%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Nothing official here; just come chill! |
|
Welcome! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Welcome to my little Den! Here you'll find all sorts of things- mostly blog challenges, but mixed in, you'll notice:  I'm a bit of a fangirl  My life is very busy I enjoy using emoticons  I don't tend to swear, but stuff happens. |
Make an A-Z list on a topic of your choosing. Stretch your creativity!  After you finish your list, write a short narrative describing why you chose the list you did and how it relates to you.I'm gonna go with Music Terminology, just because I'm teaching music right now and this should be interesting how things play out.  A- Accordion B- Beat C- Choir D- Diminuendo E- Espressivo F- Flute G- Guitar H- Half Note I- Intro J- Jive K- Keyboard L- Lute M- Music N- Noise O- Organ P- Piano Q- Quarter Note R- Rest S- Strings T- Trumpet U- Ukulele V- Violin X- Xylophone Y- Yodel Z- Zumba Well this relates to me because I can play Piano, I've tried learning guitar, and I'm learning ukulele right now. I've tried Zumba before, and we use a xylophone to help kids with learning the notes of the solfege. As for those non-English words, I learned them during my piano days- Dimuendo means to soften- when you see the loooong ">" in music, that's the dimuendo. And the Espressivo means expressively, so pretty much, full of emotion. Usually it's supposed to be sad, but  Why does everything need to be sad? Why can't it be happy? Is it too hard to be happy in music? |
| Do you have any tattoos or want one in the future? If you had to have a piece of art permanently on your body, what would you want it to say about you? I once mentioned that if I were to get a tattoo, it may just be of the Hi-5 hand, and a small one on the inside of my wrist. Practically speaking though, tattoos are forever, and forever is just... too long to fathom having a piece of art on my body. So, no I don't have any tattoos. And no, probably I wouldn't ever want a permanent tattoo, ever. I wouldn't be able to decide what, exactly, I want, and knowing my luck, once I got it, I wouldn't be satisfied because I'd be thinking I should've gone with something else.  However, I'm in no way against temporary tattoos- those are fun. Granted, I've never actually had one because Mom was all "why would you do that? " so in high school I actually used them to decorate the front of my notebook. I wish I still had a picture of that, but I didn't have a smartphone yet back then, annd digital photo storage wasn't really my thing either. I wonder if I looked way back into my old computers and checked out my picture dumps, if they'd be there, but also, those computers take light years to turn on. Another realistically speaking reason I wouldn't get a real tattoo is, I have extremely low pain tolerance. So chances are I'd be yelling my head off as they did the tattoo, which wouldn't be a pleasant experience for either party involved. Fun fact- when after I got my wisdom teeth out, the wound got infected, and when Mom called the dentist (he's in our religious organization and operates on the ground floor of our HQ building, which is a total of 8 floors- 7 going up and a basement) and he took me as an after-hours patient, Uncle told Mom he could hear me yelling from the 7th floor.  And it was kinda late that night too, sooo you can imagine how that went down. 8-9 pm, you're probably trying to get some work done, and there's someone yelling bloody murder in the dental office.  I also dislike needles. I don't like getting shots- when I was even younger- a toddler- I pulled out an immunization from my thigh that hadn't gone fully in yet. Mom had to call that same uncle to go into the doctor's office and pin down my arms so I wouldn't do it again. I don't know, maybe I *should* be proud of these "accomplishments"? Would they even be considered accomplishments? |
| What’s on your mind right now? Do you have any “brain worms” or current obsessions? If you didn’t have to blog right now, what would you be doing? This one's pretty easy. Given what just happened with the thesis, that. If you missed the melodrama (really, it was) check out "Note: Thesis Update (It's not pleasant):
Advisor re..." and "Invalid Entry"   As for current obsessions, not really? I've been going to barre classes (I know, I mention that, like, every time now) and I enjoy it. I still prefer the dangers of flying in the air, to the safety of being on the ground, but I enjoy the difference of challenge, because they're both strength-based, but in entirely different ways. Barre uses weights and props to give your lower body a workout, but aerial uses apparatuses and your own body weight/strength to work out your upper or lower body, depending on what apparatus or class you're taking. I have considered making a vlog or instagram or something of learning aerial stuffs, just because it seems like of all the things people have decided to document in video format, aerial silks and aerial arts hasn't been one of them. And I can imagine that's probably because not everyone can afford to have, like, 20-foot ceilings from which to hang apparatuses. Although! I have seen/heard of people hooking up something like the aerial hammock for yoga to a regular, apartment-height place. And that means that, for those hammocks, you really don't need much height- just a strong ceiling. So we'll see what Mom thinks of my far-fetched plan to turn our paddle tennis court into an indoors gym/arena area for practicing silks and/or exercising, when she gets back from Australia. In a way, you could say that yes, that is my "brain worm". Also, I've kinda phased out Hulu and Netflix- I don't quite know why, but I just haven't been able to find a show I can focus on for that long- I watched Trinkets on Netflix- quite enjoyed that one, and I don't know if there will be a Season 2, but I sure wouldn't mind if there was. I'm also kinda watching Somewhere Only We Know- which is a Chinese drama set in college. I liked it at first because it was believable and the characters were relatable, but getting further into the season, the plot quality is slowly going downhill. As for Hulu, it has ads and I don't like ads. So, with phasing out Hulu and Netflix, I've turned to Youtube. Yes, Youtube sometimes has ads too, but they're usually shorter. I've found a new channel I rather like- about a (seemingly very rich) British family currently living in Dubai. They're called the Fizz Family, and they're all pretty decent- I appreciate how the teen doesn't take things for granted, and even on a "no-budget shopping spree" she only buys what she feels she actually needs. As for the younger sister, she's just cute- AND they have a baby in the family too. Currently, as I am blogging, I'm eating a Nutella ice cream with Biscoff cookies mixed into it. I was trying to print out a lesson plan earlier, only to discover that the printer was out of black ink and everything printed in lines.  I couldn't find the black ink in the house so I put on a jacket and made a Costco run. Costco actually didn't have the ink I needed (gasp- Costco doesn't carry everything ) so I went to Office Depot. And in that plaza was a nitrogen ice cream shop, so after getting the ink, I walked over to the ice cream place to treat myself to ice cream. I splurged to have the cookies added into it, which was definitely a great idea because now it kinda tastes like a s'mores ice cream.  So if I wasn't blogging right now, I'd probably either be in the shower or asleep/chilling in bed because I have a class to teach at 9 am tomorrow! Which also means that, given that it's currently 9 pm, I should probably get going off the computer and hop into the shower so my eyes don't feel so puffy and tired for tomorrow. |
| I already posted about this in the newsfeed (see "Note: Thesis Update (It's not pleasant):
Advisor re...") but I felt that the character limit there was hindering my ability to properly express my feelings. I've also drafted (now sent) a response to Mary (the Honors advisor who was working with me on this case) : Hi Mary, Thank you for helping me with all of this. I also received Professor Reich’s email. In response to what Professor Reich said, I missed the deadlines because I was waiting for her feedback. For example, I began the submission process in November (11/13) for the introduction, sent a literature review in December, close to Christmas, and the methodology on January 14, which was when she replied saying what I had sent her weren’t full sections- her feedback was vague and difficult to understand, and while she made specific comments and suggestions, she didn’t exactly guide on what constituted a “full” section- having never written such a paper before, I felt somewhat lost. I eventually got overwhelmed with struggling from the lack of direction, and my friend who graduated from another honors program ended up giving me her thesis to use as a template for this draft I wrote and just finished. I understand Professor Reich herself is in Budapest, but is there anything I can do in person in Irvine to help this situation? I can drive down any day this week to discuss the situation, and really don’t want this thesis to be the only obstacle preventing me from graduating the CHP! Is there anyone else I might be able to get advising from for the thesis? I do want to get this in and finished before the new July 15th deadline. I've been accepted into the fall intake for the Multiple Subject Credential Program at CSULB and they still need an official transcript saying I've "officially graduated" from UCI. Please kindly let me know what I can do about this. I really appreciate your help with this process. Thanks, Dragon I'm just really upset about this whole situation- I mean, she's essentially messing with my future. I've gotten into CSULB for their Multiple Subject Credential program, I've already set my schedule for the fall, and I'm so ready to move on- in fact, I'm excited to start my classes because I know from here on out, the classes I take are going to be related to my job. No more GEs, no more strange philosophy teachers who are convicted of DUIs and refused admission into Canada... This thesis is literally the only thing between me and graduating from the Honors Program. Anyways, I really don't know what I can be doing about this because, yeah- after June 10, (her last email with me before she essentially dropped me, and her latest email pretty much confirms that too) SHE DIDN'T WANT TO WORK WITH ME ANYMORE. So HOW in the heck is she supposed to "meaningfully advise" me if she won't work with me? Seriously. Like, that doesn't make sense at all.Granted, she may've gotten upset I missed the very first deadline in November by like, a day and couple hours, and then thought I was a flake because I submitted some low-quality work I didn't know was low-quality (only in May was I told that the introduction to the thesis is a giant literature review- had she told me that from Day 1, or back in January, I think things would've been a little different, no? ) I've also gotten off the phone with Grandfather and Mom- Grandfather thinks it's discrimination. I wouldn't put it that strongly, but I also wouldn't put it past her to be discriminating against me. It's not Asian discrimination for sure, though, because I don't think the doctorate student in charge of our lab had issues with her, and she was also Chinese. *shrug* So given that, I don't think it's discrimination? Although, I don't actually know if she had any actual, international students in her cohort- like, the ones who needed to take the TOEFL to come and study here to make sure their English was competent. From what I saw, her students have mostly been of European or Western descent, soooo Maybe it is. Who knows? Regardless, this is literally the only thing holding me back from graduating right now and I will not have it, soooo this thesis is getting signed one way or another.  |
| Respond to a current news story with your opinion. Share a link to the story if possible. https://time.com/5619999/instagram-mosseri-bullying-artificial-intelligence/ Well, there's my link. Let's just start with, this is a very long article. So if you wanna know what's in it, but you'd like to skim, the main points are: IG is starting to make AI to counter cyberbuullying, and they're hoping Facebook (their parent company) won't cut ties with them because they (IG) are depending on their (FB's) AI systems to help with this countering. ^^ That's essentially the whole thing in a very abbreviated nutshell. I'm very happy Instagram is doing this, actually. As I mentioned in "Invalid Entry" , a person I'd barely met in real life had decided to send me a string of somewhat harsh and pretty rude messages in response to a blog I'd posted here that mentioned meeting him and the Hi-5 cast. I did end up reporting him to Instagram, but nothing came of it because they deemed he wasn't bullying me. Yeah, a 40-year old man (probably?) sending put-down messages about a blog post a 21-year old had written definitely isn't bullying/harassment, but whatever. Now that I'm rehashing it, actually, I remember that I reported him because what happened was this- he sent those messages, then he blocked me. Okay, whatever, right? Then he unblocks me and sends another string of messages. That is what went down. I unfortunately can't find the second string of messages anywhere. It's really weird, because it's as if it completely disappeared from existing anywhere in cyberspace- it's not in my email, it's not in my screenshots, not in my Instagram message history....Anyways. Going back to the topic of the article, I'm applauding this guy (Mosseri) for taking on this endeavor. If anything, yes, it will make me want to use Instagram more because of what he's doing with it, and use Facebook less, because of what they're not really doing. Two very powerful paragraphs in this article say: What it comes down to, according to Mosseri, is whether one thinks connecting people, and even the Internet itself, is a net benefit for humanity. “Technology isn’t inherently good or bad in the first place. It just is,” he says. “And social media, as a type of technology, is often an amplifier. It’s on us to make sure we’re amplifying the good and not amplifying the bad.” Instagram didn’t invent bullying. It’s a problem that crops up anywhere that people congregate online. Adults, from the President on down, are normalizing online abuse. Experts say that, as a society, we are failing to teach kids how the Internet works before setting them loose on it, at a time when they’re just starting to understand what it means to exert power in relationships. And they say that the fight against bullying can’t be waged by tech companies alone: there needs to be buy in from parents, schools and kids themselves. And it's so true. It's kinda like food. Food isn't particularly good or bad, but depending on what you do with it, it is what you make it to be. One scoop of ice cream won't kill you, but eating a whole tub most certainly won't be great for your health. Tying this back to tech and social media, isolated situations might not kill you, but constant reminders of what your peers are doing without you, or what celebrity is doing what, might just, if the peers know how to purposely push the right buttons. That's why my social media numbers usually stay low- I only add people who A. want to add me, or B. I'd like to know what they're up to every now and then. As for bullying, it happens everywhere, yes. I remember in elementary school, this girl (purposely) poured dirty paint-water on my hand as I was washing up, then claimed it was an accident. Her response? "Ooops! Accidents happen." I think even without hearing her tone, you can tell- that's not even a "sorry"- accident? Definitely not. So yeah, people get very creative with what "bullying" can be. Purposely including (or excluding, for that matter) someone or something in a picture can easily be some type of jab to a targeted person. And seeing that Instagram, having previously been rated worst for people's self-esteem and self-image is now getting a makeover of sorts in terms of AI, I applaud them for taking this on. It's not an easy task, as they discussed in the article, but in my opinion, it's a worthy one and one that might just be a little overdue. |
| What fictional character do you admire? What specific characteristics do they possess that make them attractive? There are a couple characters I highly admire. Jack West Jr, for starters, as well as Shane Schofield, from Matthew Reilly's books. They're the first two names that popped into my head at the moment, since I just finished reading The Three Secret Cities, which is his newest book in the Jack West Jr series. I admire them because 1. They know alot about alot. Granted, this is the author's research and the knowledge he gains from what he finds is what he gives the characters, but I learned quite a bit about history and mythology from reading the books, actually. And since I'm 90% sure we have the 7-4 books somewhere in this house, you can bet I'm going to reread them. They're good- and since it's all action, it's a fast read, which means it's fine for me to read again because chances are, I won't remember exactly what happened in the previous ones- let alone, 4 books ago. 2. They fear nothing. Like, absolutely nothing. 20-foot cliff? Sure, they'll jump right across like it's not a big deal. I'm probably exaggerating a bit, but I think you'll get the gist. Granted, they also have awesome team members who would also, literally, die for them (some of them have died  ) and a family at home waiting for them. It's really Clark Kent-y in a way, like, they go out to save the day (or, in Jack's situation, the world- multiple times) and then they go back to everyday life. Except, their families all know. And, in the most recent case, help. 3. They're resourceful. I guess that kinda has to be a built-in skill when you're always facing off against tyrants, hired assassins, and other, lethal groups of people, but it's definitely a good trait to have. In a sense, I do usually work with what I have as well, but they do it in a more dramatic fashion, which makes it fun to read about their adventures and near-misses- as opposed to "oh, I have cocoa in the pantry and all the ingredients for chocolate banana muffins, so let's make that" 4. They have super cool tools/gadgets. There's nothing like having cool technology that attracts people to you, right? One particular gadget I remember (aside from their various Letter-numbered automatic weaponry ) is the MagHook. I don't know if this is a real gadget or not, but I do remember it got the two characters out of a good number of tight spaces- especially when there were metal walls or rails around. It's like something you'd see in Mission Impossible, I think- where you press a button and a magnetic thing shoots out and grabs hold of a metal surface, then retracts and pulls you in with it.  Honestly, if I had one, I probably wouldn't need any other entertainment or the internet, because I'd be entertained just swinging myself from place to place with it. 5. They're still human. As I mentioned before, they have families. And in the most recent book especially, you really get a glance of Jack's home life and family dynamic. His daughter is in college and has a boyfriend, for example, and he seems like the kind of guy where, if you saw him on the street, you probably wouldn't even recognize his face if you saw him again. Note- Jack and Shane are from two separate series, but they operate in the same "world", since Shane has made an appearance in a Jack West Jr book before. I'm waiting for the next Shane book and hoping Jack will do the same for Shane. |
| It’s the Sunday News! Reflect on the first week of July. Are you on track to meet you goals? What are your plans for the rest of the month? Hmmm I don't exactly have goals for July given that it's now summer break and I'm so done dealing with anything academically related, since I'm essentially done with the thesis and waiting to hear back from the advisor. If she doesn't reply by Monday, I'm emailing CHP again to let them know this is what's happening. I've written two thank-you cards for graduation presents, out of 8 (I think 8). I need to do more of those for sure, now that the thesis is done. I wrote one while doing the thesis because I had to send Sis some mail and I sent her some cookies to make the flat-rate box a bit heavier, so I figured I'd send her the card as well while I was at it. So I suppose one goal here is to finish those thank-you cards. Plans for the rest of the month- I am going to a conference for Chinese School teachers later in the month. I'm also somewhat planning to visit DancerPalooza in 2 weeks to see if I can pick up any kiddos who might be interested in music lessons. Yes, it's a dance conference but hey, dance needs music, right? And maybe some kids will have an older sibling who's there for dance but they're not- and music classes might be a fun thing to stick younger kids in while the older ones are off doing their thing.  I'll bring my box of business cards and see what I can do for a day or two. I can also teach private lessons for piano or do private tutoring. It's a free event if you're not looking to get anything fancy, and I'm not, so this might be a good opportunity to set up some extra income. Other than that, I'm probably just going to be chilling around and seeing what happens the rest of the month. I've been practicing the uke every day, so maybe I'll haul out my guitar, get it tuned, and start that up again. I keep saying "maybe I'll do X" because I've been lazy and non-committal. For sure, though, I'm going to finish the 2-week barre trial. I'm ever so slightly disappointed that it's not all barre stuff, in the sense that with aerial, you spend a good amount of time on the silks or apparatus and learning tricks and stuff- at the barre, you start out with various other conditioning stuffs, before moving to the barre, and then moving away from it to do other stuff- so actual time at the barre is pretty limited. Regardless, I'm definitely getting a good workout out of the classes- I've never had sore triceps before, but as I did a stretch today, they burned! I just tried doing it again as an experiment and good grief, they still burn. Not as much as this morning, but it still hurts Maybe I'll sleep with an ice pack or something- ice baths are supposed to help flush out the lactic acid, but I'm not that strong, so maybe a smaller scale, ice pack would also help, on a smaller scale. |
| Make a list of five things you wish you could be a master of. Be sure to explain why you chose what you did. At first I thought this was three, and I was thinking that there's no way three would be enough for what I'd wish. So my FIVE would be: 1. Memory (remembering things )2. Baking 3. Mind-reading (didn't say it had to be realistic )4. Aerial stuffs 5. Musical instruments As for why.... 1. Memory- I'm always forgetting stuff. Like, I can't remember various things I should, like appointments or buying my grad pics (I still need to do that) but I can remember other various things that don't really need remembering. Also, having a fail-proof memory would mean I don't have to study anymore! Like, I can read it once, absorb it, and be done. Next. 2. Baking- I do enjoy baking! Not necessarily cleaning, but baking is quite fun. Measure all the ingredients out and get it into some form of batter, portion it out, put it into the oven, wait a certain amount of time, and then bam you've got some edible goodies. I've started watching Nailed It on Netflix and I'm somewhat into that- sitting at home and thinking "oh, hey, that doesn't look too bad, maybe I could do it too" Considering I've never worked with fondant or modeling chocolate,and that's what they mainly use for the decorations, that'll end well for me, won't it? Also, maybe next time there's a large party or gathering of sorts, I'll attempt something from the show and see what happens. At least there'll be a larger number of people to help eat it if it's terrible. Also, I'd like to learn how to bake more stuff- I haven't tried making a real cake yet, let alone cupcakes, so that'll be something I'd be interested in learning how to make. I took cake-decorating classes with my aunt in Texas last summer, and that was quite fun, so I'm definitely interested in finding out how those skills would translate in a more practical setting. 3. Mind-reading- I'm the type of person where if you try to discreetly insult me, I'll likely miss the point and chalk it up as another comment. So it'd be nice to read minds and know what people really think. Along with this ability, maybe it'd also be helpful to have a mind-changing ability- the ability to change people's minds. Like, my thesis advisor, for starters, who has yet to reply me if my thesis is anywhere near decent and/or passable for the honors program. I wouldn't put it past her to be ignoring me, but hey, I'll update the honors program on Monday if she's still being quiet and not replying me, to see what they have to say. Also, if I had this mind-reading ability, I'd know if she was actually busy or really ignoring me. Then I could change her mind to say that yes, it's decent and passable as an honors thesis, get her to sign it, and let me officially graduate, for crying out loud! 4. Aerial stuffs- that really shouldn't come as a surprise. I really enjoy my aerial classes! Even though, right now, I'm in the barre classes and they're kicking my butt, I definitely enjoy doing aerial more. I felt like I was making such good progress on the lyra (hoop), and I want to be able to do it more. Even though those classes are only once a week, it's still something, and I feel like I get something out of it as well. These barre classes, I'm going every day, since it's a 2-week unlimited pass, so I want to get the most out of the money I spent. If I wasn't so sore, I might have even thought about going twice a day, but that's not really feasible, in my opinion. I do want to be fit, but I also don't want my body to shut down because it's just too much. With that said, though, I'm definitely going back tomorrow and probably Monday.... I'm hoping to go every day if nothing comes up, and quite potentially twice, if I feel my body can handle it. The goal here is to look amazing for the Chinese School conference I have coming up in about 2 1/2 weeks. 5. Musical Instruments- As I mentioned previously, I'm learning ukulele and guitar (somewhat) and I learned piano in high school for like, 7 years. I'd like to be a master of musical instruments because it's fun to play music. Also, I'm definitely not the best at it right now, so I'd like to be better- and what easier way to be better than to be a master of it? It *would* be nice to have it where I can take to whatever instrument I pick up after figuring out the basics. After all, I am in a music teacher job right now. |
| What did you dream about doing as an adult when you were little? Have you been able to achieve any of your childhood dreams? Share a fact about your life now that you never imagined would come true. As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be in Hi-5. I mean, they were pretty much my childhood idols/heroes/everything you look up to. Charli, being the youngest, I had decided was the absolute coolest. I mean, her space had a hula hoop swing, for crying out loud.  I didn't actually understand the concept of "famous" back then, but I did understand that you got to sing and dance in front of lots of little kids, and that was what I wanted to do. Alas, we moved to America, and slowly but surely, those dreams disappeared into a cloud of smoke. America had no Hi-5, no hula hoop swings, and no Charli. Not to mention, in America, Mom tried teaching us piano, and then in elementary school, put us into after school tennis, ceramics, and chess, from what I can remember. Notice how all of those have nothing to do with singing, dancing, or little kids. So obviously, that definitely didn't work out. And honestly, I really didn't have any new aspirations after that Hi-5 dream slowly dissipated into nothingness... I guess I always held out that small torch that it would come true. And for a split second, it almost did, until I realized their open call auditions in Sydney (I was currently in Melbourne at the time) would conflict with my cousin's piano recital, for which I had tickets (both plane and for the event). So that didn't happen either. Fast-forward... 4-5 months, though- and there's an announcement on Facebook- they're going to the Baby and Toddler Show to perform (and sell merch) in Melbourne! And they have a "click here to get tickets". Guess what? Tickets were free! And upon Googling, the venue was AT MY SCHOOL. (well, the school owned the building, so same difference, yeah?) Y'know, if that wasn't fated... So naturally, I went. And I went early, because they said the first X number of people get goody bags, and I'm all for a free goody bag. Lotsa stalls for early childhood development, preschools, greek yogurt (of all things ), and family portraits. And there was a petting zoo outside! It was my first petting zoo experience, actually. (Yes, of course I went in) And while I was rather hesitant to touch the animals at first, I eventually did, and I think I ended up with a chicken in my lap or something at one point. I met the cast afterwards and it was a great time. I went back on Sunday because they sent an email on Saturday night saying my ticket was valid the whole weekend. I got another goody bag because I was supposed to meet with a classmate to work on a linguistics project but she forgot, so I ended up staying the whole day and meeting the cast again. And meeting this crazy dude named Stevie who "verbally" accosted me via Instagram messages for mentioning him in my blog post about the event. (see "Invalid Entry" for my thing about the show/expo)Now let's fast-forward another 2 years.... I've since learned that Charli's hula hoop "swing" is actually called a lyra. It's probably my favorite apparatus ever in aerial classes, and I've learned how to do some pretty cool stuff on it . I've also taken trapeze classes, which is less fun, and probably on the lower end of my rankings for the apparatuses, but hey, a girl can't really complain when you get to learn 5 apparatuses, right? My last 2 weeks of doing class (I haven't been since before graduation) I started going to a Saturday morning class that teaches 5 apparatuses, so I learned how to do a bit of rope as well. And tomorrow (Friday), I'm going to start classes at a barre studio, which is kinda unrelated, but yeah. So 2 facts about my life I never imagined (in case my rambling threw you off)- 1. Meeting Hi-5, and 2. Learning Lyra! |
What is your go-to dish to bring to a potluck? Does your family have any traditional recipes? (In Hawaii, these appetizers are called “pupus”  ) In Cantonese, appetizers are called "tou poon," or "head dish" (the dish that comes at the head of a meal, not a dish of heads )I admittedly have never been to a potluck. I was only ever invited to one, and I ended up backing out because it was off campus, I didn't have a car, and I didn't feel super safe going to someone's place whom I hardly knew, plus I hardly knew the people I was going with as well It was a Friendsgiving-type of thing last year for Jumpstart, and we had barely gotten our groups- so yes, it was a get-to-know-you type of thing, and call me old-fashioned or whatever, but I still think that's a little soon to be going to people's houses for dinner in the fall, when it's starting to get dark earlier outside. Actually, my philosophy class was also supposed to do a potluck but then the professor got sick and canceled class- and the potluck. He's the guy who got busted for driving with substances/under the influence of whatever and was banned from entering Canada because of it- and he claimed to be a good baker so I hadn't planned to eat his stuff, nor bring anything homemade- I actually prepared and bought two bags of chips, because hey, you really can't go wrong with that. And then he got sick. And then I got stuck with eating them. And Mom ended up eating one of the bags too since it was jalapeno- and she got sick afterwards because she ate the whole thing, minus maybe a couple snacky handfuls I'd taken, in one go essentially. I told her I wasn't expecting her to "help," nor had I needed it- and that was actually the second time something like that had happened.... Anyways. I don't cook. Well. I don't cook well. As in, my cooking skills are somewhat limited to single-pan foods or single-pot foods... frozen dumplings, instant noodles, pasta, you get the idea. With that said, my salads are yummy, because those don't require cooking. Anything that mostly requires assembly, I'm pretty decent with. Avocado toast? yum. I add tomatoes and occasionally, grilled chicken if I'm going to exercise later. My redemption here is I can bake! Like, legitimately bake, if I follow a recipe. I've always preferred baking to cooking for some reason- I think in my mind, our family would bake sweet stuff as a treat when Sis and I were younger, so baking has this happy association with it- whereas cooking is like "get out of the kitchen!" (the kitchen is very much Mom's "space" and caution to those who dare to enter/help/watch when she's cooking! ) That's kinda why I never really learned to cook.... Baking on the other hand, was always relatively easy. Take the cinnamon rolls out of the container, plop them onto the cookie sheet, put them in the oven, set the timer, wait and you're good to go! I recently just made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies- those were delicious- the batter somehow ended up making 11, so I ate one to make sure it was palatable, and then I shared off the other 10- 5 flat-rated to Sis and 5 to Shadowfanglerz. And then I reached 27 pages on my thesis on Friday so I made chocolate banana muffins to celebrate- there were a dozen of those, so I gave 4 to Shadowfanglerz and I've been eating one for breakfast every day since. Sooo yeah, if there was a potluck, and I absolutely had to make something, I'd bring dessert. Otherwise, go to the store and get some chips. They're easy, convenient, and a yummy side or appetizer. Oh and there's a part 2 to the prompt- traditional recipes.... My mom cooks, in case you didn't get that from above. Her most famous dish right now is her teriyaki salmon. All you do is take the teriyaki sauce, pour it over the salmon fillet, and put that thing in the oven for like, 10-15 minutes, depending on how raw/cooked you want it. Her sticky rice is also amazing- the literal translation of it into English, though, is "oil rice," so I think you can imagine how bad for you it is, but also, how good it tastes.... It's sticky rice, made in the rice cooker, and you add all sorts of veggies and other condiments- shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, Chinese sausage, and soy sauce. I think that's it- it also makes a really nice turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving if you ever get tired of Western stuffing. Side note here: I remember I tried Western stuffing for the first time at the dining halls in freshman year, to have my mind blown. And then I went home and told Mom how delicious it was- and she's like "you like that?" So yeah, if we had to go to a potluck and bring something, Mom would probably do the teriyaki salmon. Although, knowing Mom, we wouldn't even be going to a potluck in the first place.  |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
PassKey Override Available
