First Day Jitters

Today was the first day of fall quarter at Clark. I had been waiting all summer since I reapplied in May. It felt like it would never come. I was excited and I couldn't wait. Even after buying my books I felt like I had to wait.

Finally after waiting and waiting, the day has come. It felt a little different than a normal first day of school. Having spent my entire life living my life around school, my body had a schedule according to being in school. After spending a few years away, it crept up on me and I was thrust back into the environment. It may be a little too early to tell how this quarter is going to go, but it should be fun.

First to start off the day, I had to deal with parking. Clark is notorious for their awful parking, but I left this morning and put my head down, determined to find a spot. "Someone HAS to be leaving by the time I get there, right?" Wrong. I tried one lot. Then another. Then I gave up and drove to a not too far away neighborhood. As much as I hate to do it, I parked in front of someone's house on the street probably halfway between where I live and campus. I should get a bike. Or a Vespa or something. I made it to my first class, english, only a few minutes late. After english is french. I've been nervous about that class for some time. It's been two years since I've taken a class or even thought about french. I spent all summer telling myself to look through my notes even just a little bit to brush up, but I never did. Today was not so bad since we pretty much just read the syllabus in english for the hour, but it may be a challenge. I'm sure it'll come back to me, I'll just have to work a little bit harder.

Those were the only classes I had today. Very painless. Afterwards I went to pick up my financial aid check. I was a little surprised they had mine. I just recently got my award letter emailed to me maybe a week or so ago and some people ahead of me didn't have theirs yet. I went to deposit the check, and now here I am, ready for a nap. I have a little reading to do for my classes and a quick introduction activity for french, but I'll probably save that for after dinner. Tomorrow morning I open at work, have a little break, then english and french again, another long break and then my first physics class, which I recently learned I have with a buddy from work, so that's pretty exciting. That may help offset the fact that it's a 4:30pm - 6:20pm lecture.

It's good to be back. It feels right being a student again. Here's to a good year!

Mr. Positivity

I usually am a pretty positive person. Sure I'll bitch and moan, but I'm usually in a pretty good mood. Even when I have a less than enjoyable day at work or something. My philosophy about it is why waste my energy being negative? What am I going to accomplish by being in a bad mood? So I just don't let silly things bother me or keep me down for long. Part of it I chalk up to having a really great network of friends and family.

Except lately I've been having some trouble keeping myself up. I've mostly been having trouble at work. I've had a hard time having patience for our customers lately, but I'm not sure why. I enjoy being there with my partners, but sometimes it's a little difficult to take it seriously. I feel like I might be getting a little stagnant in my position. I need some perspective. This could all change after school starts and I start having other things to do, but I could also seeing it get worse.

Until I know for sure, I'll just have to buck up.

Slim-whatnow?

Last night at Fred Meyer with my sister, we were walking through the produce section and I notice this gem (emerald?).

This thing is GIANT. When I first saw it I thought "Why are the mangos next to the avocados?" And then I took a closer look. I had to know what the deal was so I bought one. It was a little firm so I took it home a put it in a bag overnight.

I had forgotten about it until I came home after work this morning.

After cutting it open, it looks enough like a normal avocado.

Time to dig in.

No me gusta. 35% FEWER CALORIES. 50% LESS FAT. 100% LESS FLAVOR.

It wasn't bad. It just wasn't good. It didn't really taste like anything. I wasn't sure if that was it's deal or if it's because of the congestion I've been dealing with for the past couple of days.

I did a little research to see what the world knows about this freak-show. Turns out they're a normal avocado. Not genetically modified like I was worried about a little bit. They're grown in Florida where it's considerably more wet than where the normal avocados you would find in a grocery store are grown (typically California), which explains a lot. Watery vs. oily. Big vs. small. Smooth skin vs. rough skin. So go ahead and try it if you feel so inclined.

As for me, I'll stick with a good ol' California Hass.

I'm a Little Jealous

A lot of people have started school or will be starting school shortly. I still have a month to wait. Although I am glad I don't start today because I've had a pretty nasty sore throat for the past couple of days and I feel like a turd. And textbook info was released today so it's been exciting to look for cheap textbooks online. I guess I'm all for cheap thrills.

Today is my day off and sometimes on my day off, even when it's really nice outside, I like to go to a movie. Just sit, get comfortable, relax, and enjoy myself in the dark. My favorite theaters are the one downtown and the second run theater by the mall because they're usually pretty deserted. The only trouble with going alone is sneaking in candy. It's a lot more difficult when you don't have a lady with a purse with you. Especially if you wanna bring a variety of treats, which I sometimes do. I'm not going to a movie today, but cheap thrills made me think about it.

Oh. Hey.

Sorry. I just haven't had anything to write about. I could whine about stuff, but I said I wasn't going to do that.

In my absence I have:

-Attended a baseball game

-Bought probably $300 of clothes

-Learned to tie a bow tie!

-Attended a wedding (where I wore said bow tie)

-Worked a bunch (including a 12 day stretch just short of 80 hours)

-Attended the fair. Twice

-Celebrated a friend's birthday

-Made a drunken fool of myself. That was the point of the evening, but for some reason I'm just embarrassed about it

-Enjoyed the heat

-Melted in said heat

-Seen Dinner for Schmucks (I prefer the original)

-Been ditched

-Ditched. I really did not feel well though

-Rented movies from an actual video store. When was the last time you could say you did that?

-Spent a lot of time with Dave and Amanda getting drinks, eating food, watching movies

-Seen Scott Pilgrim (I enjoyed it. Not my favorite this year [Kick Ass or Inception still hold that spot], but I had fun)

And I paid my tuition today. A month before classes start (WTF Clark?). Since I was late on my financial aid application, I had to pay out of pocket which sucks because it was quite a chunk but it's ok because I should get reimbursed at least a little bit and now I'm excited to be a student again. Not so much the writing papers part, but being a student, being on campus, going to the library, meeting new people, and doing college-y things again. It's probably not gonna be quite what I remember or expect since it's Clark, but it's gonna be fun.

And now that there's only a month until classes start and I'll be starting the 200 level French classes, I should probably study up. I've been out of school for two years now and probably couldn't even introduce myself without some difficulty. I feel ok about it though because I'm sure I won't be the only one diving right back in.

Now if only classes would staaaaaart. I think I'm gonna try and take more pictures of the things I'm doing with my phone. I feel like if I do that, then I might be more inclined to write.

Pad Thai Adventure!

Last fall I moved out of my dad's apartment and into a house. My mom was concerned with how I was going to feed myself so for Christmas I received this cookbook. It was perfect. I've always loved cooking but I didn't know a lot about it. I still don't really. I usually just stick to the recipe and I don't really take much away. I don't know if I consider myself a good cook or I just get lucky by picking good recipes. What I don't get is how you can be a bad cook. Just follow the the instructions! But that's another conversation.

As much as I do enjoy cooking (mostly the eating), I rarely do it because groceries are expensive, I get lazy, etc., etc., but every once in a while I'll get the hankering to make some food.

I consider myself pretty adventurous in my cooking. Not in that I'll try and make something up, but I like to try new things and try things I haven't done before. So today for dinner I made Pad Thai with a recipe from my cookbook and peanut sauce from here. I haven't tried anything like this before, but I love Pad Thai and the recipe seemed simple enough so it was worth a shot.

The peanut sauce was really simple. Obviously there's more to it than just peanuts, but it was surprising to find out what else went into it.

It starts with coconut milk over medium heat until it comes to a slight boil.

Then, in goes some curry paste. Stir until fully incorporated.

Then goes a bunch of peanut butter. Stir until incorporated.

And finally, some brown sugar and fish sauce (I used soy sauce. You can use anything salty, really).

At this point you can keep it as is or add water to thin it out. I added a little bit and this was my final product. It was pretty thick and creamy. I probably should have added more water, but it was still really tasty. It's good hot or cold.

After I finished the sauce, I started the dish. First up is prep. Chop up some garlic, a shallot, green onions, peanuts, lightly beat a couple eggs, and rinse some sprouts.

While you're prepping all that stuff, you should boil some water. When it comes to a boil, take it away from heat and drop in your rice noodles. Gently ease them into the water so they're completely immersed and let them sit for a few minutes until they're soft but still chewy.

When they're done, strain in a colander, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

I love Pad Thai with chicken and I just happened to have some frozen, left over from a pasta dish I made a while ago. I added some more cayenne pepper, some sweet basil, and a little curry powder. You can, of course, leave chicken out, or use shrimp or tofu. Whatever you want.

After it's done, chop the chicken into pieces.

While my chicken was cooking, I made the sauce for the noodles. Some water, lime juice, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, fish sauce (Again, I used soy sauce).

When all that's done, on medium heat pour a little vegetable oil into your wok and dump in the garlic and shallot. Stir while cooking, wait for them to brown a little.

Then pour in and slowly stir the eggs. Stir until they're slightly scrambled but still wet looking.

Increase to high heat and add the noodles and lime juice mixture. Continuously toss with wooden spoons until the sauce thickens.

Continue tossing, add the green onions, sprouts, peanuts, chicken and let it cook for a few minutes.

And you're done! From here, the rest is up to you. You can toss in the peanut sauce while the noodles are still in the wok or put it on top of the dish, garnish with cilantro, sprouts, peanut sauce, more chopped peanuts, lime, etc. This was my finished product.

It turned out really well. Everything you'd expect from a Pad Thai. Spicy, limey, peanuty. I wish I would have been more generous with the lime juice when making the sauce (easily remedied by squeezing some extra juice over the dish), and like I said earlier, thinned out the peanut sauce a little more, but all in all still really delicious.

So. Pad Thai. Surprisingly simple, fun to make, and delicious. Give it a shot! Personalize it. The reason I didn't give measurements is because not only can you find TONS of recipes online, you can really do this any way you want. You can make it spicier, saltier, thicker, soupier, throw in more vegetables, etc. After dinner I was thinking about what else I could put in next time and I thought about corn. Make it a little sweeter, add a nice crunch.

Happy cooking!

I Think I'm in Love. Again.

I started here.

Followed a link in a tweet which led me to this:

(and also this)

(Adam Brody is so charming. I miss The OC. And I have a hipster crush on Diablo Cody. Again, pretty girls in dresses. Especially ones with tattoos. ESPECIALLY sleeves.)

Which is where I heard Diablo was married to someone who works on Chelsea Lately and since I watch that show occasionally, I wanted to see if it was someone I would recognize (It's not. He's just an editor or something.) Which took me here:

The Kind Of Love That Hates - watch more funny videos

Obviously I had to find out who that red head with short hair was. And of course she's cute, quirky, and funny...

I should have stayed in LA.

What Do You Think of When You See This Woman?

Certainly not a Romanian prison inmate. This is a super interesting project. All the women seem so happy and content. And they don't have to wear jumpsuits. It makes you wonder what they did. This one stood out to me (along with a few others), but I'm just a sucker for pretty girls in dresses. I went to the original site hoping I could sign a petition to get this one out of jail. No dice.

God's Country

My co-worker took a trip to visit her sister in Northern California for her days off with her daughter and granddaughter. She sent me this picture yesterday from Klamath National Forest. Absolutely beautiful! I love Southern Oregon and Northern California. There isn't really anything all that special about it, it's kind of plain, but I can't get over it. Mountains, hills, lakes, plains. Some green, mostly yellow. Everything just seems so simple. If I was more adventurous, camping-savvy, and had friends with the same weird work schedule then I would totally just drive down and stay when I had a few days off in a row, especially since pretty soon my days off are going to be filled with homework.

We have some family in Northern California so we've made the trip many times and recently I made the trip twice through the area in my attempt to live in LA. Both times I stopped in Ashland where I had never been before. I absolutely fell in love with it. Small town in the mountains but there's still a lot going on and it's really not that far from bigger cities. Maybe when it comes time to transfer, I'll go to SOU. There are some other places I'd like to visit before I make a decision, but it's definitely high on my list.

Happy Birthday

Last month for my birthday, my mother gave me a $25 iTunes gift card. I finally decided to use it the other day.

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

I've been a fan of BoH for a while so of course I was excited when I heard they had another album coming out. I hadn't heard much from it until I listened to the 30 second previews on iTunes. After that I was a little skeptical. It's similar to the first two albums, but something is different about it, but it was on sale for only $7.99 so I couldn't pass it up. After giving a few listens I've definitely warmed up to it and it'll be going into heavy rotation.




The Guggenheim Grotto -...Waltzing Alone
The Guggenheim Grotto is a band from Ireland I discovered after iTunes released Philosophia as one of their free singles a long time ago. I had trouble finding this album but did find their second album Happy the Man and fell in love even more. They've got a really interesting folk/rock sound with a little country/blues tinge, great lyrics, great harmonies, and you can really tell they're really passionate about their music. This is a little different and you can definitely see the evolution between Waltzing Alone and Happy the Man, but this is great in it's own respect. Both are a ton of fun to sing along to. They just released a third album in June that I haven't heard yet.

She & Him - Volume 2

I absolutely LOVE Zooey Deschanel and when my buddy Mike received Volume 1 as a gift our freshmen year of college I had to have a copy. I loved Volume 1 but when the video for In the Sun was released, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I heard Thieves on the radio just the other day and it sounded more like the She & Him I was used to so I decided I would give Volume 2 a go. I don't like it as much as the first album (not yet at least), but I do enjoy it and I'm sure the more I listen to it, the more it'll grow on me




Zebra by Beach House - Teen Dream

Zebra is the only track I purchased from this album. I haven't listened to anything else on it, but this was on the playlist at work not too long ago and when I was at home, I listened to it constantly. Those singing kids from New York covered it, too.

Do Yourself a Favor

And go see this movie. Don't wait. Don't read reviews. Don't ask your friends if they liked it. They did. Just go.

Absolutely mind blowing. Amazing visual effects. Great cast. Heart wrenching. Bad ass. Incredible concept. And if you need someone to go with you, I would definitely see this again.

What Do You Wanna Be When You Grow Up?

One of my co-workers is getting married in a month and recently had her bridal shower. The other morning at work, the bride-to-be was discussing with another co-worker a questionnaire that they did for fun at the shower involving questions like "what kind of cookie would you be?" and "what flavor of tea would you be?"

We kept asking each other questions, when eventually one person asked "what do you wanna be when you grow up?" When you're a kid that question is easy. Space man, firefighter, airplane pilot, baseball player. When you graduate high school I think there's a switch in your brain that automatically flips and this becomes the most terrifying question. As I was getting ready to leave for college I don't know how many people asked me that or what I was going to study. "Uhhh. Ummm. I dunno." It's a little overwhelming when you're 18 to have to pick something you're going to do for the rest of your life.

But when Rikki asked me this time, I stopped to think about it and in a nanosecond it hit me. Stay-at-home dad. I don't know if I decided that because I generally don't enjoy working or for some other reason. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely lovelovelove my job, but if I had the option to stay home and cook, clean, or do whatever else I wanted, I wouldn't give it a second thought. I'm only 21 and I know it's a long way off, but I'm excited to be a father. And if I can find a woman who could support our family on her own income and is ok with me staying home instead of her, I'd be extremely lucky, especially with the state of things currently. Or maybe I could find a work from home job.

So ladies. What's up?

It Begins

Hello.

I just wanted to throw up a quick intro. My name is Taylor. I had a LiveJournal for a long long time, but I got rid of it a little while ago. When I started it, a bunch of my friends had one so it was more of a social thing. As fewer and fewer people used their journals, mine devolved into me just whining about everything. I liked that I could get stuff off my chest and if they felt so inclined, the two or three friends that still read it could say something, but it wasn't satisfying anymore. I just got sick of how whiney and depressed it made me feel, so now it's gone.

For a long time I had wanted to start a different blog. One that was about something. It was hard for me to decide because I read a bunch of different types of blogs. Food blogs, photography blogs, fashion blogs, etc., and am passionate about a lot of things. I love music, cooking, funny internet videos, and a bunch of other stuff. My sister has been blogging for a while and she's been a big inspiration to me so I'm gonna take a step in her direction and just kind of post about whatever I want.

So here I am to start my own and get a slice of the internet pie. This is going to be highly experimental until I'm familiar with the design and layout of this system.

Here goes nothin'!