I ♥ Sunglasses

When I lived 1.5 miles from the beach in sunny Florida, I did not wear sunglasses. It wasn't until I moved out of the dorms and over a mile from Platteville's campus did I find value in sunglasses. It started as a protection from the falling snow in winter and then the salt and sand that is brushed up by wind in spring. Soon, I recognized the benefits of covering my eyes from the harsh sun rays as well as all the junk that falls from the sky. Now, I wear sunglasses every time I leave the house. I have two pairs of Fossil sunglasses that accompany me throughout the day. I try on new glasses every time I'm in a store that sells Fossils. But really, I'm shopping on a replacement only policy now.

Sandwich in a Bowl

I've been writing a lot of Haiku lately, but lack content for this blog. Here is a recipe for Sandwich in a Bowl that my incredibly wonderful Aunt Leigh taught me. It is Jared approved, but would cause a recoil from Ciera. So, my homie, stop reading now, because there are veggies in this.

It's really a basic recipe. Here is some back story: My Aunt Leigh is a book artist and sometimes a teacher. She was teaching at a college in San Fran and needed a way to make a bean sandwich transportable to where it wouldn't just fall apart by lunch. Her solution was to cut everything up and put it all in a bowl.

Ingredients:
2 Slices Pumpernickel Bread
1/2 A Tomato
1/2 An Avacado
2 tbsp Black Beans
Cheddar
Salt and Pepper
Mayo
Cilantro
1 Medium Sized Microwaveable Bowl

Toast the Pumpernickel bread. Spread mayo over the slices and cut into bite sized pieces. Throw pieces into bowl. Slice tomato, sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Toss into bowl. (I'm now going to explain the easiest way to slice the avacado.) Take the half of avacado and cut a grid into the fleshy inside. Do not cut through the rind. Scoop out the innards into the bowl. Put the two tbsp black beans into the bowl. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Stir it all up and eat it.

It's faster to make than to type up.

Job Hunting Kills My Nerves

I'm hitting writers block head on. I've been so busy applying for jobs and wandering around the city, I haven't had time for blogging! I've applied to lots of positions, but there are two that I'm very excited about. I don't want to talk about job hunting much, because I'm being superstitious. I apply through Craigslist, Indeed, Star Tribune and directly through company websites. I also put in one hand written application. What I'm looking for right now is a part-time retail job to tide me over while I'm looking for a full-time job. I want to be able to wear jeans at my part-time job. I do love jeans.

I've been applying to jobs nonstop for the last week. It's discouraging that I've only gotten one interview for a job that would have less than 20 hours work a week. I hope I find a little something soon before I go nuts. Being out of work makes me want a pet.

Between my trip around San Francisco and touring Minneapolis with Jared... I have walked my feet right off.

Happy 100th Post, Here Are Some Stats

If you are a using a PC to view this website on Firefox after clicking a link on Facebook, you are in like company. It is also possible that you won't even see this entry, because you're too busy watching a gif of a corgi in a swing. Happy 100th post, ya'll.

Dinner Eating and Job Hunting

I cooked up Korean BBQ Chicken; steamed bok choy, Chinese eggplant, and silk squash; and boiled white rice with chicken bullion. It was all very good. Jared wasn't all too fond of the texture of the bok choy and said the chicken was too moist. Jared skinned and cut a whole catfish in our kitchen sink. We'll be making fish tacos tomorrow.

We walked downtown today and to Nicollet Mall. I put in an application with Macy's to work as a Beauty Advisor. I'm good with people and had a lot of luck in sales last year. I really want to learn how to apply makeup; it's something no one has ever taught me. I also want to work somewhere that will force me to dress like a grownup. Even if that means all black all day. If I don't hear back in a week or so, then I'm going to apply at Lush. I want to work for an organic beauty line.

In the mean time, I'm also applying for Administrative Assistant positions via Craigslist. I'd like to get a job soon, so that I'll have money in savings. The sooner I get a job the sooner I can go to Disney World.

I'm going to start waking up half an hour earlier everyday until I'm waking up at 7 am. Given I woke up today at noon... I should be on course by the 27th. I've got to get going on my goals before time gets the best of me.

San Francisco III

MN Catch Up

It's time to do some catch up!

Jared and I are all moved in to our apartment in Minneapolis. We had a really uneventful move and are currently working on getting everything just right. (Jared is building a bookcase in our living room as I type.) We went to IKEA on our second day here and bought two DVD racks, bars to hang up in the kitchen, a hook for my purses, hooks for the kitchen and hooks for jackets in the entry way. Why all the hooks? We're taking advantage of all the vertical storage we can. I'll post photos of our place once we're at a good stopping point. 

I had my San Fran trip right in the middle of everything, and left Jared to himself in the city.

I got back yesterday. Jared told me he bought a gallon of milk for $4.00. We spent all of today learning about all of the grocery stores in Uptown. We bought produce and a large catfish at Shuang Hur. We stopped Truong Thanh and picked up more produce and beef balls. Then, we went to Rainbow Foods and just went nuts and loaded up the cart. Jared was worried Rainbow Foods would be "slummy" because of some of the reviews the store had. When we got there all I said was, "if this is the 'grimy' one, then the one in St Louis Park is paved with gold."

Today we have a lot of banging nails and drilling screws to do before the building's quiet hours at 10 pm. I should get some laundry done from my trip, and some time soon I need to contact the maintenance guy about fixing our intercom.

San Francisco II

China Town was great. I got a lot of little knick-knacks and wore out Aunt Leigh. When we got home she fell asleep sitting up in front of the television. I got to haggle in the shops and did a pretty good job. We went to a poorly lit but super busy local restaurant. I ate the Combination Seafood Noodle Soup (seaweed, cuttlefish, shrimp, scallops, beef balls oh my). I'll post photos of all my awesome souvenirs once I settle back in in Minneapolis.

Thursday, Aunt Leigh, Tomoko and I took a drive to Muir Woods and walked through the redwood groves. I loved it. The trees touched high in the sky like a big canopy. The whole park was damp and wet. It was a beautiful day out! Tomoko cooked tofu wrapped rice, potato balls and these Japanese rice crackers. We ate dim sum and cookies. Yum yum. We stopped by the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to Muir Woods. It was a sight! It was such a clear, sunny day you could see all of San Francisco. I tired out on the car ride back (although I did get to see the Pacific Ocean briefly). I rested when we got back to the apartment. We had potstickers, steamed vegetables and rhubarb cake for dinner.

Today, we decided to sleep in. Oh my, I am exhausted. We walked around the arboretum for a few hours which gave me a slew of ideas for house plants. We picked up Tomoko and headed for Japantown. I couldn't get enough of Japantown! I got two little Domo-kun items and a bunch of little things. We went to Ichiban Kan. I went nuts! Everything was so cheap and so cute! It was great. Aunt Leigh said that if Jared and I moved to San Francisco, I would fill our apartment so thick with stuff from Japantown there would be no room for Jared. (I certainly would have a gigantic Domo-kun.) We then took our seats at Isobune Sushi. Little plates of sushi come by on small boats, and you take what you want to eat. I have had a lot of different sushi before. I did try raw oysters for the first time. I'm not sure how I feel about those. The sushi was great. Aunt Leigh and I kept asking Tomoko what everything was. Once Tomoko replied, "It's... raw fish."

All my bags are packed for my flight back tomorrow. I was sure that I could fit everything in my 21" upright, and I did. Good for me.

See you mañana, Central Time. Be prepared for a break down of nifty souvenirs and photos ala Aunt Leigh and Tomoko. (I didn't bring my camera with me places.)

San Francisco

I'm writing to you from foggy, lukewarm, beautiful San Francisco. It's day 2.5 of my visit, and my feet are barking at me. Man, sight seeing and shopping with my incredibly wonderful Aunt wears me out.

The plane ride was uneventful; I wasn't red flagged as a terrorist, and I didn't have to go through the nudy-machine. I found my gate and hopped on the plane which was only slightly delayed. I sat next to a Swedish au pair on her way to her new host family. I watched the in flight movie and read the paper. Then, we talked about current events and her time in America. I like having short, informative friendships like these. I met Aunt Leigh in the airport, and we headed off for her apartment. We ate at a noodle shop in her neighborhood for dinner. Then we spent the rest of the night talking and watching television.

The next day we went down one side of her neighborhood grocery shopping. Aunt Leigh lives in a mostly Asian neighborhood with mostly Asian markets. The markets near her house were interesting. They were open air with all new shapes, smells and tastes. I ate a dried scallop, fish balls, and a green tea cake with red beans. The produce and fish were extremely cheap. Most produce was under a dollar per pound. We then walked through the park and through the neighborhood on the other side of her apartment. We cooked a dinner of shrimp and vegetables over pesto and turned in for the night.

Monday, (incredibly wonderful) Aunt Leigh and I met up with her friend Georgette for lunch and a self-guided tour of the Museum of Modern Art. I learned about stereography (one of Georgette's specialties) and got to see a lot of Marcel Duchamp's work up close. We had coffee at the shop atop the museum and lunch at an Italian deli. Georgette was great and filled with intriguing information. We all competed for talking time. We were pushed out of the museum at closing time and took the bus back to Auntie Leigh's apartment.

Today (which is still Tuesday in San Francisco), we went to Haight Street and went shopping. We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant and split two plates. We walked up Haight Street from Masonic to Stanyan stopping in every clothing and trinket store along the way. That took the majority of the afternoon. Our last stop was Amoeba Records where I picked up a few replacement CDs as well as a few albums I hadn't owned previously. My incredibly wonderful Aunt Leigh is standing over my shoulder right now reminding me to mention how incredibly wonderful she is.

Tomorrow we are going to China Town!