The Celebutante of West LA

Two nights ago, I was preparing some spinach for dinner and thought about feeding Lil F some of it. I am always trying to vary her diet since that is what's recommended. My poor baby (BF would argue her being "poor") just eats Hikari turtle sticks, carrots, and romaine lettuce everyday. Oh, and occasional bites of her dock (which still makes me angry!) and cuttlebone.

Sometimes I can't remember what veggies I'm allowed to feed her so I refer to my favorite turtle forum site. I went there and was pleasantly surprised at seeing their home page.

She is still famous! :)

P.S. My famous turtle cannot have spinach in her diet.

Small Potatoes

I started my school placement on Monday and so far, it's been very, very interesting. Whenever someone asks me whether I want to work in the schools or hospitals, I tell them I really don't know. BF is training me to say, "I will have my own practice." On a short-term basis, my feelings of where I want to work change from day to day. On Monday and Tuesday, I was convinced I wanted to work in the schools. The kids come in groups, all happy to be there to play and get rewards.

Today I went to my two other placements, and it was really eye-opening to see the reality of the current issues that SLPs potentially face. SLPs constantly struggle to provide what is best for the child, but the challenge isn't always dependent on the child's abilities. Other factors complicate progress: socioeconomic status, un-nurturing environments, absence of (loving) parental figures, parental figures who care more about receiving funds for their "child with special needs" than doing what is best for their child, etc.

Caught in the middle are these adorable little kids who just don't know any better. It's refreshing to see that these kids still do their best to thrive, despite their circumstances. Yesterday, MCJ said good-bye to one adorable kiddo, "See you next Tuesday!" The kiddo said, "I will be sick next Tuesday." How do you know you will be sick next week? "My Mom says I will be sick next Tuesday and Wednesday so I won't be coming to school so I can't make it to speech class." Oh.

God bless all of these small potatoes.

Ice Adventures

First ice adventure ~ ice-cream!

Two nights ago I made ice-cream for the first time! I busted out our new ice-cream maker and made cookies 'n cream with real Oreos. Man, it was delicious! BF and I haven't finished it yet b/c it is really rich. I could definitely get used to making ice-cream as soon as we have more room in the freezer. Making slushies may be my next move. :)

Second ice adventure ~ snowboarding!

On a whim, I decided to go snowboarding w/ Bro, FBIL, and their buddy and his BF. Actually, I had a dream early Wednesday morning where I went snowboarding. When I told Bro and FBIL during our night hike, FBIL mentioned going boarding today. I was hesitant since school already began and time for fun adventures is a rarity. Yesterday, Bro asked me again, and with a little hemming and hawing, I decided that it was now or never.

So I woke up at 5 AM and was at my bro's 10 minutes before 6. Former We Ho cheerleader and his BF picked us up at 6, and we headed to Big Bear. Starbucks stop, equipment rental, and three and a half hours later, we were hittin' the slopes. The powder was perfect and fresh since it had just rained and they had just added more man-made real snow. It was also great b/c it wasn't too crowded. After two runs, we ate an early lunch. Dude, seriously, the nachos and chili fries were so good. Bro & I had Peanut M&Ms for dessert. :) We did 3 more runs and then called it a day b/c by then, it was jam packed with people and taking forever to get on the lifts.

I had so much fun! Fortunately, I didn't crash into anybody. A dude rammed his board into my back b/c he didn't see me (I was at the top, strapping myself in), but at least I didn't get a board rammed up my crack, requiring stitches (like Bro's anonymous friend).

I fell a lot more times than I thought I would, and I was a lot slower than the last times I've been. In fact, I was the slowest of the bunch. I wanted to attribute it to old age, but FBIL and Bro are older than me and I used to be faster than them. So that wasn't it. Maybe I've just become less coordinated and weaker. Dude, I was eatin' their dust all day.

In terms of injuries, I didn't pull any muscles, like how I pulled my groin muscle big-time in 2002. =X That was a horrible experience (and I didn't even know I had a groin muscle to pull). Bro, FBIL, and I also attempted to learn to carve, but after I totally ate it a few times, I gave up. It was hard b/c 1) we were learning on the intermediate/advanced slopes so it was way steep for an amateur to learn on and 2) when we tried to learn on the bunny slopes, it was way too crowded and you pick up speed so fast. The last thing I wanted to do was stop my board by running into the many people obstacles along the way.

We left around 2 and made another Starbucks run. I didn't realize how tired I was; after I had my latte, I totally fell asleep for about half an hour. BTW, Sbux has some adorable Valentine's Day stuff! When I got home, I cleaned Lil F's tank, too. By the time I was showering, I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair! How weak is that!

It was so worth it, though! This past week has been adventurous, special thanks to FBIL and Bro. I am trying to be more spontaneous and adventurous, despite the daily stresses of being a grown-up and being a student. :) Not too shabby a track record for the first week of the year, huh?

Glen's Double Shot Espresso

I totally took advantage of one of my last "free" days again. I started off by having lunch with T$ in Downtown. We had to be all in cognito about our drive-by lunch pick-up b/c we are both selfish and want to only have a lunch date with each other. Ha! We ended up having Subway at some off location East of Downtown. I'm sure nobody recognized us there.

After lunch, I went to Dentist Aunty's for a check-up. She half cleaned my teeth and then moved onto my future med school cousin. I chatted with her and her sis and then headed off to the bank for my bro. At the bank, I had a total BSILF moment -- why does this stranger feel compelled to get to know me, make off comments like he knows me, and carry on in-depth discussions with me?

Unfortunately, I am not very good at telling the difference b/t somebody being innocently curious and prying. "Who's Ben?" "Why didn't you go to the Brentwood location?" Between the paperwork, he carried on random discussions with me. I much prefer the mindless chats like, "what do you do?" Instead, he wanted to talk about traditions and society. At one point, he commented, "There is even a term for those types of relationship/people -- Alpha Female Beta Male." Every time I was about to cut him off and hurry him up, he excused himself to print or xerox so I thought the process would be over soon. I was juked about 5 times.

The most random part was him wanting to know my opinion on how females in this day and age can pretty much pursue whatever they want (money-making or not), like me studying what I want, whereas males still feel the pressure of pursuing a breadwinning job. I thought about BF and my relationship and made a cheesy, broad comment about how society's changing. I almost felt him challenging me to prove I had half a brain, but figured I needed to save my brain power for real stuff like school.

I told my bro about this guy, and he said I needed to go and hang out with his former assistant so I can learn to be mean and rude to stop people from prying. I think he is telling me I need a coach on how to be mean. My buddy in college took it upon himself to be my coach, but he wasn't very successful. I even journaled about it. Ha!

I stopped by the watch store for my bro and then headed towards school. On my way, I went to CVS and picked up a Starbucks Double Shot Espresso drink. I thought I'd give it a try since I needed a little non alcoholic pick-me-up. When the commercial aired for this drink, I laughed so hard every time I saw it. Then my bro told me how his assistant at that time (not the potential Mean Coach) changed the lyrics from "Glen" to "Ben" and sang it all day long at work to my bro. That made me laugh even harder. So I totally thought about my bro as I drank my double shot.

The double shot held me thru class, but I was disappointed. I like doppios from Starbucks, but it's different b/c I add in cream and Splenda. This drink tasted different and funky every time I took a sip.

Maybe b/c BSILF made me strawberry ice-cream with her new Vitamix blender which I totally scarfed down b/t sips! That ice-cream was delicious!! Thanks, BSILF!

I am finally about to go make my own ice-cream. :) I think BF has been waiting for me to make some. I just need to let the Oreos thaw out a bit. (I like eating frozen Oreos).

Celebrity Gossip

I totally think that there are so many closet celebrity-gossip-column/blog-readers out there.

When PDF and I discovered that we both read celebrity gossip, we laughed so hard I thought we were gonna get into a car accident. Fortunately, she was driving (she is a far superior driver than me). I'm sure that if I were driving, we would probably not have been as lucky.

I also discovered that my bro is a closet reader, too. What did I do? I didn't confront him. I just added more bookmarks. Ha!

After the Countdown, the Dick Clark show had all those celebrities performing so we watched in a stupid stupor. Linz, the girl of the first couple that arrived for the New Year's countdown at FBM's, also admitted to reading celebrity gossip. Totally rad. Maybe that's why she asked FBM for my number. ;)

Why are we so into such trashy gossip?

I wish I was more into reading current international events and the latest research in SLP. When we got back from Vegas on Friday night, we ran into our baking neighbor, and BF and her had an hour and half-long discussion about politics, war, and history (is that redundant?). I just stood there freezing and had nothing to contribute. How sad is that?

Speaking of her, she baked us delicious oatmeal spice cake, chocolate chip and walnut cookies, and ginger cookies. Not only is she extremely fascinating and sweet, she is such a great baker!

Fake Last Day of Vacation

Although I began school yesterday, I am psyching myself out to believe that today is my last day of vacation. Of course by the first day of class, we were supposed to have already read Chapter 1 so I was already behind in my assignments when I got to school.

This morning, I began my "last" day of vacation by accompanying BF to the local bowling alley for his first "real" bowling lesson. I cheesed out of taking bowling lessons and read Chapter 1 of our dysphagia text while he learned how to approach the line. One and a half hours, Chapter 1 and a few pages of Chapter 3, and 3 bowling games later, BF and I bowled two games. BF thinks I was subconsciously "itching" to bowl b/c in my first game, I bowled 3 strikes and picked up a spare, totalling 136! My second game was a bummy 80 something but I still had fun. Unfortunately, BF noticed that his ball was chipped so he was incredibly bummed out! Fortunately, his new coach is doctoring his ball over the next few days.

Afterwards, BF and I went to Costco. One of his New Year's Resolutions that I made for him is to eat out no more than once a week (and to eat healthier). That means we need to stock up on food that he will eat at home so we went all out at Costco (my favorite "market"). The rest of the day inclued more errands such as stopping by one of my doctors, who gave me a calendar of "Beautiful Korea" and bid me a very enthusiastic "Happy New Year!" in her accented English. That made me really smile. I also went to Food-4-Less and picked up a few more stuff...including peppermint and vanilla extract to make ice-cream! Yeah!

I decided at the last minute to join Bro and FBIL for a night hike at Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades. I thought we were joining a large group of their friends since they said we were hiking with a "large group." Turns out we were hiking with a large group of people. Strangers to be precise. I have to admit I was a little leary, especially since it was a full moon (all the crazies are out) and we did not know to bring flashlights. Still, we ventured on.

Our hiking leader, a 6 foot 8 inch naturistic dude, led about 25+ of us on a really dark hike that takes place every full moon. The theme of tonight's hike was "Feast of the Senses." The guy made us narrow down which sense we would not want to live without. Most of us chose vision. Quite appropriate since we were going on a night hike where those of us without flashlights would have to rely on our other senses (well, not taste) rather than our vision, which I am certainly most used to. For a few yards, we hiked silently and listened to all the sounds. We walked farther away from the highways and traffic died down and all we heard were crickets, trampling of leaves, whispers, and Coco the dog sniffing around. Our next trek honed in on our sense of smell. Lots of sage and other herbs. For the rest of the hike, we just went uphill and didn't really zero in on any of our senses b/c we were too busy huffing up and up and up. I was so not ready for such a wild hike.

Nevertheless, we made it to an opening at what seemed like the top of a mountain. The view was magnificent. We could see Santa Monica Bay, LAX (sort of), and Downtown LA. I was more enthralled by the moon and the stars above. The full moon often reminds me of my mom. I could be wrong, but I think every full moon, my mom and her temple put on a big celebration of sorts. What really surprised me tonight was the thought of how I haven't seen Orion, his Belt, and the Big Dipper in probably years. That thought made me happy and sad. As corny as it may be, I thought about the "light pollution" that our cities have (and made me think of stuff I'm reading in Voyage of the Turtle). The only times I really look up at the stars are when I'm at Ama's. She lives at the base of the Foothills, so we can actually see the stars.

Rewind: I was actually star-gazing New Year's Eve with BBN. I asked him if he could see the moon. He said yes and pointed to the moon. I asked if he saw the stars. He said no. I tried to point them out to him. Then he finally said, "Those are spaceship!" LOL

Anywho, the view was wonderful and the dude made us do a pirate's trick of staring at the moon with one eye so that our rods and cones would adjust to the dark. It was a neat trick that I am not explaining very well b/c my mind and body is mush from the hike. Bro, FBIL, and I ended up leaving the crowd and treking downhill IN THE DARK all the way back down.

Our downhill trek was interesting for me. When we were going uphill, I was so anxious about tripping in the dark so I kept running after the stranger ahead of me w/ a flashlight. I didn't really enjoy my surroundings. Going back down in the dark with no light except the full moon was such a different, calming (occasionally scary when I tripped over rocks or missed a step) experience.

I'm glad I went on a night hike. It was my first night hike and my third hike, said the sheltered girl.

Happy New Year!

I am almost caught up to date...Last ketchup!

New Year's Eve

BF and I headed to FBM's and went bowling with FBM and BBN. I got my second bowling lesson from FBM, but I still kept jacking up the hitch-hiker/hand-shake/suit-case release. Still, I had fun. I even got to help BBN bowl. That consisted of walking him up to the line, handing him the ball, and letting him drop it until it got to the pins.

Afterwards, we headed back to FBM's house and hung out with his family. Another couple arrived with their two doggies, and we hung out until Countdown. LBN was awake for his first New Year's countdown. :) BBN stayed up a little later and sat with me outside by the fire pit for quite sometime. He was actually really clingy b/c he was afraid of the small doggies, even though he didn't want to admit it. We chatted a bit. The funny thing is that our conversation reminded me of BF and my typical conversations.

BBN: What you talking about?
Me: What are YOU talking about?
BBN: I'm talking about what you talking about.
Me: What am I talking about?
BBN: You're crazy!
Me: No, you're crazy!
BBN: NO, you're crazy!

That kid cracked me up all day and night. The most adorable thing is that he couldn't remember anyone's name except BF's. BF was soOOooOO happy about that. I ain't hatin'; I'm really happy for BF, too. :) Afterall, what BBN calls BF isn't the shortest/easiest name.

After BBN went to bed and we ran out of fire wood, we hung out a bit more inside. Two more friends stopped by. When day broke and we decided all the drunks were finally back home asleep (or in jail?), BF and I headed back to the Westside to go bowling.

Just kidding!

We went home to sleep and sleep we did. All in all, it was a nice, mellow welcoming of the New Year.

Best wishes for the new year to all of my loved ones!