Puerto Escondido, Mexico

This coming week we will be visiting Puerto Escondido, Mexico. It is located on the southern Mexico Pacific coast. We will be right in the middle of three beautiful beaches:

Playa Principal,



Playa Marinero


and Playa Zicatela. Zicatela, beach break, is a world class surfing destination, hence, the reason for our trip


Unfortunately, we are visiting Mexico during its wet season and the 10 day forcast already calls for cloudy and scattered thunderstorms. Atleast the temperatures will be in the 80's.

Foot Pull

I hate using public restrooms and Port-O-Potties. If I have to, I will crouch even while using several toilet liners. What's really uncouth is when you hear someone in the stall next to you flush the toilet and then leave, neglecting to wash her hands. UUUGh, just thinking about it makes me heave. I would like to see more of these installed in public restrooms.

Driver Fatigue

Recently, I've been catching myself nodding off as I drive. Almost every time, this occurs in the afternoon with the sun glaring down at me. The heat makes me drowsy and I feel myself nodding in and out. I would miss my exit and find myself down a road I don't remember taking. It's a miracle I haven't killed anyone or myself. And it's not just when Im driving. I could stop at a stop sign and feel drowsy and wake up to people honking at me to go becuase the light has turn green. To combat this, I make sure I stock up on Red Bull when I'm on the road and pull over when I start to feel tired.

This morning, the air was crisp and cool. I don't remember feeling drowsy and I did get to bed by 9:30 pm last night. But 30 minutes into my drive, I found myself nodding in and out sleep. I pulled over and napped for ten minutes. I was really tired. After the nap, I continued on my way to work just to find myself nodding in and out of sleep again.

I finally made it to work and pulled into the parking lot. I don't understand, I feel as if I am getting enough sleep per night, but the minute I get into my car and start driving, I nod off. I wonder if there are other factors other than sleep deprivation. Could there be carbon monoxide leakage?

Lompoc

One day out of the week, I commute 1.5 hours to Santa Barbara and the rest of the week, I commute 1 hour to Lompoc. At 4.00+ a gallon, I'm averaging close to $100 a week in gas. That's a lot of wear and tear on my car not to mention the strain and exhaustion I am feeling. I've been looking at other opportunities and hopefully something will come up real soon.

When I first heard that Lompoc was the City of Arts and Flowers, I was a little skeptical. One of the things I loved about working in Santa Barbara was how beautiful the city was. Plants and flowers flourish easily along the roadside and I loved the Spanish Colonial and Mission style architecture. I was a little surprised at how dull and dilapidated some of the buildings were driving down "H" street on my way to work in Lompoc. It reminded me of deserted city in those old western movies.

This week, I took a different route to Lompoc - a 2 lane undivided highway (that takes you right by the United States Penitentiary) to escape the 30 mph limit through the city. I was surprised to see fields of vegetation and flowers. What a sight it was:







I can see now why it was known as the flower seed capital of the world.

Board Games

Our family loves board games as an alternative to watching tv or playing video games. Anything from dominoes, Connect Four, Battleship, Trouble, Chess, Checkers, Scrabble, Pictionary, Trivia Pursuit, Life, Cranium, and various card games.

Recently, I had an idea for a board game and I wondered how profitable board games are these days with all the new game consoles and games on the internet (ie. Scrabulous). Is there still a market for new board games?

If you had an idea for a board game, now what?

Let's just be acquaintances....

I was reading the chapter "The Law of the Few" from The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell this weekend and it made me ponder angrily over the incidents that occurred this weekend.

Most of us, I think, shy away from this kind of cultivation of acquaintances. We have our circle of friends, to whom we are devoted. Acquaintances we keep at arm's length. The reason we don't send birthday cards to people we don't really care a great deal about is that we don't want to feel obliged to have dinner with them or see a movie with them or visit them when they're sick. The purpose of making an acquaintance, for most of us, is to evaluate whether we want to turn that person into a friend; we don't feel have have the time or the energy to maintain meaningful contact with everyone.

For the most part that is true for me. With work and family, I hardly have the time to meet new people and "hang out". Recently, I met someone who wanted to move from the stage of acquaintances to friends in a matter of days. It was very exhausting for me as I don't like to chat on the phone 2-3 times a day, nor have the time to make plans for girls night out, nor take a week's vacation out of the country together. I held firm and would not move to the "friendship" level just yet. Friendship takes time to cultivate.

A week ago, I was invited to her birthday and was briefed on the plans for the evening which involved dinner at a sushi restaurant and later dancing at a local restaurant/pub. She wanted to get bottle service ($240.00) and expected everyone to pitch in. I cringed ... this was expecting a lot from an acquaintance. I believed dinner was reasonable but felt bottle service was a bit exorbitant. It was her birthday and I felt obligated. I was reassured that there was going to be enough people there to pitch in for the bottle service.

Her boyfriend had made other plans and couldn't join us for dinner or the after party. (How convenient!) When we arrived at the restaurant/pub after dinner, we discovered that her "other friends" had not arrived yet but someone had to secure the table w/ bottle service. There we were, all four of us looking at each other. Who was going to put down the credit card? My boyfriend and I looked at each other and then at her and her girl friend. This was expecting a lot from an acquaintance. My boyfriend felt obligated by chilvalry and handed over his credit card.

Her friends arrived, sat, drank and everyone had a good time. When the bill arrived, we were shocked. The restaurant had tacked on an automatic 20+% gratuity and the taxes brought the bill to $350. After attempting to collect from her friends, my boyfriend and I were left to come up with $190. This was expecting a lot from just an acquaintance.

I got a voice mail from her the next day thanking us for joining her for her birthday bash and wanted to "get together again soon". :(

Fawm Kauv

After my parents left this past weekend, I was filled with nostalgia for Hmong food. Hmong food takes a little from china, Thai, Lao and Vietnamese foods. The dishes have similiar ingredients, but each uses their own spices.

This morning, I woke up with a desire to make Fawm Kauv - stuffed rice crepes /steamed rice rolls. When I was younger, my mom would make this with a cake flour mix called Softasilk. The right of amount of water and flour was very important. I couldn't remember the right mixture so I visited the local asian store and picked up a package of Steamed Rice Rolls Flour by Sing King Corp.



Cooking method (very similiar approach to making crepes):

1. Mix 4 cups of water with the package of flour
   
2. Add one tablespoon of cooking oil into the mixture and wait 15 minutes
   
3. Lightly spray/greese a nonstick pan under medium fire
   
4. Fill pan with thin layer of flour mixture
   
5. Cover
   
6. Carefully, take it out of the pan after 5-7 seconds
   
7. Add filling* and fold and roll
   

keep repeating steps 2-7

*For simplicity, I filled it with garlic, ground pork and green onion. Make sure the pork isn't clumpy. Drain any excess oils. Salt + pepper to taste. You can dip it in soy sauce. I prefer spicy banana sauce.

Things I Miss The Most....

I kinda like frying up
My sad cuisine
Getting in bed and curling up with a girlie magazine
Sometimes in the corner of my eye
I see that adorable ghost
And then ba-boom I remember the things I miss the most

The talk
The sex
Somebody to trust
The comfy Eames chair
The good copper pans
The '54 Strat
These are the things I miss the most

--Steely Dan

I wasn't planning on going to the Paso Robles Midstate Fair this year, but I just found out this morning that Steely Dan will be performing on July 25th!!!! Tickets go on sale May 16th! I can't wait!!!

I would also love to see XTC in concert, too. I know I know.. Andy has stage fright, but they are one of my favorite bands of all time.

Kitchen remodeling on a tight budget...

When I moved into my condo several months ago, there were a lot of work that needed to be done.

1) Removing the old green stained carpet
2) Installing 1400+ sq feet of laminate(Brazillian Cherry) flooring throughout
3) Converting a window slider door in Master bedroom
4) Repainting the master bedroom
5) Remodeling the kitchen

I didn't have a whole lot of money on hand to hire someone, so I basically did most of the work myself by watching HGTV, online DIY websites and conferred with friends.

The old kitchen appeared dark even with the lights on. It still had the 1984 decor. I wanted a "beach cottage" decor. Without having to move appliances around and break down walls, I:

ripped away the counter tile

installed brazillian cherry laminate flooring

repainted all the cabinets

opened up two of the cabinet doors and had glass installed

contractor installed the laminate counter top

contractor installed subway tiles as the backsplash.

The result was a kitchen that appeared more open and brighter. It also had more of the look and feel of the "beach cottage" that I wanted.



Kitchen remodeling = $1500 (contractor + parts)