Browse Category: projects

I rule.

Jes has always said that I have a black thumb but I’ve always thought that it was more purple because I can keep my plants alive but some just don’t make it.  Lately, I’ve been more successful so I thought I’d share two of my successes.

Last Tuesday (7/26), I bought fresh basil from the Farmer’s Market and made some pesto.  Instead of throwing away all of the leftover stems after plucking off the leaves, I stuck one of them in a bottle of water and left it out by the window.  One week later, I checked the bottle to change the water and I found roots!!!  Whuuuuuttt?!!?!  I totally rule!  Not only are the leaves still alive but it’s regenerated some roots!  I know this is probably common knowledge but I thought with my purple thumb it wouldn’t work.  I was so wrong.

June 20, 2011

I also have an orchid plant that I received as a gift back in December.  It had lots of flowers that eventually dropped after they all opened.  I was determined to keep it alive so I left it out on my windowsill at work and watered it every Wednesday.  Six months later, I found a new leaf (the little one in the middle) and it just keeps getting bigger!

August 4, 2011

Now I have to wait for a spike to grow and hopefully I’ll get flowers.  Yippee!!  I’ll keep you posted.

By the way, my avocado plant had to die because I couldn’t move it up to SF with me.  Oh boo…

Maker Faire

On Saturday, we got a call from Jason who is now in the Bay Area for his summer internship.  We knew he was coming but we just didn’t know when.  Surprise!  He’s staying in Palo Alto for a couple months so we planned an outing on Sunday.  We met up with him in San Mateo where they were holding Maker Faire.  It’s basically a large-scale science fair, craft fair, and DIY show all in one.  It was pretty interesting and super nerd-tastic.  Here are some of my favorite parts.

Someone made a tricycle lawnmower.  I want one!

They had a glass blowing demonstration outside.  I wanted to buy one of their $15 mugs but didn’t.

Inside, there was a big Lego-building cage.  Brother would have enjoyed that.

Outside, I took a magazine cover photo with R2-D2.

On our way out, we found this igloo made of plastic water jugs.  I need to make one for the kids at work.

Here are the rest of the photos.

My Passport

The picture above was taken on our way to the airport in 2004.  (Happy Birthday, Huy!!)  It’s crazy that it’s been 10 years since I last renewed and I’ve had a pretty good run!  My passport just expired this past January and as I was filling out the paperwork for the renewal I flipped through the pages of stamps that I had inside.

Here’s a list of the places I’ve been:

Costa Rica – June 2004 (my first international trip in 18 years)
Thailand – December 2005/January 2006
Belize and Guatemala – September 2008
Italy – September 2009
London and Paris – September 2010

Phew!  What fun!

With this renewal looming for the past couple months, I put off getting my photo taken once again.  I FINALLY took my new photo last weekend at Walgreens while I was out running errands and thankfully my hair was brushed and I hadn’t just woken up.  ‘Cuz that’s what happened last time.

Back in 2001, I was living at home in Cerritos and I was putting off renewing my passport for several months.  My mom was tired of reminding me so one morning she woke me up in a hurry and said, “Get dressed, we’re going to AAA to get your passport picture taken.” I was given just enough time to brush my teeth and put my contacts on.  I was still in the t-shirt I was sleeping in and my hair was a mess.  The guy behind the camera clicked the camera so quickly without counting or anything and it was done.  Unfortunately, when I got the photos, I looked like a refugee with my hair sticking out on one side, my t-shirt collar all crooked and wrinkled, and my face and eyes were swollen.  I must admit it was a picture of supreme hotness.  At the moment I didn’t really care and mailed it in with my application but later on I regretted not taking a new one.  Jes always makes fun of me each time we go through customs and says in a gruff voice, “Let me into your country.  I want to eat your children.”  Great…he’s so supportive….  I’ve even had the guy behind the customs window make a double-take after looking at my passport!  This happened not just once but several times.  Wah. Waaah….

So my new photo has been taken and the application is ready to be mailed.  Pretty soon I should be ready to travel for the next 10 years with a less-embarrassing photo.  And no, I’m not going to post my refugee photo.

renewed bulbs

Last year I bought a grape hyacinth from Trader Joe’s and when it died off, I wrapped up the bulbs in a paper towel and foil and stored it in the fridge in a Ziploc bag.  A couple days ago, I took it out of the bag and found some shoots coming out of them.  They were pale yellow but healthy-looking.

I put them in a small pot with some soil on Valentine’s Day and two days later, the leaves turned green and I’ve got a bud!!  Can you see it peeking out?!  This is so exciting!  I can already feel my thumb becoming a little less purple.

Preventing Alzheimer’s

Lately, I’ve been feeling my age: I wake up with a sore neck and back every morning; my cuts heal slower; and I realized that my 18-year-old patient is half my age.  Oh crap.  So, I borrowed my co-worker’s ukelele and I’m teaching myself how to play.  It’s a lot of fun and I can play a handful of chords now.  I’ve been learning on the internet and got a few copies of different songs from another co-worker who had a book of songs.  I still have some practicing to do before I can play for anyone.  For now, Jes will have to just bear with me.  I just wish I could sing.

Another thing that I’ve been wanting to do is improve my Conversational Spanish.  I’ve had the same patient for the last 10 weeks and his mom speaks primarily Spanish.  I feel like a retard speaking to her and thought I should brush up a little.  So, last night I went to my first class at the City College.  It’s Level One and it’s super basic but I still learned a thing or two about cultural stuff for when to use the tu and usted forms.  It’s only one night a week for seven weeks.  We’ll see if it’ll be worth taking Level Two.

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I said “goodbye” to 2010 and “hello” to 2011 with my dear husband and the Masayas this year.

The party started at 10:30 so they came over for some champagne first and then we headed out to a little place called Nombe in the Mission District for all-you-can eat Japanese tidbits.

It was pretty chill inside and the food was good.  At midnight, they broke open a new sake cask and we had help-yourself sake for the rest of the night.

The waitress that helped us was quite a character and I think she showed up to her shift already wasted.  When it was time to go, we each took a cup of sake to-go for the quick walk in the rain to the BART station.

Have I made any New Year’s Resolutions yet? Not formally but I’m sure it will include some form of watching what I eat, exercising more, and saving some money.

Did I keep any of last year’s resolutions? Meh. However, one that I DID actually follow through with was my Project 365. I managed to take a photo a day for the whole year. It definitely helps to have multiple cameras available including my trusty iPhone with all its apps for making some pretty cool Polaroids and plastic camera-looking shots. I’ve decided to keep the project going again this year and look forward to what else I’ll be able to capture. Brother will be trying again this year and Joy will also be joining me. Who else is in?!?! Happy Snappin’!