whoooooo

3 hrs of sleep + at least 1 cup of coffee + looming deadlines + few programming hangups for me to get stuck on = 1 super-hyper-active me working at a million miles per hour

Classical forums

Of all the places to get me pissed off - I happened onto a classical forum thread discussing metal (rock).  OMG, there are some stupid, pompous, arrogant, elitist assholes who think that because metal isn't on their Oxford music curriculum, it has no artistic merit whatsoever.  Trolls exist everywhere I suppose, but it makes me want to bash my head into a wall.  Why can't people just agree to disagree?  Even something as "scholarly" as musical theory can be highly subjective.

Ageism & Homophobia

http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/suit-charges-elderly-gay-couple-was-forced-apart/

There was a press release Sunday, I think, about this.  It makes me so sad.  :'(  Even if there is a settlement or money is awarded, the damage has already been done.  Nothing can fix the injustices already suffered.  I hope at the very least, the case becomes an important example that separate is NOT equal.  Those who want to will use any excuse they can to deny equal rights.  Sadly, it may take many more stories of these situations for people to realize that their prejudices hurt peoples' lives.

kitty

LOL

Muffin likes to walk around and then suddenly flop over onto the ground.  Lawrence thinks it makes her look like one of those whores that sit in brothel windows - "look at me, look at me!"

exploring downtown

I walked around a part of downtown I had never explored today.  Lunch was at the LA Cafe (on the same block as Syrup Desserts - Spring St. between 6th & 7th).  I had a Shanghai Salad - pricey at close to $10 but decently sized with lots of chicken & fried wonton strips.  Passed by Cole's which serves french dipped sandwiches.  Coworker said it was NOT good.  Phillippe's remains our french dip goto place.  Next door was Blu LA Cafe with a gorgeous photo of a juicy burger.  Reviews on Yelp look mixed.  Next to that was Babycakes.  We stopped by to sample their baked goods - mostly cupcakes.  They specialize in gluten-free/vegan cupcakes.  They use spelt, a wheat variant, agave as sweetener instead of sugar, and are dairy-, egg-, and soy-free.  I got a red velvet.  Definitely interesting.  Not light and fluffy but I like the frosting (there'st just enough and it's not a sugary monstrosity of death).  Note: I am not a cupcake connoisseur.

Long posts are hard

I don't have the time to write out all the long posts I'd like to write but I still want to post about my experiences for posterity.  Eventually I'll get caught up on the backlog I suppose.  Meanwhile, I can't let that prevent me from posting.

Last night I worked out with kettlebells again for the first time in a long time.

12kg
- 30x two-handed swings
- 30x left-handed swings
- 30x right-handed swings
- 15x alternating single-handed swings (30 total)

2x 8kg
- 10x alternating presses (20 total), followed by 10 seconds holding both straight up
- 20x double swings

2x 16kg
- 15x double suitcase deadlift

After my workout, Lawrence surprised me from behind as I was talking to him on the cell phone.  :)  We went to the Container Store to scout out our organization options.  We'll probably be getting kitchen shelving as the kitchen at our new apartment has limited counter space.  We need something we can put the rice cooker & stand mixer on.  I'd love to custom design something using their modular kitchen shelving units.  I think I've also finally come to terms with the quantity and quality of my stash.  There is a ton of yarn that I can and should donate because while I MAY take the time to devise a suitable project, it would be so rare of an occurrence that I would just be fooling myself.  I'd like to cut down on a lot of the yarn I have so that I'll actually use the nice stuff and not feel overwhelmed by it.

I suggested going home to cook something for dinner but then we both realized we felt like Indian food.  We went to All India Cafe in old town and had some Palak Paneer, Aloo Gobi, rice, & garlic naan.  It isn't my favorite Indian restaurant (I can't say I'm crazy about any of the ones in Pasadena I've been to) but the cauliflower in the Aloo Gobi was sooo good!  We thought to ourselves how marked up the prices must be.  Each of the vegetarian entrees were about $8-10.  Portions were not huge and comprised largely of non-exotic vegetables - cauliflower, potato, spinach.  Since these are also Indian home foods, how difficult could it be for us to cook it?  We'll see.  We saved enough leftovers for my lunch today.  I also sliced up some char siu (bbq pork) that I made last week.

urges

Sometimes I get overwhelming urges.  When I decide I want to do something, I usually just do it because I know if I wait too long, I'll forget and then I'll regret it.  One of the things I hate the most is deciding to do something and then not following through on it (issues from my childhood).  However, sometimes I get urges to do things that take planning, long term commitment, or lots of invested time and money.  Some of these urges get acted on to my eventual benefit or detriment.

For example:
I've got a ton of straight knitting needles and random yarns I bought off eBay over 5 years ago that I will never use.  However, I am also now at least a moderately advanced knitter and crocheter.  I bought a rigid heddle table loom, cones of weaving yarn, a drop spindle, and I've attended spinning and dyeing classes.  I can't say I've spent much more than a few days doing either weaving or spinning.  I also have beads and wires squirreled away somewhere from my jewelry-making phase.

I've gone through phases where I really, REALLY, wanted to start roller blading again, buy and ride a bike, volunteer at a non-profit, join a common-interest social group, and raise a pet.

So what is it this time?  Well, this one has been re-occuring for a few years now.  I really want to learn the violin.  It would require time and money, but I've always loved violin music more than piano or erhu (apologies to my erhu teacher who is the sweetest person ever).  There was a phase when Lawrence bought a guitar and I thought I would try to learn that with him.  Lawrence also prefers the cello so I considered taking private group lessons with him to save on costs, but no.  What I really want is violin lessons.  Ugh, unfortunately our money is going towards other things right now.  Losing weight takes priority and I'm already paying for personal training sessions twice a week.  We're also trying to cut down on expensive food costs.  Even if I cut the personal trainer sessions, it wouldn't be prudent to instead spend the money on violin lessons.  If I'm working out and cooking dinner when I get home from work, I probably won't have time for practicing either.  SUCKY.

But I really want to learn to play the violin!  Of course, I also have to worry about how much I'm over-hyping it in my mind.  What if it turns out I just don't have a knack for it?  Would I then go try the cello?  I would like to be good at the drums.  No woodwinds or brass.  I don't have much lung power.  I feel like the problem with guitar is that it seems you're only playing chords to accompany your singing, which is the actual melody, and my singing sucks ballz.  Maybe I can do classical guitar!  That was actually what I wanted to do when Lawrence bought his electric guitar.

This is turning out way too long for a rant on how I want to play the violin.  Hah, this blog is like my whine-fest for stuff I don't actually want to whine about out loud.