My head is about to implode.

Before I get into the food pictured, I wanted to explain the reason why my head is about to come off. I mentioned before that I was really addicted to a tetris on my sister’s iPhone, so my sister and I always had this friendly competition against each other’s scores. At first, our scores would bounce each other, which led to many games filled with determination and concentration. As “dorky” as this game would be, I realized that it was one of the few things that help my sister and I bond since we have few mutual interests. It did get to a point though that my sister earned a score that was twice the original high school. Since then, my sister and I are at the brink of just giving up because it’s nearly…impossible.

Anyways, back to the food! This was one of the few desserts that I had along with Jono’s family in Taiwan. I would say few because we had dozens of dishes that just randomly came out while we were at this fancy Japanese restaurant. Unlike the usual sashimi and mango desserts, I was quite intrigued by the unusual shape and color. I’m not very sure what this dish was called, but I just know that it’s a fruit that was imported from Thailand. From what I remembered, it tasted much like a cross between a banana and some starchy vegetable like a potato. I guess you can say it’s much similar to taro, but it tasted more like a banana. Confusing? Yes, but I just remembered that I really enjoyed the crispy outside texture while the warm filling melted in my mouth.

The past few days has been rather busy considering that the Beijing Olympics just started. Hurrah! I guess I’ll just break down what I’ve been doing lately.

Friday. This was a rather interesting day since it was Father’s Day in China/Taiwan and the first day of the Olympics. Because of the time difference, my parents and I stood up till 5AM to see if the Chinese channels would actually release the welcoming ceremony. Sadly, it didn’t since we flipped through about eight channels for forty minutes. We did have some hope of seeing bits and pieces of it though, so we looked forward in seeing it that night. Anyways, it was a Happy Father’s Day! for my dad at least, although he’s not much of a celebratory person himself. That morning was exhausting though because I had to drive my brother and myself to the dentist for a check up. Because I grind my teeth, my currently invisiline retainers that I’ve had for almost three years are cracking apart. Blargh, I was quite sad that I had a few small cavities though. What really made me sad though is that one was big enough to need a shot. I have a huge fear of needles, so my dentist would always inject me very slowly since I would panic very easily. How embarrassing. As for my brother, he just needed some minor stripping, which he claimed was very painful. Hmmm, I didn’t remember stripping being so painful, though it did feel weird that my teeth had to be “straightened” through this type of sandpaper. My mom, sister, and I went out afterwards to do some shopping and we came home in time for the Olympics!

I must say though, the Olympics was simply incredible, it really made Chinese people in America like us VERY proud. Even though there were many different parts, every minute of it was just enjoyable and ineffable. There were many times where we were awed by every individual’s performance, proving that every person, every detail, counted. It was surprising how much money that China actually invested on the Olympics and the amount of construction that many people had to undergo. In the end, it was worth seeing the Bird’s Nest and the many other structures that were newly made just for the Olympics. I have to say though that it was the perfect day to start the Olympics. The number eight in Chinese, “ba,” rhymes with the word “發” which is pronounced “fa.” The word fa usually connotes good luck or fortune, so having three 8’s on a date should have surely made alot of Chinese in the world very happy.

Saturday was also very eventful as well, though I don’t remember much of what I did. I guess the biggest highlight was at night since I was able to bond with my parents by going to 辛巴樂 with them for a late dinner. My dad that night was in a good mood I guess despite the fact that he was giving me some advice for college. Some of the advice though was…a bit awkward since I never imagined him sharing that particular advice to me. Of all things, I would have expected my mother to say that. Odd. Anyways, if you want to know, I’d be happy to share, but not here. My dad was kind of happy that day too, so he posed a funny expression for me, which is currently on my phone as a wallpaper. Whenever I look at it, I can’t help but either smile or laugh.

After eating dinner, I asked my mother if I could go out with Eric for a bit since he just came back from Berkeley. It was nice seeing him again, considering we haven’t seen each other since my CalSO back in early June. I kept scolding him that he was too skinny though, hope he wasn’t too annoyed by that. Anyways, there wasn’t much to do at Walnut, and I wasn’t much into the Village either. So, I decided to take him to Tea Station since I didn’t like Walnut’s Ten Ren’s anymore. Riding in his car, he commented on how he never really hanged around Hacienda Heights very often. I found that kind of unusual since my grandparents lived in that area since I was a child, and I was always taken there as a child as well. It was nice to introduce to him something different though instead of the same old McDonald’s or what not.

Since he wasn’t in the mood for something fruity, I recommended green milk tea since it was a personal favorite of mine in Tea Station. It was nice talking to him face to face again, and it was amusing seeing him drink his beverage rather quickly, a good message to show that he liked it. I successfully stripped away from his masculinity again by treating him the second time. Score! I had to take the bill and run to the counter to pay for it.

I have a hard time sleeping, considering that I went to bed at 2AM and still didn’t sleep till 4AM. Oh well, I woke up rather late and ate dim sum with my family minus my father. I noticed that I get full very easily, but I get hungry rather quickly. While I was tutoring my brother, he pointed out how skinny I was, which I found rather insulting. Not my fault I’m not as bulky as them. Pitiful that I can’t do a pull up by myself though. After lunch, we came home and watched the Olympics while I was on the phone with Jono deciding how to buy the laptop. We then left to Bed Bath and Beyond to wrap up on some dorm shopping. Dorm shopping is expensive! We cooked dinner afterwards. My brother cooked the steak with a sauteed side of white mushrooms and caramelized onions. I made some Spanish rice since my mom was craving that and broiled salmon smothered in a special sauce that I make that is composed of ground black pepper, honey, mustard, mayonnaise, and butter. I also decided to cook some broccoli since we lacked some vegetables; salad never seems enough for me.

While my family and I were cooking, we were watching the women’s Olympics. Wow, I must say, China was undeniably had some strong determination this year. I was also appalled by the team members’ appearances since they didn’t look anywhere close to their age. Most of them claim to be at least sixteen, when they really don’t even appear anywhere close to the age of fourteen. There were a few moments when they performed really well and immediately fall the second after. It was a tragedy to see them cry or make disapproving faces to themselves despite their great performances.

Anyways, there was something memorable this night as well, but I don’t want to mention it here, but in my green journal!

I’m excited about tomorrow though, yay for going out!

Although this dish doesn’t look particularly palatable, it was probably one of the most delicious dishes that I had in Taiwan. I remembered that my aunt gave this to us while we were Taoyuan, a city that was an hour or so away from Taipei. There was a restaurant that specializes in bean curd, so we decided to sit after walking around an hour or so sizzling in the humidity. But yeah, although it was simple and very cheap, it was absolutely a delight to eat with the sauce and the chili.

I haven’t been updating for the past few days, which makes me feel a bit guilty that I’m not taking record of how “productively” I’ve been performing lately. Which is, not very much. Anyways, nothing much has been happening lately because I’m pretty reluctant to go out with people. My internal time clock has been pretty screwy lately too, so I’ve been waking up later than usual. Although I do wake up at 1 in the afternoon, I do find it enjoyable staying up in the wee hours since I actually have some personal time to chat or to look up things. Staying home has been really nice lately since I’m able to spend alot of time with my family before I move up to northern California. I felt a little guilty that I kept declining on many of my friends outings, but I figured that I might as well save that privilege and opportunity the next two weeks when I’m going out for sleepovers and outings.

For the past few weeks or so, I’ve been pretty psyched about the new Mummy movie coming out. After watching it, I regret to putting so much of my enthusiasm in that movie. It came out to be a huge disappointment. Because my mom, sister, and I were rather unsatisfied, we hopped to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, which was much more exciting even though it was a chick flick. I would comment though that most of the guys in that movie were very handsome, and I found it rather surprising seeing Leonardo Nam (the korean guy from The Perfect Score) in the movie. That was a joy to watch, but we came home at 1AM.

Gotta go to the dentist tomorrow, so I have to cut this post short!

Deleted entry.

Yum yum, Mos Burger! I can clearly remember the day that we ended up getting Mos Burger sandwiches for breakfast. After clubbing, Connie, Richard, Ken, Roxanne, and I crashed at Roxanne’s house at around 4AM, watching “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.” Richard, Connie, and I immediately fell asleep, but Ken and Roxanne decided to stay up the rest of the night. At 6:30AM, Roxanne told us to wake up because she wanted breakfast. Wow, the three of us were so exhausted, but the food was great anyway. Mos Burger is like the McDonald’s in Japan. Although it’s not as popular, its selection is alot more wholesome and not filled with preservatives. That morning, I ordered a ham sandwich that was also filled with thick layers of lettuce, egg, and an interesting sauce that really tasted like peanut butter. While I was at Taiwan, Mos Burger were advertising this octopus burger that looked a bit…disgusting. I don’t know, I’m never a huge of squids or octopuses, unless it was served fried like calamari or dried and shredded. Jono ended up buying one before we left to Taiwan and he said it didn’t taste good.

Blargh. I wrote like 800 words, but WordPress didn’t save it! Frustrating!

Immobilized and soon mute.

You would only be able to find two ikura sushis for $1 at Taiwan. Not kidding! I apologize for the sad little roe that’s slowly slipping down, I think it was Jono who picked it up and I told him that I wanted to take a picture of it. Poor salmon roe! Anyways, there’s a chain restaurant in Taiwan called “Sushi Express” that is basically a buffet based on how many plate that you order. Besides ikura (which was not my personal favorite), there were also sake (salmon sashimi), maguro (tuna sashimi), unagi (eel), and other assorted types of Japanese dishes and desserts. I was very satisfied with the restaurant that my friends and I ended up having like 35 plates. In America, it’s not a surprise to find a few slices of salmon sashimi for more than $4, so it was so surprising in Taiwan to find five slices for only $1! The quality was also so much better too.

Unlike most students who have just recently transitioned from desktop to laptop because of college, I’ve been quite used to having laptops as “desktops” for over two years. Don’t assume too far though, because I wasn’t as spoiled as most of you guys think.

During sophomore year, my dad decided to hand me his Compaq laptop, which was probably around two years old at that time. I remembered being so excited during at that time because it was my very first computer. My own, I thought, despite it was already used and that the keyboard letters were already rubbing off, I still loved it as if it was new. Although it was at many instances slow, I was patient and still grateful to be able to store a lot my data in folders and never having to share shifts with my three other siblings. Eventually though, that computer died in the beginning of senior year.

Because I had college prep classes, my mom decided to let me borrow her Asus laptop that she had for two years after personally building it during an Intel computer show. Although it was alot flatter and more stylish than the Compaq, the internal battery died. That quickly became a hassle since it literally became a compact desktop stuck on an outlet plug. This is why I named this entry “Immobilized and soon mute.” because it’s slowly fulfills an impersonation of an old man. Because my mother hasn’t (and refuses to) formatted this computer for years, it’s been slowing down lately. I found it ridiculous to wait about fifteen minutes for the Asus to completely setup the programs when I don’t even have any icons on my desktop. A couple of days ago, I soon realized that it’s having a difficult time setting up my Samsung studio, a program that I play my music. Now, it only functions somewhat normally with only MSN, Skype, and Mozilla Firefox. I was very hesitant of opening Adobe on this computer since the last time I used it.

I haven’t really done productive this week, so I was really happy to get the opportunity to cook something different for a change. Clarice was hosting a potluck with the girls in our group (not including Sandra and Natalie though because they were busy), so Clarice decided to make pumpkin soup and Connie decided to buy the miniature cakes from Vanille. As for myself, Clarice asked to make something not Asian, so I decided to make stuffed Mexican bell peppers. In the end,  it didn’t come out as well as I wanted to since I accidentally burned the Spanish rice while I was cooking it. Though I was happy that Clarice took two, so I guess it was rather decent.

After we ate, we watched Korea short drama called “Pit Pocket” starring Rain. Being the first drama from Rain, I was rather touched and did cry at the end. Quite embarrassing since I was crying in front of Connie and Clarice, whom already watched it several times before. After Connie left, Clarice and I watched “Heavenly Forest,” a Japanese drama starring Aoi Miyazaki and Hiroshi Tamaki. Since I haven’t watched any form of Asian drama or movies for a while, I found it refreshing and I actually felt nostalgic while watching the movie. I was very touched in the end and found myself streaming in tears along with Clarice. That was fun.

Sorry for the sudden ending, but wee! Weekend!