent, dark revolts of being, directed against a threat that seems to emanate from an exorbitant outside or inside, ejected beyond the scope of the possible, the tolerable, the thinkable. It lies there, quite close, but it cannot be assimilated. It beseeches, worries, and fascinates desire, which, nevertheless, does not let itself be seduced. Apprehensive, desire turns aside; sickened, it rejects. A certainty protects it from the shameful-a certainty of which it is proud holds on to it. But simultaneously, just the same, that impetus, that spasm, that leap is drawn toward an elsewhere as tempting as it is condemned. Unflaggingly, like an inescapable boomerang, a vortex of summons and repulsion places the one haunted by it literally beside himself." -Julia Kristeva

Falafel place

I'm on the move. Again.
I liked the stuff on their wall. Ordered a falafel wrap. It was salty. Lots of salty. Cute place, though. In Halifax, by the way. But it looks a lot like this Chinese restaurant in NYC. Could totally be the same restaurant.

Sky's the limit for fun ceilings

Often forgotten in the department of interior design are the ceilings. People don't always look up unless something has hit them on the head. Gawkers are often oblivious to ceilings. Such a shame. Here's a friendly reminder from an Indian restaurant in Berkeley to often crane your head skyward.

I'm gawking while I wonder

This is Nancy Zhang. Isn't she the cutest girls you have ever seen?



Her outfits first caught my eye on Lookbook.nu because they're usually accompanied by a cute little picture but gimmicks aside she has great style. They definitely speak volumes about her character. Seeing as I haven't met her, I'm going on the assumption that she's cute, quirky, and very laid-back- someone I'd love to meet.



She embraces trends but also retains a true sense of herself. She often includes unusual details that teeter between costume and everyday clothing which I love. The "blogosphere" seems to be dominated by teenagers who dress like they've just stepped out of a Urban Outfitters catalog which I don't have a problem with but sometimes I just wish there was something more.



People who know me well know that I have weirdly high standards to the point where even I don't meet them all that often and I'm thrilled to find someone with what I think is truely great style. Sometimes I feel I want to dress just like her.



She's talented too. She puts a lot of her artwork on her blog "It's Nancy's New Blog".

All photos taken from Lookbook.nu

Feed the Soul with Beauty and Genius. Because it is always Hungry!

It appears that I have once again fallen prey to ignoring this blog. But alas, I have not left you, my dear. I have returned to you with many things to show and talk about but all in good time. It has been a very long month. For now, I leave you with this image from Fashion Nation's new Manifesto Magazine.



Stephie and Dottie have leapt toward their dreams and have taken their love for fashion to a new level. They are in a way melding their private life with their online personas which is not easy and I applaud them for that.

Someone recently asked me if this was my blog which I for some reason or other flatly denied. I find the idea of people I actually know reading this blog very disconcerting. I will have to get over that in time but yes, this is me and I'm very sorry for lying.

Jewelry shopping

I was at the bead store this weekend when this guy walks in with his son and asks a question. He politely thanks the lady expressing that he is pressed for time, then turns and walks out saying to his son, "Let's go. This is a do-it-yourself jewelry store." Mother's Day was on Sunday. Did you do something nice? I was not at the bead store for my mom (I sent her a card). I was shopping for earring making supplies. I made my roommate this pair of earrings for her birthday. I always end up spending so much more time than I intend on whenever I go to the bead store. And buying so much more. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I'm a student or a jewelry maker. The intensity with which I am procrastinating must be worthy of an award. I've been to the bead store everyday for the past 4 days, and oftentimes more than once a day. I decided they were probably starting to recognize me, so I ventured onto the other side of campus to go to the other bead store. And I've now been there 2 days in a row.

Obsession

I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today.
I will tomorrow.

Life is like a romance novel by Nicholas Sparks

Just like A Walk to Remember. Bittersweet. Click on image to see their story.

Downtown Oakland

My first trip into downtown Oakland. One would have expected me to make a visit before two years, but no. It's been almost two years and here is my first trip. Now I have been to Oakland, many times. I've been mostly in the neighborhood communities - the part you might be a little wary for your safety, the part where you would believe that Oakland is the 4th most dangerous city in America. So when I saw downtown - it was a contrast, an interesting one. I always find it fascinating the way places cater to tourists. They construct these elaborate images of what a place is like, but for a resident - that image is completely different. It speaks to the display or spectacle that cities tend to put on for visitors who never get a chance to see the real communities. So when you visit a place, what are you really seeing? How can you be sure it's "authentic"? Enough of this theoretical blabbering. Just a thought.
I would like to know what is going on with this contraption, but there wasn't any placard or anything informative. There wasn't even any water in it. I do enjoy the bright colors. It looks like it would be easy to climb. I was so tempted.There was a protest going on in front of City Hall. I regret not remembering what they were protesting about now. I don't think they had very obvious signs either because it took me a while to read them. But it was a good day to protest because there were lots of people circulating the area on account of the Oakland Earth Expo was going happening.

For you

I've got some graffiti here for you. Or maybe it's for me. There's a ship in there. Now I understand that graffiti is everywhere, especially in New York, but there is a difference between art and vandalism. I found the first one on the stairs in the architecture building on campus. And I found the second one somewhere around 17th and Market in San Francisco.