Category Archives: Personal

Reflection: Now That I have Found Heaven, How Do I Get Into Paradise?

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Well, after the weekend trip through Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure I realized something… Disney Imagineering is probably the closest to what I hoped to be able to do when I grow up. In Imagineering I am able to meld the two parts of me into one total being without having to choose one or the other.

How do I know this? Well in DCA there was a little cabin just off the main path called “Blue Sky Cellar” and in there were all the plans for the Disneyland expansion: Fantasy Faire. But it wasn’t the final product that intrigued me, it was the process leading into the final product. Essentially I found my heaven.

However, getting into Paradise is proving to be a tumultuous journey, mainly because the only available position at the moment is for a Senior Electrical Engineer, which I am woefully underqualified for… well, to be honest the only qualification I do not have is the Professional Engineering License, which I cannot get without taking and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Hmmm….
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Fleeting: Lunar New Year 2013

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Yes… I am Asian… which means I am most likely to celebrate Lunar New Year… and I have been looking forward to this particular year for a while now… why? Because of the following:

What was predicted for me in 2011: the breaking down of an old life and in 2012: the building of a new life

So what does 2013 have in store? Well… theoretically the seeds that were planted in 2012 will continue to build and grow and eventually become something worthwhile for me to see the fruits of my labor.

Nothing comes easy… and it isn’t suppose to.

So what does the year of the Water Snake have in store in general? Well in general Snakes tend to:

feel and sense its way through life and represent spiritual rebirth, elusiveness and exploration of life’s mysteries.

Rich in wisdom and charm, Snakes are romantic and deep thinkers. Their intuition guides them strongly. Snakes usually do things at their own pace, and when the moment is right, shed their skin and take up something completely new. It is for this reason that people avoid Snakes — They can’t handle their mistrust and secretiveness. Although sociable at times, they have a strong desire to be left alone. Snakes are actually subtle workers — imperceptibly manuevering and manipulating until they are in the position to get what they want. Attracted to elegant and refined partners, they are deeply jealous and possessive when involved in relationships.

But beyond that… what does the element of “Water” mean?

Still water sheltering underwater secrets asleep in its depths; sinking and muddy. Profit from this year to restore your energies and regain your inner balance. Avoid overwork or any excesses which will follow with depression. Maintain your equilibrium and do not waste your energy. Don’t go too far too quickly. This years Water element will be socially beneficial, calming and conducive to meditation and interpersonal contact.

Ok… so what does that mean in general? Well… I can’t say, because I am not you… but in the grand scheme of things the “Water Snake” year provides:
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Recipe: Banh Chung (Yay for Lunar New Year!)

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Every year within a month before the new Lunar New Year, I make a point of taking a weekend off from everyone else I know on the planet to be with my mom to make Banh Chung… a rice cake that we only make for the Lunar New Year… not only that, but we make a massive number of them (anywhere from sixteen to twenty cakes total… but usually eighteen cakes) and we give some to my maternal grandparents… I take a cake or two back with me and she takes the rest.

INGREDIENTS:
– approximately 10 pounds of glutinous (or sweet rice)
– approximately 6 pounds of mungbeans
– approximately 6 pounds of pork loins (the more lean the better I always say)
– cleaned banana leaves
– salt (approximately 2 tablespoons)
– pepper
– olive oil (if using lean pork)
(creates 16 rice cakes)
Variation: If you are vegetarian then subtract pork and mix mungbeans with sugar. It is tastier with light brown sugar.

Since we make a massive batch… we went with an eight pound hulk of pork loins from Costco (we ended up using up to seven pounds of it though). If you don’t want to go all out with so many rice cakes for yourself the below are approximations of the above for just one rice cake:
– 2/3 pound (though according to the above it is closer to 1/2 + 1/9) of glutinous (or sweet) rice
– 1/3 pound of mungbeans
– 1/3 pound of pork loins

PREPARATION for MUNGBEANS
Day One
1: Soak the mungbeans in water overnight

Day Two
1: Rinse the mungbeans and toss a little salt
2: Put mungbeans into the steamer until it is just cooked through (how to test: take a small portion in hand and smash, if you have to put pressure then it is good, if falls apart easily then it is bad)
3: Ground mungbeans when completely cooled down

PREPARATION for EVERYTHING ELSE
As with all Vietnamese cooking I don’t really have set directions, so here is what I know:
1: Cut the pork in 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick slices. Marinate with salt and pepper. Add olive oil if using lean pork. Set aside
2: Clean the banana leaves and wipe reasonably dry
3: Rinse the glutinous rice, drain, toss with a little salt… set aside

Now here comes the fun part… you will need four sheets of aluminum foil approximately 12 inches by 12 inches square and then fold in accordance to the video below:
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Fleeting: Men’s Musical Pants

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While walking towards the Magic Kingdom from our hotel, my friend and I passed by a guy with his little girl… to which my friend said:

Music is coming from his pants…

To which I couldn’t help but reply:

Well if there was a prototype out there for pants that men could wear that would automatically make music, what would be the controls?
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Recipe: Butterbeer Ice Cream (but really Sorbet)

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Since I have yet to go to the Magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter down in Orlando, Florida I have to make do by playing with recipes I get off of MuggleNet.com. Last year I posted a recipe about Butterbeer Cupcakes that turned out to be a bit of a hit from various parties and I decided that whenever I get the chance I’ll make actual Butterbeer.

In comes the Bake-a-Thon and a fellow Harry Potter fan… and voila! Butterbeer ended up on the menu. So from the Mugglenet.com Recipe page, which one of the many recipes did we end up using? Well… we settled on the Butterbeer by Nicole as the most proper choice:

Now if only I had actually followed the recipe… >.< Guess what I did wrong? Continue reading →

Review: Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Celebration

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In early December of 2012, I was fortunate to have a show that I was originally in rehearsals for… to be postponed until spring of 2013. Why fortunate? Because it gave me a chance to see a concert celebration for the music from Final Fantasy… and I have yet to miss a concert since the tour began five years ago and have come through Chicago how many times since then?

The Final Fantasy Concert holds a special place in my heart… it is where I met one of the first people that I knew from the online world and were friends with (well before the internet became littered with predators and crazies). So naturally it became a habit for me to want to see the concert every time it comes through Chicago… there is a bit of nostalgia that comes into play.

This year was no different and yet meant the world… for this time around it was the Distant Worlds Official Final Fantasy 25th Birthday Celebration. Since Chicago is known to be the kick off city for the first North American Tour of the Final Fantasy Concert series it made sense to have the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Celebration to be in Chicago.

Now I would typically write my own review of the concert… but I am lazy and there are already people online that have put their own two cents of the concert. So I will just link to one such blog post by another concert go-er…

Just click on the break to see the set list that was featured at the 25th Celebration concert… and some of my quick impressions.

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Fleeting: After Les Mis… Now What?

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It was said time and again that if Les Miserables made a killing in the box office then Cameron Mackintosh would focus his attention on bringing Miss Saigon to the silver screen as well. Well with that possibility becoming clearer and clearer everyday, you’d think I would go and update my wish list of what I would like to see happen with Miss Saigon. Well the truth is, not much has changed and as thus instead I’ll simply do another round up of musical productions that people are sniffing around for a big screen treatment.

RUMORED to be in DEVELOPMENT
Wicked
Considering how there is already a Wizard of Oz movie about to be released by Disney in March (Oz the Great and Powerful) that is a kind of prequel to the Wizard of Oz, I am not really entirely sure having another Wizard of Oz prequel would be overkill in the current yeah.

Thankfully out in the wonderful world of IMDB it appears that the currently slated date would be sometime in 2014.

Interesting… very very interesting.

Jersey Boys
Also… that same article mentions that the Jersey Boys appear to be in the development phase for a film adaptation. And yet… according to IMDB there is no real set date for the film to be released… but it does mention that such a film is currently in development.

FUN!
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Fleeting: Why Do I Blog?

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Well the easiest answer would be that blogging is a simple way to keep my writing skills up to par… or just below par all things considered.

Then again, I was talking to an acquaintance of mine who was thinking of creating a blog about ways to be more green in the office, at home, out and about, etc… and she believed that when someone is “blogging” there is typically a theme associated with their blog.

So when she asked what the theme of my blog was, I was hard pressed to find a suitable answer. In the end I believe the consensus was that my personal blog are just any and every random thought that comes through my head that I just need to write out in some capacity or another otherwise I would be prone to over-thinking about said thought as opposed to placing said thought off to the side or back burner to focus on something else that is more pressing.

How’s that for a nice convoluted answer?

But really… why do I blog?
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Endeavors: Corseted Inspired Costumes

So I have been on a kind of corset kick lately… to the point that I have been putting together costume ideas for the next time I go to a convention or maybe even Halloween (shocker!). So why am I on this corset related kick?

Well to start, when I realized that my measurements were fairly proportional to one another (bustline and hips are within an inch of one another and my waist being around four to five inches smaller) the idea that a corset could squeeze that into an almost perfect hourglass shape (nine to ten inch difference between bust/hips to waist), it really emphasized the natural curves that most women seem to lack nowadays.

So now that I know the strength of my figure, the idea of putting together costumes that I know I could pull off well started to seep into my mind… below are just a few ideas…

LULU from FINAL FANTASY X

LuluposterOne of the costume ideas I have been staring at for years was the amazing costume from Final Fantasy X of Lulu. Now there are a lot of well done costumes out there already, but I am a little obsessed with the idea of having a corset as the primary piece and everything else would be rather simple to piece together from everything else.

In fact when Pendragon Costumes recently posted a picture of a new piece – via their Facebook Page – I knew I found my staple not just for Lulu but for a Steampunk costume should I desire it.

The irony of finding my base has led me to find other pieces online that I could use for my costume… most notably all the jewelry / hair pieces, the doll that Lulu uses… and even a YouTube video of someone showing how to use one’s hair to mimic that of Lulu’s without having to get a wig. Which for someone like me with long thick black hair… I prefer using it as much as possible.

I still have a few pieces to put together, namely the belted underskirt, the sleeves and the top fur trim, but I think for the most part I can get those done on my own as soon as the dress comes in. 🙂

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Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Pie Croissants

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Another Harry Potter related recipe that my friend wanted to try was the Mini Pumpkin Pie Croissants. Now for me not being a huge fan of pumpkin to begin with was already apprehensive… but she was all for it, especially since she had a can of “canned pumpkin” that she wanted to use.

Unlike the other recipes we’ve tried up to this point, this wasn’t a hit out of the park by any stretch of the imagination. In fact when just mixing the cream cheese with the canned pumpkin the consensus was that the filling was very bland… so my friend (who was the primary chef this time around) decided to spice the filling up before “stuffing” it into the croissants. So what did she add?
– sugar
– powdered sugar
– cinnamon
– nutmeg
– cloves
And those are only the ones I managed to catch… who knows what else she may have added. In fact when looking at the comments below the recipe it appears that anyone that tried the recipe had a similar issue:

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Endeavors: Bake-a-thon! Round One!

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This past weekend I met up with a friend for an all day session of baking, cooking, and taste testing. We managed to compare schedules months ago and found a day that the both of us were free. So after weeks of saying “we need to get together to bake and cook” we finally did it.

So what did we make? Well… let’s just say a lot of possibilities across the spectrum… but here are the recipes I decided to start off with:
– Cheesy Popovers
– Cheese Bread
– Creamy Artichoke Soup
– Molten Lava Cupcakes (dark chocolate with candy canes)

What else did we make? Other ideas that floated around:
– Butterbeer Ice Cream
– Snickers Brownie
– Pumpkin Croissant

So what actually happened? Well…

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Reflection: Snow White and Bigby’s Seven Cubs

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Recently my trade paperback copy of the Fables series came in the mail… Volume 18: Cubs in Toyland, which included the Fables issues 114 thru 123. Where the first seven issues were about Therese and Darien’s adventures in Disturbia (aka Toyland) and issues 122 and 123 were called “The Destiny Game” where we learn about a young lady whose job is to assign destinies.

But this post is about the first seven issues…. or more specifically a re-analyzation of an old prophecy the was revealed in the form of a one-shot comic released to the public as a giveaway during a Fables panel at the San Diego Comic Con.

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It is within the above one-shot comic that we learn a prophecy that dealt with the children of Snow White and Bigby Wolf:

The first child will be a king.
The second child a pauper.
The third will do an evil thing.
The fourth will die to stop her.
The fifth will be a hero bold.
The sixth will judge the rest.
The seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed

Up until the end of the “Babes in Toyland” storyline we now know three of the seven cubs have been given their fates:

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

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Entertainment: Invisible Driver Prank

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This has got to be one of the most entertaining things I have seen in a long time:

Did you watch? Did you?

Well… come on… did you?

Go ahead… watch… I’ll wait…

Done? Good… now jump past the break.
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Recipe: Guacamole (yes… really!)

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So in a concerted effort to eat healthier (not that I haven’t already been doing that with all the homecook meals I am always eating, and choosing to stay with fresh foods over processed whenever possible)… I’m going to continuously rotate fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet.. or create “fresher” dishes to mix in with some of my ready made ones.

First up GUACAMOLE!

Yes… I know… I copped out. So sue me…

Then again… don’t sue me, because I have no money for you guys to squeeze out of me.

I kid I kid!… Anyway.

A nice simple recipe that I am sure you all already know all about:

Ingredients
– 8 avocados
– 4 limes
– 1 bunch of cilantro
– 2 small onions

Directions
1: Squeeze all the juice from the lime and toss into food processor

2: Scoop the avocado from shell and remove pits… toss into food processor

3: Peel onion and chop into eighths and toss into food processor

4: Remove the majority of stalks and rinse cilantro leaves… then toss into food processor

5: Use food processor to chop, mix, grind, the ingredients until they have reached a consistency you are happy with.

6: Pour guacamole into airtight container and put in refridgerator so the flavors blend together for at least four hours.

7: After the chilling in the fridge, take out and serve.

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Fleeting: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (Supposition)

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DISCLAIMER: I am not in any way affiliated with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries… I am just a fan that recently came across the YouTube online series and fell in love with the storytelling… who is providing her own supposition on what could happen down the road.

From yesterday’s post I did fall down a hell of a rabbit hole… but there was something that was nagging at me.

When looking at the various YouTube accounts for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries… during the time that Lydia was separated from Jane and Lizzie she created the YouTube Account: The Lydia Bennet. So when Jane and Lizzie are off on their real world adventures, Lydia kept up her own account which have now been featuring… you guessed it: George Wickham…

Interesting how something that would appear to be so small before would mean so much now…

Well while scouring the internet I came across this little gem: The Gigi Darcy YouTube Channel.

Yup apparently the little sister of William Darcy has her own YouTube Channel… granted there haven’t been any videos uploaded at the moment… but if you have caught up with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries AND know Pride and Prejudice like that back of your hand like I do (well almost do)… then you should know where exactly in the story this is all coming about.

If you are unfamiliar with the Pride and Prejudice story and do not wish to **potentially** be spoiled do not read any further and just move on your merry way through the internet.

If you ARE FAMILIAR but are still confused and do not wish to **potentially** be spoiled then again… do not read any further and just move on your merry way through the internet.

If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice and you enjoy the story like myself so much that you can’t help but put clues together and living with the characters then you probably should have figured out by now like I have that…

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