10 Things I learned from 2008

10. Just because it was the year of the rat ("my" year), doesn't mean it was the luckiest.

9. The Midwest isn't so bad.

8. Yes we can! Yes we did!

7. The twenties are rough.

6. Photography is therapeutic.

5. Aging increases your sensitivity to the passage of time. It moves faster and faster and faster.

4. Coping with the loss of things you once had and admired is sometimes unbearable.

3. Transitions are easier when you're thinking about them for the long term, but terrifying when you readily face them.

2. The love of money is still the root of all evil. But having some would be nice.

1. Never give up.

The Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself;

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Merry Christmas!

I dug up one of my old diaries the other day. It's weird to read your childhood journal as an adult. To humor you, I thought I'd share an entry from my "super-secret diary" which I named Claudia in tribute to my favorite babysitter from the Baby-Sitters Club series. Beware of a corny twelve-year old ahead!
______________________________________________________________________
December
Monday 1, 1996

Dear Claudia,

My favorite month is finally here! 'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Christmas, yeah! I love Christmas! I love snow! I love the vacation! Dee called me a few weeks ago. She's 5 ft. 4 inches. I'm only 5 ft. 2 in. I got to start growing up and stretching out. I'm amazed at how many books I've read this month. My school's holiday concert is on Dec. 11. I play the bass/tuba part on the keyboard. Today I went on a trip to St. John's University Library.

Now I'm sort of scared of college. I saw these big, tall boys who were smoking and yelling near the cafeteria. What if that happens when I go to college? Oh well, I'll guess I'll have to face it. But I can't worry about it now. Love ya!

Love,
me
p.s. jingle bells, batman smells, robin laid an egg! =)
_____________________________________________________________________

I guess some things never change (my love for this holiday) while some things weren't as terrible as I expected (some of the tall, smoking dudes I knew in college were excellent conversationalists).

Merry Christmas!!

breakout....freakout!!

My skin is horrid lately. I went to see a dermatologist about two and a half weeks ago (that is a whole 'nother story ) and she put me on this oral/topical antibiotic regimen that only seems to be making the situation worse. Apparently that is a common side effect.

WHAT?

It's been extremely vexing but a friend of mine who is on this same regimen told me to stick it out since she only saw results by the 4th week. I've increased water intake to 90 ounces a day and all I'm getting out of it is a heavy bladder and extra trips to the loo. My skin is the one physical aspect of myself that I have ALWAYS tried my best to take care of. Why are my hormones suddenly turning on me? Wasn't this issue supposed to be disposed of by the end of puberty?

Law school has gone beyond taking an emotional toll on me. 3 years ago I was a little lighter on my feet, had relatively clear skin, more hair and a TON of less stress. Also, I derived some pleasure from schoolwork and learning. Now I'm struggling to find a "fine balance" but keep getting stuck. I see myself as a positive person with a growing negative outlook - ironic, but frustrating. It's cliche to say that one shouldn't focus on the shallow stuff but goodness my perspective on life would change for the better if I felt comfortable in my body...skin...hair...nails...

I know I'm not alone on this one. GAHH

A better way to travel

Traveling to NY from Philly is always an adventure. Unfortunately, the Chinatown buses have tested my patience. This weekend I went home via a different bus company called Bolt. I thought I'd give it a review, i.e. describe why it's better than New Century Travel.

Pros:
-Close to school therefore within walking distance if I'm heading out from class
-The aisles are way more spacious, the seats comfier and roomier
-FREE wireless (I was tempted to blog on the spot during my journey)
-Outlets in every seat
-Complimentary mints (see pic)
-Identifiable bus stops
-Decent drop-off location near Penn Station
-Friendly (read: entertaining) bus driver. He was cracking jokes the whole way!
-$13 one way. Just a dollar more than Chinatown. If I waited for the noon bus I would have only paid $10. Apparently, seats can go as low as $1 if you buy at the right time
-You don't need a printout ticket. When purchasing online, it sends you a text message and that's all you have to show at boarding.
-SAFER, CLEANER drive overall

Cons:
-With the unpredictable Chinatown bus, I could sometimes get off at West Broadway and Franklin right by the 1 train. It would only be 2 stops to the ferry.
-Chinatown buses travel every half hour at a first come first serve basis; you could hop on once you got to the stop as opposed to waiting out in the cold to get boarded

To summarize, Bolt beats New Century by a handful of points. MAJOR Bonus point: I don't have to feel like I'm risking my life when I set foot on the bus.

In other news, the weekend was quite fun. I did some Christmas shopping and vegged out at home. Today, T-dog and I went out with Nacho's friends in Philly. We had lunch at this Indian place. Beautiful ambiance, lousy masala dosa. I really need to go visit the dosa man to overcome this craving.

This week is going to feel really slow, mostly because I know that Christmas break is going to start soon so I'll be anticipating for Thursday afternoon every morning. The carols are on full blast!

Home Cookin' on a Saturday Afternoon

My mom makes an amazing salmon curry. For the longest time, I've wanted to make authentic Kerala cuisine but I'm too fearful that it won't come out right.

Last weekend I had my mom pack the spices and herbs I needed to make my own fish curry. Today I experimented.

Salmon is expensive! 8.99/lb at Whole Foods. Granted, it's whole foods so it's probably 3 bucks more than at a normal grocery store but STILL. Anyway, I got back to the apartment and started preparing the ingredients. The fish was easy to cut because it was in a "steak" form so most of the skin was stripped. The ginger, garlic and onions were also relatively easy to slice and dice.

Once I got the heat going, I did exactly like mother told me - first stir fried some mustard seeds and onions. I stupidly put in the ginger and garlic before I put in the blended curry powders (turmeric, red chilli, paprika, asofetida and something else). Doing so ruined the texture of the powder before it could properly toast.

Without getting into all the steps, the whole process took A LONG time. I made some chapati and a vegetable blend of yellow and green french beans, baby carrots, pearl onions and baby bell mushrooms.

Needless to say, I was happy with the outcome...for the most part. Next time I'll save myself from future ulcers and avoid making the curry lethally spicy. Also, I'll have to sticky note somewhere not to forget to flavor the curry with salt. I always forget salt.

Aren't you proud I cooked, friends? xD

You Know You're an Adult When...

1. You can't go a day without drinking some kind of hot beverage
2. You are fighting with insurance companies over the phone
3. Strangers call you Miss or M'am.
4. You watch the news more
5. You set your alarm to 6 and try to hit the bed before 11
6. You call co-workers twice your age by their first name
7. You (on occasion) take a peek at the anti-aging creams at the drugstore (out of curiosity of course)
8. Making appointments for anything always feels adult-y
9. Wine and Cheese parties
10. The ugliest and smelliest cheeses suddenly appeal to you
11. Several of your high-school classmates are engaged, married, pregnant or have kids

I can go on and on. Even though I'm experiencing adulthood, I still feel like a "kid" in so many ways. It's ironic though. When I was an actual kid, people always told me that I was mature for my age. These days, my school and work colleagues probably think I'm inexperienced and naive.

I wish I could maintain my youth without having to struggle to learn how to be a grown-up.