First of July

First of July.

Whew! The first half of the 2015 sure did whiz by, isn’t it? I can’t seem to remember anything from that first half; well not really except that most of what happened was a blur to me.

Last weekend we went to the movies with another couple. We went to see Jurassic World in 3D. Now to be honest I don’t really care about Jurassic World or the previous movies about dinosaur. I may have watched all of them, although for sure I remember seeing the very first one on the big screen. The following installments I may have seen them on cable or Netflix.

Since I was there only to complete a double date I had no expectations of the movie or the enjoyment factor that I would get from such an outing. After all, the reviews I have read about the movie went like this: a lot of running by people not making wise decisions.

However, both the movie itself and the 3D experience surpassed my expectations. Well, I have no expectation to begin with. Still it was such a surprise to me that I enjoyed the 3D experience this time around. I cannot remember the movie anymore but the first time I went to a 3D movie I was dizzy for the most part. I ended up watching the rest of the movie without the glasses, so you know that wasn’t a good experience.

What I am looking for now is the last installment of Mockingjay. I cannot wait.

And so......

Okay, I was silent here again.

I was busy, I think.

While I was quiet here I went to the Giants game one Friday night, for the Pancreatic Cancer Society fundraiser.

The Giants lost, big time. They were getting no hit until the late innings. Pathetic.

Also, I've been reading some more. I really really enjoyed the last one that I read from John Grisham.

Good news. My green tea truffle that I entered for our church's Chocolate Extravaganza fundraiser won first place in the candy category! Can you belive that?

I practiced it first. I brought a sample to my co-workers. One of them is a great cook. She makes wonderful chocolate barks and other snacks. She said it was okay. Another co-worker said the flavor was okay, although the green tea flavor was weak. Of course she's Asian and she, like me, craves for the bold green tea flavor. However, my audience was probably not into the bold green tea presence in a chocolate truffle.

So I made my basic chocolate truffle and added chopped up candied ginger then sprinkled it with green tea. I instagrammed it here.

I believed the reason why I was chosen by the tasters was that my entry was a bit different from the usual brownie, or caramel flavor. I'm so happy I tell you. It's ironic that someone who has no kitchen know how gets to win a cooking contest :).

In another news, I finally got to the movies again. Today we saw San Andreas. It's an okay movie. That is all I have to say.

Birds, birds, birds!

I've been collecting photographs of doors, windows, and signs. Lately, I've been expanding my field of collection to birds. I have not been quite successful in the wild, on the few times that I went for bird watching. However, I found that the shore bird exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium provides the best venue for bird photography. Here's a few shots from there.

Tough Times

May I vent?

Again you say?

Yeah, again!

I know quite a few people who are dealing with difficult issues. Of course I know we all have crosses to carry. Some have heavier than others. As I observe around me, I feel a tad guilty that my cross is lighter than most people. I feel so blessed. And guilty. What have I done to carry a lighter cross?

The crosses that people around me are carrying:

Death of husband, then father and now brother is fighting the big C - all these in a span of 1.5 years.

Prolonged divorce proceedings that is wreaking havoc to health.

A cancer diagnosis for family member.

Sorry, I'm just having a bad day. All around me I feel people's sadness. I have been having some aches and pains too, part of growing old I suppose. Since the death of my niece in February, I feel like I'm in a fog. Somehow it's still not sinking in - fully and completely - that she's not going to show up on my doorstep.

All right, enough of this.

Let's go get excited about the GS Warriors basketball team who are in the NBA finals after 40 years. Geez, the winnings were nonexistent for a long period. This is hopefully their year to hoist the cup or trophy.

Another thing that's keeping me busy is reading. I have been devouring some paperback lately. Time is limited so I don't get to read as much as I really want to. I do my reading during lunch at work and if I don't finish the book during the week which I normally don't I take the book home with me and finish it on the weekends.

The last three that I finished reading are:

FRENCH SILK by Sandra Brown

THE SIGMA PROTOCOL by Robert Ludlum

THE FACE by Dean Koontz

I'm currently so engrossed with a James Patterson novel. For the life of me I cannot remember the title right now.

Have you heard of the following tv shows?

THE TYRANT

THE STRAIN

UNDER THE DOME

These are my summer guilty pleasures and I cannot wait for them to come on pretty soon.

I wish I have HBO because I really really love Game of Thrones.

Till next time.

Back from Vacation

Back from a 5d4n Mexico beach vacation, I am now here to report about it. Although what is there to report about? We stayed in a resort, all-inclusive, fronting the blue of Sea of Cortez. It's funny I know but each time I go on vacation, my period shows up. My last vacation I got my period when we landed in Venice. What is that about?

Anyway, I kinda dug the resort vacation this time. I have been to Cabo once, when the cruise stopped for a day there. This vacation is different from that. We didn't rent a car as we intended. We didn't go to explore other towns as planned. But we enjoyed our time. We went shopping, walked on the beach, soaked on the jacuzzi, joined other Warriors fan in the Sports Bar watching games 4 & 5 against the Rockets, went on a sunset cruise by The Arch, had a pamper me time at the spa, and parasailed.

However, on the last 2 days the temps was boiling hot. Unbearably hot. It was the kind of heat that would give you a headache. Mine hurt like crazy, not a good feeling when you're trying to have a fun time.

Well, hello there!

It’s awfully quiet around here lately, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s good to be quiet to balance all the noise in real world. Life has been monotonous and routinary, is that even a word? Okay, it’s not a word. Let’s just use ordinary. It’s been pretty ordinary around here. Five-day work period, 2-day weekends. Although it’s especially a cool and mostly overcast month of May it seems. No rain, though. Pity that’s what we need around here.

Here in the Bay Area it’s pretty crazy if you’re a sports fan. The GS Warriors are in the conference championship, up 2-0 over the Houston Rockets. Believe me I work my schedules around their play-off games. Nope, I do not watch them live. It’s too expensive. Cannot afford with my paycheck. But I get together with friends and we take turns having viewing party, sort of. And of course the San Francisco Giants just finished not only sweeping the hated archrival the Los Angeles Dodgers, but blanking them in all 3 games!!!

This is why my blogging is taking a back seat for the time being.

In a few days I’m off for several days in the beach of Cabo to soak up the sun, the sea and the sand. I cannot wait. I’ve done a little bit of research, but for the most part I’m looking forward to a little rest and relaxation and plenty of hot sand between my toes and hopefully my share of the margaritas.

There’s a place called Todos Santos, which is about 1.5 hours drive from Cabo. It’s a small town famous for its arts and crafts and the home of Hotel California. No, not the one mentioned in the very famous Eagles song. However, look up the net and you’ll see everyone’s taking their selfies with the hotel. I want to see it. It’s going to be iffy if we’re going to rent a car for a day to do some sightseeing, but if we do Todos Santos is in the itinerary for sure. Oh and the capital city of La Paz, although according to the net that’s all 4 hours of driving away. Wait and see.

It’s the time of the year that discontent sets in. I don’t know why. Probably because half of the year is over and nothing has been accomplished. It’s always the same old routine, the same old regrets, the same old pessimism.

As soon as we get back from Cabo, I’ll get going on prepping for a chocolate item that I will be entering for the fundraiser, the annual Chocolate Extravaganza at church. While I had been lucky in the first year to bag a spot in the top 3 taster’s choice, the following years had been unsuccessful. I do want to revisit the recipe (truffle) that I entered on the first year where I bagged 2nd place but tweak it a bit. I’m thinking of changing the flavor from mint, which I was not crazy to begin with, to something different. Maybe amaretto. I would have to experiment first.

So for the time being, enjoy your summer. And if you’re on the other side of the world where summer days are dwindling giving way to cooler, or rainier weather, I sure hoped that you made the most of the sun and the sea and the sand this year

A Bunch of Randomness

In my mind I've been making up posts for this blog all through the week, but somehow these never made it to the blog.

Anywhooo, I just want to share a few randomness with you today:

• The picture above is from Berkeley Rose Garden snapped a week ago.  Unfortunately, it was too early to visit that very few of the roses had flowers.
• I got my DSLR cleaned professionally.  However, I only got the body cleaned and not the telescopic lens because as usual I'm trying to save money. Turned out the cause of all my problems was the dirty lens and not the body(mirror, etc), ugh!
• I'm taking a month off Zumba.
• One more month and I'm off to Mexico for a little R&R.
• My co-worker is going to Italy this year, her first time, and I'm so excited for her.
• I bought two bags of books from the town library's book sale.  My year's supply of reading is taken care of.
• Speaking of reading, I've been doing a lot of that lately.  A lot, a lot!
• I still haven't seen Insurgent.  It doesn't look like I'm ever going to see it on the big screen.  How was it, for those who have seen it?
• Thankful Emma and Buster are in pink of health, knock on wood.
• I haven't been to San Francisco since last year, can you believe that?  Too much things going on here in the East Bay.
• I could have a bowl of vermicelli bun right now.
• I'm a little under the weather. It's 71 F outside, and I'm inside the house in my bathrobe and feeling really cold, sinus is congested and head pounding, but surfing online makes my aches and pains all manageable.