A Little Bit of Wisdom

The first couple times I went to Trader Joe’s I really didn’t get what all the fuss was about. I found it crowded, difficult to find things, and didn’t really see much I wanted that I couldn’t get somewhere else, in some cases for the same price or cheaper.

Sarah pointed out that it’s a good place if you’re looking for something very particular that is hard to find elsewhere. Also, that those particular items, which would normally be terribly expensive because they are hard to find, are actually reasonably priced. This coupled with the glowing recommendation from Chef Nanci Wokas who presented the cooking class I took Monday night (and who also apparently drove her RV to NOLA to cook for people after Katrina) convinced me to give it another shot. (more…)

It was rated 4.3 stars on Netflix which is pretty rare so I decided to give it a shot. Not only did I wonder why it had been rated so highly, I hated it. Really really hated it. (more…)

Behold, my favorite shot this week:

Taken in the bathroom at Orchard Valley Coffee in Campbell. They have a mirror on each wall facing each other creating an infinitival effect.

This is one of those rare cases in which the graininess of my little point and shoot came in handy. I increased the contrast and sharpened it up to show off the grains and the punchy color of each. I’m sure there’s some fancy name for this. Maybe I’ll look it up and add it here later so I sound smart.

Today I learned about Rick Rolling. I was minding my own business when out of nowhere Dave links to the xkcd comic as he so often does. After I give in and add it to my RSS reader, Dave tells me to check out the xkcd blog where there is a link to the music in the comic. A quick Google Yahoo search of Rick Rolling reveals the official link. (haha, got you again.) The comments are priceless although most of them are just, “damn”.

So the funny thing is, I actually really like the song! Shut up, seriously. Never mind the catchy tune, check out that sexy deep voice! A couple months ago I stumbled upon the VH1 Pop-up video version of Never Gonna Give You Up which I now embed here so you can all remember the joy of Rick Astley and Pop-Up Video:

I’m glad that when people on the internet have nothing better to do, they do things that make me laugh.

Update: Thanks for the link to the Family Guy version, Hackel!

I finally replied to a comment on a post I made almost two years ago right before our wedding. Well, the comment was actually left relatively recently, which has reinforced for me the affect this particular post has had on a lot of people. As much as I felt it was a downer to write it at the time, I’m glad I did. Apparently, people can relate and it’s important, when you’re feeling down, to read an honest conveyance that other people feel the way you do sometimes.

After writing the reply, I decided that it really merited its own post not only because it was terribly long for a comment, but also because I felt it contains some useful advice that shouldn’t just be tucked away in a comment. Hopefully, Matt would mind me highlighting his comment in a post of its own.

“Yeah, i found this on a google search, and im only a 15 yr old boy and i also hate it when my friends blatantly make plans in front of me and leave me out. I dont feel like the people i used to hang out with are my friends anymore and its really depressing.”

(more…)

I went for a leisurely ride on a trail around the bay the other day and got a few decent shots that serve as extra motivation to save up for an SLR. I had a lot of opportunities for some beautiful shots, but am appalled by the graininess I got. Nevertheless, some turned out ok and I’ve got a couple fun ones: (more…)

Following are some helpful tips I picked up from the Girl Geek Dinner that Dave and I went to at Google a few weeks ago: (more…)

You too can now enjoy the cute, sappy, and silly video I made for Dave for Valentine’s Day.

Did any of you make or do anything that you’re especially proud of?

I love Matt’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you’ve never had them, you can get them at most co-ops or where organic foods are sold. A year or two ago I decided to try to duplicate their soft texture and subtle sweetness. It couldn’t be too hard considering one can actually read the ingredient list. The main substitutions I determined I would need from my regular Toll House recipe were soybean oil and wheat flour. Well, I wasn’t quite able to reproduce Matt’s cookies to my liking (until recently…but that’s a story for another blog post), but I was able to make some darn tasty cookies with similar ingredients.

Here’s my recipe and technique: (more…)

Here is yet another attempt to keep friends and family updated on our activities without resorting to boring discussions about the weather (”It’s 10 below in MN? Wow, would you believe it got up to 66 here today?”) or work (”So Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo, eh? What would you call them then, Microhoo?”).

Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area I have: (more…)