…to stay indoors and study. I had this song blasting off my speakers as I came out of the shower today:
gotta love the 80s influence.
I’m higher than a kite right now…
So, amidst all of this finals studying frenzy, I’d just like to share some good news: I’M GOING TO SEE DEPECHE MODE IN CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s right, my dear friend from Stanford and I have been planning out our strategy all week long. We both signed up for multiple e-mail alerts, only to discover the pre-sale password…after the presale window had already closed. BUT, tickets are sold to the general public at 12 pm of today for the Chula Vista concert, so we both woke up early, studied, and stationed our troops at Ticketmaster and Live Nation. As fate would have it, Ticketmaster failed me, but luckilly my friend saved us both with not-so-bad seats from Live nation: section 103, row E, seats 21 and 22!
I can’t wait until Aug. 14th 
Dashing men served up with a side of guns and raw action
What’s better than a movie with Johnny Depp–how about one with monsieur Depp and Christian Bale? Summer is starting to look hot already with the July 1st release of the movie Public Enemies. The film tells the story of how the feds try to take down legendary depression-era bank robber John Dillinger (Depp). His dangerous and unstoppable antics make him the most wanted target, especially in the eyes of top agent Melving Purvis (Bale). Keep your calenders marked, everyone.
Banh mi–how I miss thee
banh goi
It’s been far too long; I’ve tanked it for this entire winter quarter without having gone to a single decent Vietnamese restaurant. The only closest reminder of home, and my mom’s drool-worthy cooking was my visit to a relative’s house in Carlsbad last weekend. She whipped up a tasty batch of banh goi, which are basically pot sticker-looking pouches that are filled with ground pork, glass noodles, shitake mushrooms, a wedge of boiled eggs, and chinese sausages–deep fried to goodness. We also had the staple nuoc mam dipping sauce with some pickled jimaca and fresh greens to boot. The end of the dinner was concluded with a bowl of chicken pho, which temporarily assuaged my taste buds from nostalgia, but I’ll be honest–it was no where near the perfection of my mother’s.
Today I was watching a couple episodes of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations from the Travel Channel, and by the end of it all I had four words in my mind: I envy this man. I mean, what can be better than traveling across the globe, eating all the delicious foods known to man, and writing–all for a living? Anyways, there were a couple episodes where he went to Vietnam, and one clip on youtube where he tried a Vietnamese banh mi, or baguette meat sandwich. It looked so fresh and crispy, I was practically dying…I miss home.
A Dark Night
For the past two years, I’ve successfully driven myself and everyone around me in a tizzy for Semiformal. In a nutshell, it’s basically a miniature prom that’s annually held by UCSD’s Revelle College. This year’s event was held at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. I remembered that I was taken aback by the idea of having a dance at a museum when we discussed possible venues during a semiformal committee meeting, but yesterday proved to be a pretty wholesome experience. Not being able to make any of the committee meetings this quarter because of class schedule conflicts, I was pretty much in the dark until everything was unveiled yesterday. All in all, it was a great night with lots of things to remember by. Everyone seemed to have a good time on either the dance floor, or at the little side exhibits that were spotted around the museum. The only thing that I was sad about were a couple of technical difficulties, including the fog machine that we got, but weren’t able to use. We could have also infused the place with a stronger Batman theme, but I’m sure the committee did all they could given the limited time and resources. I just had a more elaborate vision in my mind, that would’ve probably exceeded any feasible budget…with black chandeliers, blue christmas lights, and lots of bat decor. I really wish I didn’t have that darn bio class at the same time as our meeting.
On a side tangent, a dress that I had picked out at the very beginning of the year fit perfectly well with the overall ambience. Navy blue has always been near and dear to my heart, so it was easily love at first sight the minute I spotted my winner on the dress rack. I’d initially planned on having a more gothic-like outfit for the event, which would’ve include this choker from Decarabia:
but, I decided to wear my navy blue dress since I’d already bought it, and wouldn’t have another reason to wear it in very long time. It was all the more complete with my boyfriend, who wore a devastatingly handsome pearlescent dress shirt in matching color and silver tie. I guess it’s moments like these that a glimpse of my girlish side is revealed, and I’m nothing more than a fashion connoisseur.
“Insomnia”
I’m guessing that part of it has to do with the fact that one of my apartment mates is Korean, because I’ve been finding myself humming along to Korean songs as of late. Maybe it’s my stubborn refusal to jump on the Korean-craze bandwagon that’s kept me in the dark for so long, but honestly–they’ve sure got some catchy numbers up their sleeves. Starting from yesterday, I’ve played the remix of Wheesung’s cover of Insomnia, by Craig David at least 40-some-plus times. I could be at my desk mildly copying down metabolic pathways on a sheet of paper, and before I know it, I’m bobbing my head and dancing in my seat to this ridiculous addiction. I need to be tethered to my seat with maximum physical restraints if I’m going to get any studying done…
Belated Movie Spiel: “Coraline”
So, much to my own disappointment, this blog entry never quite made it fresh out of the theater. I’d been ticking the calender days away as the opening night of Coraline crept closer, and luckilly, I managed to nab some tickets when it hit the silverscreen on February 6th. There were a few theaters in town that featured the movie in it’s much anticipated 3-D format, but to tell you the truth, I’d much prefer the good old-fashion 2-D version anyday. Of course it might’ve been quite the novel experience, but surely (knowing myself) the novelty would wear off as quickly as my patience for the compromised color resolution, or the complimentary red and blue shades.
Anyhow, in regards to the movie itself–I loved it! It was exactly the kind of experience that I was craving for. Neil Gaiman is simply too good to be true. Coupled with the uncanny art of stop-motion animation, this film was nothing short of a fantastical feast for the mind. I’ll have to admit that I didn’t buy into the storyline immediately, because it wasn’t completely fluid in terms of believabilty. The fact that parents can be that insensitive seemed to be a bit of a stretch for me, but other than that, I can’t be too picky. If I had to choose one favorite part, it would have to be the garden scene. It felt familiar to me–like something that had been plucked out of one of my dreams. There were so many surreal and mind-bending elements that were reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, or the like.
All in all, despite the current economic climate and increasing prices of everything, including movie tickets, Coraline was definitely worth the extra ten bucks. It teeters over the edge in the category of “children’s” film with all the eerie elements, but I’ve always taken a liking to all things dark
“Do Me More”–Namie Amuro
She is so hauntingly beautiful…
Aside from the random Chewbacca in the background, I thought this commercial was very posh and classy. It almost makes me want to go out and buy a bottle of Vidal Sassoon so my hair can look that good.
Tet away from home
For the past two years of college, I’ve always played hooky for a weekend to celebrate the Lunar new year with my family in San Jose. The Lunar new year, or Tet (in Vietnamese) is always a highly anticipated time of the year for my family. I guess it’s particularly a big deal at my house since my grandparents live with us, and still retain a lot of the old traditions. Every single year, my grandmother stands over the stove stirring that same pot of sugary pudding-like mung bean mixture until it boils down to sweet little cakes. I kind of wish I was home, but I guess my conscience decided to do its job for once and realize that studying for a midterm was more important than enjoying lavish meals at home. Lucky for me, my boyfriend flew home for a family wedding this past weekend, so my mom sent me a bag of goodies (which included the traditional banh chung–sticky rice with pork meat) along with him.
I can’t for the life of me try to recreate the same elaborate meal that my family members are probably enjoying all week long, but I did make some attempts to bring a little spirit of festivity. Monday was day one of Tet, or the New Year’s day, so I spent a little more time in the kitchen then I usually do. I made bo luc lac (seared filet mignon cubes), red rice, garden salad, turnip cakes, and mien ga (vermicelli chicken soup). My last class of the day was from 3-3:50 PM, but I was still racing against the clock to finish dinner in time. I had a midterm on Tuesday, so I took a break from the kitchen, but I picked it up again today. I called my mother the minute I got out of class, and was coached on how to recreate her canh chua ca bong lau (sweet and sour catfish soup). I don’t mean to brag, but if my mother’s recipe is a 10, then I might’ve hit an 8 or 9 today. Roger and I had picked the catfish out last weekend at Ranch 99, and I couldn’t think of anything to make with it other than this soup. It was the perfect finish to a laborious day
This would've been more aesthetically pleasing if there wasn't that little gap, but someone had grabbed a bite before I could reach the camera in time
Mien ga (vermicelli chicken soup)
bo luc lac (filet mignon and red rice)
“Rise”
I found this song while surfing on Itunes about 2 years ago, and have fallen in love with it ever since. It reached 223 hits on my playlist, practically making itself the soundtrack to my life.
