Character Of The Day

Wǒ. I picked an easy one, because I didn't drink any tea today and am really tired. It's the first person singular pronoun. It means I and me. It's part of a couple of words, though.

自我 - zìwǒ means ego or self
自我批评 - zìwǒpīpíng means self-criticism
自我介绍 - zìwǒjièshào means self-introduction
我们 - wǒmen means we

There you go. That's it for today. I was going to skip, but decided against it. If you have any additional words or phrases that use 我(wǒ), let me knǒ. Bye

Blister in the Sun

Terrible blister on my ring finger on right hand. I never realized how much I use that finger until I have to make an effort to not pop this boil. It is el grossie!!! :(
Yet fascinating at the same time what your body does to try to heal itself. Do they just magically go away or does it somehow pop by itself? I never had one before I guess because I was never stupid enough to actually scald myself with a teapot. Go me.
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It is too hot to do anything. Too hot to clean. Too hot to read. Too hot to go to Billy's Bakery to get cupcakes. Too hot to do anything. One hot minute after another. Mad hot minutes.
Why is it so humid? Just rain already!!!
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I have to gym later. Last time the had wonderful samples of Jamba Juice shakes. I don't understand people who go and do the machines with like a level one intensity. Go big or go home!! My philosophy in life. But lately I have not worked out with as much intensity because something in me is just tell me to ease it up a little. I haven't been sleeping as well lately so maybe that is why. ZZzzz...
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But most of the time it is more of a mental thing. Like I give myself mucho work and for the first fifteen minutes I am just like "I can't do this, I don't wanna...I wanna go home," then afterward I get my groove on and just give it all I can. Once I do, I feel like I can do anything. Good way of starting the day. :)
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A stair-climbing fiend goes to the machine wearing a Barney plastic suit underneath his clothes and sweats profusely. EVERY DAY. I find it really disturbing. What is the problem?
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My only gripe is that the handles of the machines tend to be sticky either due to multiple use or because the remote is not adhering to the handles. Mucho mucho germs!!! Best not to think about it.
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Hope April wins BB6. We work in the same profession. I gotta root for her! I am really glad I am not entrenched in the office politics anymore. What I have learned in the corporate world is to always cover your ass, always leave a paper trail, am always as good as your last project, always be in defensive mode, always let your life be compromised by work.
"Good job yesterday on that account. What?! You didn't get the email? But I cc'ed you on it. I printed it for you too. Should be on your desk. So you know that means you will be staying late tonight again. No problem? Good."









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Ty got booted. Suzie and Marty really ripped it up. Now I really want Marty to win.
I even voted for them!!
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Trivia of the Day: Which male tennis player has won the most Wimbeldon titles?
(Yesterday's Answer: CHAZ)

Character Of The Day

Lì. This character is one of the more popular ones for tattooing on your body if you're a pro athlete or a poseur (check this out). I don't think it will ever be beaten by the barbed wire around the bicep, though. Anyway, let's take a look at it. Originally, this character was a pictograph of a tendon and can mean power, force, ability, or strength. It's part of a lot of words, so let's take a look at some of them.

力不从心 - lìbùcóngxīn means unable to do as much as one would like to (i think this is 成语?)
力量 - lìliang and
力气 - lìqi both mean physical strength
潜力 - qiánlì means latent ability or potential
努力 - nǔlì means diligent or to work hard
苦力 - kǔlì means hard work (the English word "coolie" is derived from this word)
活力 - huólì means vitality
力学 - lìxué means mechanics (the field of study)

So, there you have it. There's plenty more of these, so look this character up in your dictionary or on www.zhongwen.com for more ways that it's used. If you're going to get this tattooed on your body, get the pictograph done on your Achilles. That would be interesting. Later.

Fill me up, Buttercup

Busy, busy day!! Had lunch with a manager and counterpart. Lovely shrimp salad with mustard vinegarette.
Caffeine intake: 2 counts. (Diet soda)
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Walked up to Buttercup bakery. They have amazing banana pudding but I got a lemon and red velvet cupcake. I am going to Billy's Bakery in my hood tomorrow to see how the two compare.












Caffeine intake: 1count. (Iced coffee)
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Went to OMS/B. I got the shrimp popcorn, tuna roe and eel riceball. Yummy!









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Got three books at the library: One hundred years of solitude, A wolf in chic clothing and Further tales of the City. Chilled out a bit in Bryant Park.
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Yay! Plans to go a yoga on Sunday. Pretzel!!
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Went to a Bridal Focus Group with G. We got dinner and $20 bucks for rating clothes! It was really fun to shop and chomp at the same time. I would do it again any day.
Caffeine intake: 2 counts (Diet soda)
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Went to Sephora. I wanted to get the MD solutions sunscreen pads but it was $30 bucks. I wanted a sample but the sephora dude was such a turd.
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Finally home but pooped! Found Vogue w/ Sarah Jessica Parker in my mailbox. Must go to gym and watch me some Rock Star INXS. I still have to study tonight. Eek!!
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Love Jah cure's "Longing For." Bob Marley-esque.
Caffeine intake: 2 counts (Diet soda)
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Trivia of the day: What is the brother's name in the "Wedding Crashers?"

Chinese Character Of The Day

Lùn. If you're into debate or academia, here's an interesting one for you. This character is one of those ones that can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it can be translated as opinion, essay, or theory. As a verb, it can be translated as to discuss, to consider, to determine, or to debate. It's made up of the simplified form of the 言(yán) radical, which can mean to speak, and 仑(lún), which can mean orderly and is also the phonetic component of this character. Makes a lot of sense to me. Now, let's take a look at how it's used.

不论 - búlún means regardless of
讨论 - tǎolún means to discuss
论语 - lúnyǔ is a name for Confucius' Analects
论文 - lúnwén means thesis, paper, or dissertation
评论 - pínglún means commentary or to comment
社论 - shèlún means editorial
结论 - jiélún means conclusion
公论 - gōnglún means public opinion

There's plenty more where this came from, so check out your dictionary or www.zhongwen.com for more combinations that involve this character. In other news, I recently downloaded a java flash card program from www.mandarintools.com. I've found it very useful, and it works for Cantonese too. So, that's it for today. Let me know if there's any questions, comments, or concerns. Later.

Food for thought

Reading nutrition labels has left me quite confused. If a serving has total fat of 1.5g, 0g saturated fat, 0g unsaturated fat, .5g polyunsaturated fat, and .5g of monounsaturated fat...where did the other .5g fat go? A conundrum for sure.
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Finally finished The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory). What a tome! The book reminded me of a Currin painting: bawdy, scandalous, in yo' face but I can't take my eyes off it. An engrossing read. Life was messy even then. George, Anne and Mary's brother, was beheaded for being a homosexual/committing adultery. But Anne most likely slept with George to give Henry VIII an heir. Lots of dirty deeds to be on top. Chicanery. So twisted you can't make it up!!
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G told me she had lots of uni last night. Muffin top belly. *BURP*
What is uni? She doesn't know. Apparently it is some sort of sea urchin roe from the depths of the sea. Poetry a la ocean.
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Agassi is playing at the US Open. May the old codger kick some spring chicken ass.
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What is unagi? (Due to the lack of funds, no prize will be awarded to a winner).

Alice's Favorite (Living) Artist Is...

John Currin

Chinese Character of the Day

Yīn. This is an important character that means sound, directly translated. Simple, right? Sure, but it's used in combination with a lot of other characters to form important words related to music and language. Oh yeah, as far as the parts go, 立 (lì) is on the top and 日 (rì) is on the bottom. As far as I can tell, these parts don't have any significance as far as meaning or pronunciation go, but I find it a lot easier to remember how to write characters by the parts they're made up of. Anyway, let's take a look at some words that involve the character 音 (yīn).

音乐 - yīnyuè means music
音符 - yīnfú means musical note
录音 - lùyīn means to record (music)
音量 - yīnliàng means volume (of sound)
扩音 - kuòyīn means to amplify (sound)
扩音器 - kuòyīnqì means megaphone
音节 - yīnjié means syllable
拼音 - pīnyīn means to phoneticize, also the name of the method of representing Chinese sounds with English letters, currently used in the PRC
口音 - kǒuyīn means accent (of speech)
重音 - zhòngyīn means stress (of a sound) or accent (musical)
回音 - huíyīn means echo
发音 - fāyīn means to pronounce or pronunciation
播音 - bōyīn means to broadcast

Perhaps that's a couple too many, but they're all pretty useful. It's interesting how some of these terms are translated into English words that have multiple meanings or homonyms. So, if you come across 音(yīn) in a situation where you're not familiar with the combination where it's found, you can be pretty sure it has something do to with sound or language. OK, that's it for me today. Questions, comments, or corrections? Let me know. Take it easy

Where's My Prize???

Poor Kitty...

bildungsroman

Sunday is all about the NYTimes, a big vat of coffee and perhaps some tidying up. G swings by early to pick up something and brought a copy of the Sunday Times. She still has time to go to church and will buffet later. What a religious, multitasking gourmand.
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On the cover of the Book Review section Jay McInerney writes about Indecision, the very book I came across yesterday. Says great but ending drags. Wedding Crashers was like that too. Title refers to the "coming of age" of something. But to me it just sounds smelly.
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Jay-Z on the cover of Arts & Leisure section. Talks about Def Jam. I production assisted on his "Excuse me Miss" video and he struck me as a quiet man. He requested Cheese Factory and Hennessy. Kept watching the LA Lakers game. In the article, he says he would like to settle down with Beyonce soon. Egad!! >:O
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I love things when they are at two states: either new or done. New stuff signifies a fresh beginning, doing away with something gives me a sense of accomplishment. Life ain't about the journey. That is just a middling state of being.
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Laundry today. Bane of my existence. I live on the fifth floor. I wonder how my neighbors do it. Alas, it must be done cuz I have no shorts!! Well, quite chilly today so sweats are apt.
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Trivia of the day: What is Jay-Z's real name?

Chinese Character of the Day

Xīng. This character can be directly translated as star, bit, or particle. It's another character that has literal meanings as well as figurative ones. It is made up of 日(rì) on the top meaning sun and 生(shēng) on the bottom meaning to give birth to, living, or life. I suppose all suns begin as stars, so it makes some sense. If nothing else, it's a good way to remember how to write it. 星 (xīng) is often found alongside other characters that, together, form words. Let's check some of 'em out.

星期 - xīngqī means week
星期一 - xīngqīyī means Monday
星期二 - xīngqī'èr means Tuesday and so on...
星系 - xīngxì means galaxy
卫星 - wèixīng means satellite
影星 - yǐngxīng means movie star
星座 - xīngzuò means constellation or zodiac sign
外星人 - wàixīngrén means alien (space kind, not illegal kind)
星象家 - xīngxiàngjiā means astrologist
克星 - kèxīng means unlucky star or nemesis

I think that's enough to keep ya'll occupied for a while. It's interesting that this character can be used in the same way as it's used in English as another term for a well known singer or actor. As usual, look this character up in your dictionary or consult www.zhongwen.com for more info. The aforementioned website is especially useful for finding uses of a character where it's not located in the front of the word. Let me know if there's anything that's unclear or if I made any mistakes. Take it easy, everyone.

I Heart Brussel Sprouts

I am a creature of habit. When I start eating something that I like, I tend to eat it often, sometimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner until I get sick of it. Picasso had a Rose & Blue period. I had an Oatmeal & Watermelon period. Picasso is an artistic genius. I am but a fool for food.
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My staples right now are cantaloupe, surimi (see below), and now...brussel sprouts!!
Every now and then I buy me some cashews just to mix it up a bit.
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I love to go to walk around the neighborhood during the weekend, namely Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble. Though the Whole Foods is in Chelsea is smaller than the three floor behemoth at Union Square, it is the original. I got some Boca Burgers (Roasted Garlic is my fave) and got to sample some Macrona Almonds. They are sooooo good! From Spain with sea salt. I was a tad dubious since they look wet, but they are a lot tastier than the regular ones. A bit pricey but what a treat!
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So many new books at B&N! The new Paulo Coelho and Bret Easton Ellis is out already but I got an oldie but hopefully goodie, The Other Boleyn Girl (Phillippa Gregory). Never really read historical fiction but the back cover promised me mystery and intrigue so I don't want to deny myself that. I also read some of Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About (Kevin Trudeau). I promise not to nuke everything I eat now. There are two other books that really interested me:

1) Geisha: A Life-- (Mineko Iwasaki) Suppose to be the true story that Arthur Golden's Memoirs of the Geisha was based on. I definitely want to see the movie too!

2) Indecision-- (Benjamin Kunkel) Quarter life crisis for an educated kid who doesn't know what to do with his life. Pfizer or Ecuador? I empathize.
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As I left, saw a huge section for Sudoku, I guess to satiate the craze that is going on. Am I out of the loop or what? Apparently, Sudoku is a numbers crossword puzzle that tests your reasoning and mental prowess. I haven't tried it yet but I rather be eating my brussel sprouts.

Hey Alice!

Plique-a-jour

Resolution for this year was to read more books. I met my goal of ten already but most of them are chick lit so I don't know if they should count. I will rank them in the order of best to worst:

1) Kite Runner--(Khaled Hosseini) Powerful, intense read. So good I read it in one sitting. I started late at night and when I was done, it was bright outside. I loved Hassan. I believe that karma exists within the self but also cycles in the family. The only way we can break it is if we go out of our way to fix it. If not, things tend to perpetuate and brought over to the next generation. The meaning of brotherhood, family, friendship was all tested in this book. Not a dry eye. :')

2) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-- (JK Rowling) Suspenseful but long. My favorite is still Goblet of Fire which is coming out soon in movie form. I didn't know that Emma Rose was Julia Robert's niece.

3) Never Let Me Go-- (Kazuo Ishiguro) A science fiction version of Ian McEwan's books. Beautiful prose. Sadness chips away at you. Throughout the book, I felt like it took something from me but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. Bereft.

4) Front Row: Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief--
(Jerry Oppenheimer) Quite an intriguing read about the life of Anna Wintour. If you love Vogue and fashion like I do, a must read. Tip to aspiring editors: if you ever meet her, don't look her in the eye.

5) Le Divorce-- (Diane Johnson) Bonjour, mon petite chou! I heart Paris and it was nice to read about the intricacies of being an American living an expat life. An interesting plot and 3D characters. This is Johnson at her best.

6) Tales of the City/ More Tales of the City- (Armistead Maupin) A more wacked out version of "Friends." Still relatable though the setting is in San Francisco and they drink Tab and took Quaaludes back in the day but hot gay men seem to always been in style!

7) Like Water for Chocolate-- (Laura Esquivel) See below.

8) The Starter Wife-- (Gigi Levangie Grazer) Maneater was better. But she seems to know a lot about being a Hollywood wife. Could it be because she is married to megaproducer Brian Grazer?

9) Little Earthquakes-- (Jennifer Weiner) This is like Sex & the City but with babies. Makes me not want any kids.

10) Prep-- (Curtis Sittenfield) Life in boarding school for a girl who doesn't quite fit in. The moral of the story? There is no moral.

I finished Hand-Me-Down by Lee Nichols and it twas a happy read. Plique-a-jour is from the book which is a french term for a kind of enameling that produces a brilliant transculent effect like light through stained glass. Literal translation "windows of light."
Cool.

I tried to read Choke by Chuck Palahniuk but it was too messed up. He wrote Fight Club too. First rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. What's the second rule?

Chinese Character of the Day

Zī. This is the 13th most common character as collected on Usenet newsgroups in 1993 and 1994 by Shi-Kun Huang and collated by Chih-Hao Tsai. Translated by itself, it can mean capital or funds. The top part is 次 (cì), which can mean order or sequence. The bottom part is 贝 (bèi), which means shell, including the cowrie shell used as currency in ancient China (link). So, I guess when you put your shells in order, you've got capital. Makes sense to me. Now on to multiple-character words involving 资 (zī).

资本 - zīběn means capital and...
资本家 - zīběnjiā means capitalist
资产 - zīchǎn means property or assets
投资 - tóuzī means invest
资产阶级 - zīchǎnjiējí means the bourgeoisie
资源 - zīyuán means resources
工资 - gōngzī means salary or wages

There are many more where these came from, so check out 资 (zī) in your dictionary or on www.zhongwen.com for more info. It's definately a character with all kinds of uses, especially in the fields of finance or business, so it's a great one to know. So, that's it for today, and if you have any questions, comments, or corrections, let me know. 拜拜.

Manic Monday

Kudos to Nate for getting a new job in Houston!!
He starts on Monday.
What I am also starting on Monday is the Self Challenge. I went to self.com to register and everything. You have three options: to get out of your couch potato self, get sleek muscles or to run a 3.1 race. I was going to choose the last one because I wanted to do a race but I think that the lifting weights thing is more of a challenge since I don't. But Mr. Nate does so the timing for this is quite apt. This is dedicated to you man. :)
I have to log all the squats and pull-ups that I do so I will record the process. I am more focused on the weight-lifting portion because I looked at the cardio and I do enough cardio already.
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Really strange. I went to see the "Wedding Crashers" some long time ago, and I remember being like "it is quite strange that the family has a brunette, blonde and redhead be sisters." It turns out that the blonde went to my college! She was a year above me and I remember she borrowed my notes once for art history class. I think it is rather cool that she is taking a different route other than the usually ibanking, law and med school path the school tend to pump out.
The only other person on film that I know is Dr. Isaacs. He has a practice on Mercer Street and he was Morgan Spurlock's doctor in "Supersize Me." I met Morgan once and he lost all the weight. I did a dinner program with Dr Isaacs once and he saunters in late orders a big slab of meat, devours it and goes out for a smoke. Quite a pillar of health.
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Looking at the pics of the Guggenheim Bilbao makes me really want to go there. (Thanks Aaron for posting it up. I do not have the capability because I am still on OS 9 and not Tiger GRRRR). The Gehry building looks more interesting than the Frank Lloyd Wright one in NYC but the NYC ones seems to have a better collection. I did training to be a docent for the Guggenheim. Toni does tours there still. I wanna go on a Toni tour!! :)

Guggenheim: Bilbao

"I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect..."

I just got back from an excellent hip-hop show at the fine Indianapolis club venue, The Patio. The show started off with a couple of local acts I don't really like, so I went with my friend Gyrid to The Casbah, had a beer and watched DJ Top Speed do some things with 45s that I've never seen done before. We came back while The Boom Bap Project was performing. They were alright, though I wasn't really paying attention. Some random girl insisted that I try her drink and tell her if I thought there was any alcohol in it. It tasted like Coke to me, so I said no, and she stormed off to go bitch at the bartender. Pretty odd.

Next, O.C. came on, who was my main reason for going. His set was excellent. He started off with some tracks that I wasn't too familiar with off his more recent albums, and then dropped his verse from "Dangerous", one of the better songs off Jewels. Next, he did a medley of his verses off some old D.I.T.C. tracks and then came in with the excellent "My World". Then, he did a couple songs off his album that's coming out in November. They sounded really good and I'm really looking forward to that album. Obviously, he finished things off with "Time's Up" and abruptly left after announcing that Non Phixion had decided to show up on their way to Chicago and were going to perform a couple songs, which was somewhat of a surprise. Ill Bill seemed a bit out of it.

After a while, headliners Heiroglyphics came on for an epic set that must have lasted over an hour and a half. I'm not too familiar with their albums, aside from a couple of tracks, and was pretty tired by this point, but it was a great show and everyone seemed to be really into it, which was great for a show in Indy. It was a great time and worth my 12 dollars. If this tour is coming to your town, check it out. And there you have it.

Step Letter

Ok...So this means that our blog means "step letter?!" No better yet... it means "step step letter letter." Yeah, that makes a whole lotta sense. Bite me. It's kinda like naming your kid O'so Krispie. WHo Does that?! (watch her win too so the crew is going to be t-boz, chilli and o'so k)
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You go Ray!! :) You know whatcha did. 3072...Rock on :)
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It is that time again. Yep, the US Open Tennis. It is my favorite sport. Deepak just called and said he will be in town to see a match. I went last year to see Justine Henin-Hardenne play Jennifer Capriati and Justine obliterated the once phenom. BAM!! Bitch went down. ;P
My favorite player of all-time is Steffi Graf but since she is no longer playing, I am going to bet on Federer (probably Federer and Roddick in the finals) and Sherapova (Sherapova and Williams) in the finals. I always wanted to be a ball girl. I think I might be a little bit too old for that now but alas! It sucks when all the players are now younger than you. Like Martina Hingis is my age but she can't play anymore due to injuries. She is now in the old man circuit, playing for charity. And Anna Kournikova is betrothed to Enrique. We old-timers now only have Venus to represent us. GO VENUS!!!
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Do you know what Roddick has a website called andysmojo.com...what the hell is that? HAVE YOU SEEN ANDY'S MOJO? Uhhh...no? :[
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I went to the Apple store recently. I got the ipod in-ear headphones. It rocks the house. They have different sizes of plastic for your hearing pleasure: small, medium and large. Steve Jobs is so goddamn daft. It makes the bass so much better I must say. I really like the new picture Ipod. 'Tis a bit bigger but it is in color. It makes my mini ipod look really antiquated. But musak is musak. I really into the White Stripes right now and The Strokes. I am digging Gwen Stefani too. I really like her "Cool" video. Kanye's "Golddigger" is fun too. Kanye be weird though. He has a painting in his living room that resembles the Sistine Chapel's "The Last Judgment" except he is in it. I haven't really museum-hopped in a while but I saw the Richard Serra's exhibit in LA already that they have right now at the Whitney. It was alright. I would love to go see that exhibit in Bilbao though.
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I bought the headphones for the gym. I have started spinning because of Lance. I don't know how he does it for six hours a day but it is a great workout. I have grown accustomed to it now so I am trying to stair-climb now. Oh Lord Have Mercy! Buns of steel, Buns of steel.
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C, you are on! I would really like to go to that Il Laboratorio de Gelato on Orchard Street. I have heard great things about it!! :P
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I would also like to share with you an anti-cooking/food handling tip that I learned the hard way. I really like to eat frozen watermelon and instead of taking my my-t-fine time to prepare it like cut it freeze the bits, I just take the whole thing and put it in the freezer. good idea/bad idea? if your response is the latter, you are like my sister,G. she came to visit me when the watermelon was still in the freezer and she was like "oh you are going to dry it up." I told her it ain't because the freezer is going to freeze it. so i forgot about it, it froze and i couldn't really eat it and then i just put it in the bottom fridge to let it thaw a wee bit. Lo and behold when it was in the fridge, it started thawing and now it is wizened. I hate it when my family is right. And I thought I was so daft. Boo hiss. I am going to hold off on the watermelon for a little while because cleaning the sticky mess ain't so fun. So honeydews for now. And I ain't going to put it in the freezer no mo'. :\

Chinese Character of the Day

Xìn. This character, when directly translated, can be a noun meaning letter, information, or confidence (the kind you keep, not the self- kind). When used as a verb, it can be translated as to believe or to trust. This is a character formed from two radicals: one on the right and one on the left. On the right, we have the 言 (yán) radical, which means word, to say, or to speak. On the left, we have the 人 (rén) radical, which means person. So, this character is a person speaking or a person's word. This is interesting, considering the way it's used. Not all characters involving multiple radicals or combinations of characters can be analyzed like this, of course, but the ones that can be taken apart like this are fascinating, in my opinion. Anyway, let's look at some of the characters that we can put together with 信 (xìn) to make words.

信封 - xìnfēng means envelope
信奉 - xìnfèng means to believe (in somthing like a religion)
信服 - xìnfú means to believe (in an idea, a theory, or an argument)
守信 - shǒuxìn means trustworthy
信箱 - xìnxiāng means mailbox or p.o. box
威信 - wēixìn means prestige or credibility.

And so on... It's a popular character, so there are lots of different words that it's involved in. Check out your Chinese-English dictionary for more, or check out www.zhongwen.com. Oh yeah, I hope you like the new font. I had to change it, because the other one wrote this character all weird. Also, let me know if I messed anything up. Take it easy.

Red Dress

Ok...I am into chick lit books and right now I am reading a book called "Hand me down" about the youngest of three sisters who has to deal with the beauty of the eldest and the brains of the middle. I can relate in the sense that I am too the youngest of four but we are all so different so we can't compare. I guess there is such a demand for the chick lit books that there is a publishing company, Red Dress for it. Last week the NY Times even had an article how there is a subgenre of chick lit books, the romance/mystery where it follows the chick-lit formula of the spunky heroine who despite or because of her quirks she gets her man but throughout the story, she also stumbles upon and solves some crime. Whew! That seems like a busy combo, like a 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner or something. I haven't tried it so I ain't going to knock it.
I think that the McDonald's thing looks really interesting. If you look up their frozen desserts menu, you also get this really weird soft serve cone with lime green/pink caramel-like substance on it. What the hell is that!??! That is uber gross. My host mom from Japan says that there is a Bulgogi sandwich in Korea at McDonald's which I think is rather interesting but will I try any of these? Ho-hum...emphatic NO!! ;P
I remember going to LA to visit my sister and we stopped by In-n-Out burger and they looked inda White Castle-ish to me. I really like the Coffee Bean there more so than Starbucks. The line for the chicken and waffles at Roscoe's was so long!!
I just remember a lot of sushi eating when I was in LA. Yum!! There are perks of having three older sisters because they tend to treat you to good food!!
My other sister G wants to go apple-picking with her Sept 10.
Um...my mom's birthday and I text messaged her. I hope she gets it. What to get her what to get her? Oh well.
I hope Aaron gets better. He is all sniffles.
On a random note: When is the best time to go to Thailand? November-March.
Thailand is known as the Spa capital of Asia. Ohh...how nice. :) Two hour massage is five US dollars.

The Chinese Character of the Day Is....

Bù. By itself, it could be translated as either a noun meaning step (both the kind you take when you walk or the step 1: insert card into ATM, step 2: enter PIN, etc. kind), stage, or situation, or a verb meaning to walk. Of course, translating individual Chinese charaters into English is not the best way to go about learning them and kind of a waste of time, as most of them are rarely used on their own. So, let's see what kinds of trouble 步 (bù) gets into when you put him together with some of his friends.

步行 - bùxíng means to walk.
漫步 - mànbù means to stroll.
地步 - dìbù means plight, condition, or extent.
让步 - ràngbù means to concede or concession
进步 - jìnbù means to progress or progressive

OK, you get the idea. I think it's a pretty interesting character, because, just like in English, it's used both literally and figuratively, and the figurative usage is pretty much the same in both English and Chinese.

If you're curious as to any other uses of this fine character, just look it up in your handy English-Chinese dictionary or go to www.zhongwen.com and see what you can find. It's a very useful site. Oh, and if you're one of the billion-plus people in the world who know Chinese better than I do and have any suggestions or notice something I screwed up, let me know. Later.

McDonald's India

If we were in India and went to McDonald's, what would you order?

I would get the Chicken Maharaja Mac™, a McAloo Tikki™, and a small Fanta.

The menu's here.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I guess I will call her later.
On a really unrelated note, I watched channel-flipping the three reality shows: Rock Star, so you think you can dance and the TLC one. I want Mirrah to win but Aaron is rooting for Oh so crispie. I guess we will just have to wait.
Deanna got ousted tonight and I felt so sad because the group got really tight and I hate to see the people go but I am glad Marty is still on. He is a tad too creepy sometimes but I think that he really ripped the song up tonight.
I still think that Mig is going to win. I think it is going to be between Mig and JD.
as for so you think you can dance I don't really like the show too much. I don't know why...I like dancing but I am not a fan of thequick step or the ballroom that they do *YAWN*.
Anyway, thanks Aaron for the neato chango presto of our site. I really dig lime green and the pink together and I like how the site goes together. It is very nice. You are a great technical director!
Please let us know if you have any comments so we can even make our blog even better!!

Flying Soon???

Check this out before you go.

Dixieland sushi

I just finished the book Dixieland sushi by Carrie Lockwood and I really liked it. I think the beginning was better than the ending but it an unique chick lit story about a Japanese American that grew up in the South. I really liked her little snippets about a lot of little things that she faced growing up. I could definitely relate to some of them. Like how she puts soy sauce on everything (she does so for even chicken). And she had really cute terminology for things like "AO" Asian Obsessed for guys who are obsessed with Asian culture and women. Reading the book makes me also want to go to Graceland because I have never been before!
But I don't know what the takeaway was maybe accept yourself for who you are.
I think it is rather funny that Aaron mentions Imitation crab because I have been eating that stuff all the time! I am obsessed. I am also eating a lot of honeydew watermelon. I don't know how to pick a good one though....

Everything You Wanted To Know About...

Imitation crab a.k.a. surimi

Here

and

Here

Peace peas

I don't own a tv. I live in a studio in NYC so basically my bedroom is my kitchen is my living room and since my studio is all these things at once, it cannot hold a tv unless I have a flat screen. I would luurve a flat screen but i don't think it is quite in my budget. I told my sister once about wanting a 14" flat screen and she told me that I better get a magnifying glass if I don't want to squint too badly. (sigh) If I had a bigger screen it would simply not sit.
I was offerred a tv once for free. My friend Karen was getting rid of hers because she got a flat screen (damn her) but I refused it. It feels quite liberating not having a television because I feel like there is always so much STUFF especially in New York. Too many movies, too many channels, too many books. God, I have the internet and it keeps me plenty occupied.
So if I have to watch the television, I go to the gym. It is a great motivator. So tonight before I watched my INXS, I stumbled upon the vh1 special with Ashley Judd and India Arie who respctively went to Madagascar and Kenya to face the AIDS issue. I was really moved by this piece and it made me cry. Imagine tearing on the treadmill! There were two parts that moved me the most. One when India Arie was talking to a fourteen year old girl and her family died of AIDS and she made up songs to help deal with the pain. The girl finally broke down because she had so much pain inside. When India asked her what she needed she said that she would like a bag to carry her books. India gave her a bag and clothes and vaseline and she was so happy she started clapping! It made me feel overwhelmed by how much pain and sadness she had to endure but yet so little can make her happy.
The second thing that moved me a lot was when Ashley Judd finally spoke to a woman who was HIV positive. She said that she and her husband both had it but she didn't know who infected whom. She was quite frail and she said people didn't want her around because they didn't want to get infected. She said that she was surprised they even wanted to talk to her and was not scared of her. Ashley gave her this huge hug and it said it all.
Cleaning my studio this weekend, I feel like things left uncared for tend to erode over time. So many dust bunnies and dirt and everything because I just didn't bother. I think that this is neglect holds true on a larger scale. It is easier in life not to know, to think to care. And I don't want to be that person.
I guess that show left me empowered to do something, but I don't know what. But looking at my studio, it might be small but I am glad I choose it. It may not be much but i don't really need that much. But I hope tonight as I write this, my friends and family are all safe and healthy. I will also try to be more cognizant to live outside myself that there is so much more out there than me and not all about me all the time. And I hope to learn to try my hardest and give my best each day. I would love to cure the ails of Africa, of the world...but right now, what I can do is to set a good example and start with myself.

You are what you eat!

Yak.

Animals I Have Eaten

Cow
Chicken
Pig
Sheep
Goat
Duck
Goose
Pigeon
Quail
Alligator
Dog
Deer
Scorpion
Silkworm
Crab
Shrimp
Lobster
Clam
Mussle
Scallop
Fish
Squid
Octopus
Snail
Sea Cucumber
Jellyfish

Are there any others I've forgotten???

Yes.

Yak

Say Hi To Alice

See the resemblance?

"Wild orgies leave the Great Wall in mess, and tears"

I love the China Daily.

link

Look at me

ok?

Nevermind

Nothing is wrong. Everything is alright.

New York Beginnings

Hollaback atcha :)

Just beginning this new blog is quite exciting...and to be sharing it with my buddy Aaron is just fantabulous! I hope that it will be an ongoing project that we will be able to keep up with even though our lives evolve. Since our interests really run the gamut we will be focusing much on our loves: food, movies, books, music, travel and will include random musings that we have.

Well, I am off to the library. The last book I read was "Like Water for Chocolate." Really good and quite fantastical! At some points I thought "gee, this is kinda weird," but if you run along with it, it is just a really feel good story. I like how the chapters are divided by month and each month has a recipe that is the center for the chapter. Since I don't really cook, I guess I will leave it up to Aaron to try the recipes! I would have rather the ending be different because I felt like Tita kept hitting the same wall, but I guess the moral of the story is that what is meant to be will be.

As for movies, I saw Red Eye on Friday and I thought it was ok. Perhaps I really expected a lot because I really love Rachel MacAdams and Cillian Murphy but I thought it was quite a letdown. Red Eye was not scary but rather funny. I also liked the fact that Lisa (Rachel) kept kicking Jack's (Cillian) ass. I thought Scream was much better though. A rental for sure.

Aaron and I have been trying to read 100 Years of Solitude. I have yet to get the book. ;)

Ooh...Rock Star: INXS is on tomorrow. Every week it gets better and better. I really hope that Mig wins. I kinda like Marty too. And guess what? They all have blogs too!!

Ps Damn Aaron for getting the pageant winner right. poo...,

Hi!

Hi! Hmmm