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April 3rd, 2009
03:48 pm
Took another long walk last night, because I've been having trouble mustering up the energy to go running. First I walked to Silverlake Wine. Then I walked to another wine store in Atwater Village. By then it was really late and I freaked out when I came upon a coffin store. On my way home, walking under Hyperion bridge, I spotted two Asian guys standing over the bridge, eating ramen noodles.
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December 17th, 2008
08:27 pm
Two products I've used recently past their expiration date:
Kodak High Definition 200 film. I had this in my fridge forever and wondered why people's faces were turning green when I got my processing back. Turns out the film was expired. Oopsy.
Trader Joe's Chicken Sausages. Tasted funny and sour on the very first day of expiration. Wow, that's accuracy!
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December 10th, 2008
12:33 am
One of my most uncontrollable vices is eating cereal. LARGE amounts of it. It's an obsession that dates back to childhood, when I would eat three bowls of Frosted Flakes every afternoon. When I PMS, cereal is the first thing I crave, even more than chocolate. And now, it's gotten so bad that I can't keep cereal in my pantry or else I'll overeat. I tried to overcome the problem by buying healthy brands that don't lend themselves to too much enjoyment. So I chose a box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, thinking that I wouldn't really touch it. Such a fool. One drunken night at 3am I decided to bust open the box and discovered that it was DELICIOUS! Like a grownup version of Honey Smacks. The next morning I ate four bowls in a row. A few weeks later I was at Target and decided to treat myself to my favorite kids' cereal, Golden Grahams. Fast forward to later that evening, when I finished THE ENTIRE BOX that same night. That's right, 11 servings, gone. Since hitting rock bottom I just don't buy cereal anymore. It's just too easy to indulge. Now the only breakfast carb I keep in the pantry is stovetop oatmeal, intentionally because it takes time to prepare. So far it's kept me honest.
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December 3rd, 2008
03:42 pm
Maybe it's the cold weather, maybe it's the economic downturn, but the only urge I've had since Thanksgiving is to be a total homebody. My apartment, which is usually unbearably hot in the summer, is so toasty in the winter that I don't ever want to leave. It's like having an invisible fireplace. Favorite things to do at the moment:
1. read comics
2. drink port
3. eat braised meats and heavy stews
4. cook badly
5. do Gepetto-like crafty things
Last week I finally sat down and replaced all the foam seals inside my Cosina CX-1 and Olympus XA. It was so satisfying a task that I wish I had more deteriorating cameras to fix up.
I drew a picture for C's birthday, of the Beverly Cleary book cover for The Mouse and the Motorcycle, but I changed the motorbike to a Bianchi Milano.
I decided to condition my cast iron grill pan by cleaning it, coating it with oil and baking it in my oven. I think this pan (by Lodge) was the best $15 I spent all year. I got it from Target on sale, and they shipped it for free, which is insane considering it weighs about 8 pounds. I love this thing. Meats that I would ruin on any other kind of cookware, always come out fine and with cute little grill marks on it. I hear that cooking on cast iron will leech iron into your food, a good thing if you have iron deficiencies. O_o I'm halfway tempted to buy a bunch of cast iron cookware, but they are so heavy that the thought of eventually having to pack and lift them if I ever move is just too scary.
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December 2nd, 2008
10:19 pm
I hate the smell of microwave popcorn at the office. Dunno if it's the fake butter or what, but it smells slightly vomitous to me. Unfortunately everyone else at work just LOVES it.
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December 1st, 2008
08:45 pm
Heard on the radio just now, during The Beat's dedication hour:
"This is for my man Joseph, from his lady Mary. I want to dedicate the song 'I miss my baby.'"
I about died laughing. Mary and Joseph. Tee hee.
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November 28th, 2008
09:28 am
At my parents' house, I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia and all I want to do is watch The Wonder Years and curl up with a stack of my old Uncle Scrooge comic books. Hmm, I wonder if my old stash is still around!
And maybe because of this warm, fuzzy feeling, I've developed a huge appetite for modern comic books, a.k.a. "graphic novels" (*cough* DORK). My favorite shops to frequent lately are Skylight Books 1814, Secret Headquarters and Family.
Skylight 1814 is the expansion section of Skylight Books that houses all their 'visual' content, i.e. magazines, zines, art books and graphic novels. Every week when I go to Psychobabble cafe for a study session with C (she studies, I read my book of the month, or doodle in my sketchbook), I always wander over there. The last time, no more than three minutes passed before the graphic novel geek working there came over and gushed to me about this book that he loved, about a family whose child was about to be abducted by ghosts and all the heart wrenching lengths they go to to save him. I didn't have the heart to tell the dude that I was really in the mood to read something a little more shallow.
Secret Headquarters is a tiny, comics-only shop in Silverlake. They are cuh-lassy and have leather club chairs you can sit in. Heh heh.
And Family is my absolute favorite store in all of L.A. right now. They are equally divided between comics, zines, art books and literary journals. I had passed by many times before without going in for whatever reason. Then one day my friend Lana, whom I idolize, played there with her band, and I realized it must be awesome. I took off from work early the day before Thanksgiving so I could spend an hour or so just browsing. Going to Family just makes it all the more painfully obvious how weak and juvenile places like Giant Robot are in comparison. This conversation overheard yesterday:
Store associate: "Did you read the latest edition of the zine I brought over?"
Store clerk 1: "No, I never do."
Store associate: (turning to other clerk) "Did *you* read my latest zine?"
Store clerk 2: "If by 'read' you mean did I throw it in the trash, then yes I did."
To think that I used to have to trek over to the west side to Hennessy + Ingalls to get art books, and now I realize how much more content there is right here in town.
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November 19th, 2008
10:32 pm
Look what I got for my birthday from C:
A Cosina CX-1
Apparently it is the camera design upon which the Lomo LC-A was copied, except it is Japan-built and very, very rare. C had researched cameras and decided she wanted to find me this one, but the only ones available from Ebay were overpriced and located in the Netherlands or South Korea. Then, while hopelessly perusing Craigslist, she found some dude who listed a random, Japanese camera which turned out to be that exact Cosina. The guy apparently just collects a lot of random junk and didn't really know what he had.
She called him up and asked how much was asking for the camera, but he refused and said he would *only* consider a barter. So she drove to her parents' house in Orange County, gathered up a bunch of old possessions and drove an hour out to meet him. He apparently lived a house just *filled* with junk, all of which he bartered for on Craigslist, including the camera. He went through all her stuff and by luck, picked the one she cared LEAST about, a bass amp that once belonged to her old bandmate. He hooked it up to a bass guitar that he had gotten in a previous trade, and the deal was done.
How much awesome is THAT?
Not only did she get the most fantastic adventure story from seeking out this gift, but the girl is brazen. Most people deem me too difficult to shop for because my hobbies are so specific. But she boldly did some research and found me a camera that I didn't even know about, but now am in love with.
And today while googling the CX-1, I found out it was originally introduced in the month and year of my birth. O_o
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10:01 pm
I recently saw Eric Koston shopping at my local Gelson's. I usually try not to be excited about celebrity sightings, but this one left me giddy!
For the record I hate Gelson's, but had to go for a desperate last minute baking ingredient.
Come to think of it, I ran into another professional skateboarder lately, who works at The Apple Store at The Grove. He is not quite as famous as Koston, but he told me he skated when he saw my board and sure enough I'd remembered seeing him in magazines before. I wonder what kind of secondary jobs pro skaters who aren't Eric Koston usually have to hold down.
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November 6th, 2008
05:41 pm
Since the economy is so poor I have a self imposed limit on going out for those beloved weekend brunches. Instead, my newest weekend food indulgence has been making sweet + savory breakfast sandwiches, in the tradition of those McGriddles I used to eat on Saturdays back when I was a fatass.
Favorite recipes so far include:
honey + peanut butter sandwich
strawberry jam + prosciutto + scrambled egg + maple syrup sandwich
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October 17th, 2008
12:29 pm
Ugh. I want to die. I've been trying to order a laptop from work for months now, and finally this week the IT department called to let me know that my MacBook Pro has arrived, one day before the NEW and REDESIGNED FROM THE GROUND UP MacBooks were announced! Moded!!!!!
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October 7th, 2008
12:58 pm
A few weeks ago I went on a work retreat at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena. We had an 80's themed murder mystery dinner... which I solved! When I told my coworker I won the mystery she said most incredulously, "YOU solved it? YOU...solved it?"
Two things I've finally given into about a decade after the rest of the world: comic books and coffee. I resisted both for the longest time because I associated comics with stinky boys and coffee with stinky breath. But whatevers. Meltdown Comics and Secret Headquarters are like two of my favorite places now. And I can't stop running downstairs to Starbucks every morning and afternoon for a short nonfat cafe au lait.
C and I are having a contest to see who can lose more weight this month. The winner gets to choose an ugly outfit for the loser to wear during our upcoming joint birthday party. I tried to gain a competitive edge by bulking up before the initial weigh in. I pigged out on everything I could possibly think of, gorging myself of sweets until I couldn't stand it anymore. I indulged in all my favorite things in a preemptive strike against cravings. Including: Snickers ice cream bars (my favorite!), ice box cupcakes, Garage Pizza, pulled pork sanwiches from The Oinkster, milk shakes, caramel macchiatos, caramel hot chocolate, eclair cream puffs from Beard Papa, buttery biscuits and Heath bars. This may have not been the best strategy as I really am a bit plump now and my appetite has grown.
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August 26th, 2008
12:00 pm
Yesterday I went jogging at the reservoir for the first time, in an attempt to find a jogging trail much closer to home than the one I frequent. Here are the pluses and minuses of the reservoir.
+ It's so much closer!
+ It's by the water, which provides a nice cooling effect
+ Less people, less families, less kids, less strollers and less bicyclists jockeying for space
- It's a lot more dangerous, with more cars whizzing by at high speeds
- There are a lot more extreme uphills and downhills, which is good for conditioning I guess but not as comfortable to run on
- Parts of the road are in pitch black, which made me feel like I was gonna fall flat on my face
- It's a shorter run than where I usually go
- And last but not least, half of the path is dirt!! Which is supposedly better cushion for your knees but I don't like getting my running shoes dirty! >:O Ugh, I hate the feeling of kicking up dust.
Some of this should be alleviated when the city builds a new paved trail and safety fence later this year, but until then it's back to my old jogging spot.
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July 13th, 2008
10:48 am
Yesterday I cooked a vat of German potato salad in preparation for today's beach picnic. I don't know what really defines a German potato salad, but I cooked it with beer and mustard, and there's no dairy or butter in it. It turned out more like a potato mash because I cooked the potatoes too long, but that's fine. It still looks not bad. Next time I'll use less parsley, onions and beer, and add more pancetta.
After I got done with that I felt so hot that I walked down to the supermarket and bought a pint of ice cream and ate the whole thing in one sitting, which I've never done before. It was Ben and Jerry's Willie Nelson's Peach Cobbler.
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June 22nd, 2008
01:34 am
So I really did end up getting chosen to be on a jury. It was a really fast, tiny case. A theft at Target. During the trial we weren't allowed to shop at Target. And I just happened to be out of a ton of things I needed to get at Target. Finally, the trial ended just as I was on my last roll of toilet paper.
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June 10th, 2008
12:56 pm
Teehee. That's that retarded stripe in the griptape I was talking about.
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May 20th, 2008
11:48 pm - weekend report
Waxed my car on Saturday. I've decided that it will get waxed once every six months. That should be just enough to keep the clearcoat minimally protected at all times. I love my red Subie, but can't be too careful with it because city living is just an inevitability of gouges and scratches.
Had a massive craving for hainan chicken, so I stopped by Savoy. When I was in school, my mom used to stop by Savoy for takeout on her way home from the office, bringing us the hainan chicken or various pizzas. I loved it then and ten years later it's still my favorite dish in the world.
Went to Little Tokyo to get some Beard Papa cream puffs, and to pick up some car supplies to replace the ones I lost in my last car. See, when I had my car accident, I never expected it would end up totaled, so when the tow yard instructed me to retrieve any personal belongings from the wreck, I didn't bother to take *everything* because I figured I'd get the car back. Because I didn't, it's been a minor hassle to replace the stuff that was in there, like my windshield sunshade, mini trashcan, fobby Broadway mirror, Thomas Guide and my skateboard!
Visited Sarah and her baby. Her apartment has grown exponentially more filled with educational toys since the last time I was there. There is now a keyboard, a choo-choo train decal on the wall, various books and geometric toys strewn about, and a giant easel displaying the Korean alphabet. The baby is only 8 months old. Classical music is constantly playing as background muzak.
Got home and decided to assemble a new skateboard to replace the old lost one. Now that summer is here and I'll be making more trips to Abbot Kinney, I thought it'd be nice to have something to skate up and down the street with. At 1:00am, I got the bright idea to cut a stripe into the griptape. It took longer than expected because I had to keep changing exacto blades. I exhausted myself and ended up cutting the edges really sloppy. My downstairs neighbor must hate me for the racket caused by a screwdriver scraping on griptape. And the stripe looks questionable. I may end up just ripping it out.
Had brunch on Sunday with Kat and John at The Alcove. It was an absolute zoo there, but luckily they recognized what a hot, torturous day it was and actually had sprinklers spraying mists of water all around the patio seating area, a la Magic Mountain. And there was this unbelievably chipper waiter walking around offering people cups of ice water.
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11:45 pm - two weeks ago
Had a delicious brunch at 3 Square Cafe with my old coworker Shuwen. Ordered the German apple pancake. Never knew such a thing existed, but it's exactly what hit the spot. Every time I go to brunch on a weekend and opt for something sweet instead of savory, this is exactly what I'd want. Sweet but just spongey and heavy enough.
Walked around Abbot Kinney until I'd bought enough cute junk, then stopped by Jin Patisserie for a slice of the loveliest caramel cake and an equally lovely jasmine tea. In my opinion a tea and cake pairing is right up there with a good food and wine pairing.
Had dinner with Ely at Pure Luck. He arrived at my doorstep wearing a metallic gold jacket. When I asked him what he'd done that day, he said, "I got a tattoo today. I'll do 'the reveal' when I take off my jacket." When he did, it was worth the wait. It was a tattoo of... a pencil!
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May 19th, 2008
10:29 am
Ugh. Over the weekend the cleaning people came and emptied out the office refrigerator, wiping out ALL of the sandwich making supplies that everyone had been storing in there. All the tomatoes, lunch meats, mayonnaise, everything. It's as if a natural disaster blew into town. People are wandering out of the kitchen saying, "What am I supposed to do now??"
I'm SO annoyed because they also threw away my soy milk (Kikkoman Pearl organic unsweetened) and I had to have my cereal with....regular milk! It tasted soooo strange and disgusting!
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May 13th, 2008
08:33 am
Yesterday the temp in L.A. was a high of 65º. Over the next course of the next three days it will keep climbing until it hits 95º!
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I've been upping my jogs from three miles to six miles each time. It's actually a nice distance and a nice pace, and allows me to go running less days of the week. But because of the increased impacts on my legs, I'm now in desperate need of yoga.
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