judging a book by its cover

Penguin Books commissioned Jill Tamaki to make embroidered covers for some of their Classics (printed of course, not actually embroidered ones, sadly), and this one is one of my favorites. I think I need to add this copy to my personal library.

sweet succulents

This is the product of my afternoon (That is, after the extremely unproductive portion where I went out to run errands only to find out that EVERYTHING is closed on Easter... I swear the exact same thing happened last year). Fortunately, my mom is the owner of a variety of monstrous succulents, so I just went around snipping off tiniest ones, stuck them in the pot, and voila! This one may just have to go on my desk at work.

puppy shopping

I'd like this puppy in the window, please. (also available in desktop)

I've been dog shopping lately, and I was so excited all week to see a Westie this weekend (see extremely heart-melting puppy above), except somewhere along the way, I thought about buying from a breeder vs. adopting from the shelter, and the shelter won out. (btw, what do you think about the whole adopt vs. buy thing? Animals at the shelter obviously need a good home so much more, but if no one buys the puppies, don't they end up there too? ) 

So today, we went to the SPCA and I met the cutest little standard poodle mix - and we can take her home on Tuesday if we want her. She's the most charming little Benji-looking pup with a slight shagginess about her. The slightly ruffled-looking ones always get me... so cross your fingers that I'll be updating my blog with a new companion on Tuesday! 

I'm going green(er)!

From the Threadless Earth Day T-Shirt Challenge

How do you celebrate Earth Day? In honor of the holiday I'm evaluating my non-green habits and pledging to improve on them this year. So, to observe this year, I will:

1. Make a habit of taking my reusable grocery bags to the grocery store. They're in the car anyway, I need to stop being lazy/forgetting and go back to get them!

2. Carpool to work with dad whenever possible. Built-in pro: I won't oversleep my alarm.

3. Plant more vegetables in the garden this weekend. Flowers are nice and all, but since I've discovered that our garden is capable of growing monster zucchini, why not put that soil to work?

4. Start a compost pile. I've been meaning to do this -- now is the time!

5. Support more small and local businesses. I've been trying to do this more since Christmas shopping last year, but it's tricky sometimes with all those big box stores everywhere!

I've already started on #s 2, 3 and 5. Now it's time to establish these all as habits!!

EARTH, I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU! (hey, everyone only has to do their part - how are you saving Earth this year?)

something to remember

From The Great Chase by Natasha Noveski

The latter, I've found, is the story of life after college. Why wait for an adventure to come find you when you can embark on one yourself? Sometimes, you just have to close your eyes and jump in. (and hope for the best)

roses

Guess who got a surprise delivery at work yesterday? 

that's right, me!! 

What is it about red roses that spell out love and romance? Pink, yellow or white roses are just not the same. Counting down the days until I visit Wilson-- 3 more days! Thanks for the wonderful surprise, can't wait to see you!! 

one day...

I will see the Aurora Borealis. 

Photo from National Geographic, taken in Norway

Imagine looking up and seeing the northern lights above you-- just staring at the picture puts me in awe.    

(By the way, there is nothing more awe-inspiring than looking at NatGeo photos. It makes me want to drop everything i'm doing and go see the world. LIFE magazine issues, too.)

wanderlust

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

- St. Augustine

Photo source

Hong Kong

Seeing as I was 12 the last time I visited, I wasn't sure what to expect this time (don't even get me started on Macau). I remember a blur of lights, noise (mostly unintelligible cantonese), good food and good shopping, but nothing specific. Gosh what a waste, remind me never to take my kids traveling until they're in high school. This time around though, it was almost an overwhelming of the senses, where every experience is sharpened because it is familiar, but at the same time not.

This is how they deliver vegetables?

Bartholomew in front of Victoria Park (equivalent of NYC's Central Park)

First off, I don't speak cantonese. And I certainly don't read chinese, which puts me at a huge disadvantage when it comes to bargaining at night markets (very important), communicating with my aunts and uncles (so I can tell them about my exciting life back home and how much I have grown - and NOT physically- since they last saw me), and finding my way around the maze-like roads (when i'm not risking my life looking lef-right-left). Unlike Europe, where life is like a pretty picture and things just seem to fit into the landscape (maybe I'm just used to westernized culture?), Hong Kong is full of interruptions. It's colorful, bright, and loud-- not just the language. Buildings are so tall you can't see the end of them, and people live in such close quarters its really quite claustrophobic. People are everywhere, ants moving from place to place, just like in those fast-forward clips of Times Square in Tokyo.

Hong Kong at night

And the food-- it's like the chinese food you find in LA, except hyped up on steriods, better than you thought your dimsum/chow mein/roast duck experience could ever get! Flavors and textures of foods I grew up with are more refined - and also foreign, in a way, to what I know. I've discovered that there really are gourmet chinese restaurants, not the hole-in-the-wall places in LA that seem to have questionable preparation methods (eat, don't question). Don't get me wrong, still still have that in Hong Kong, but at the same time you can buy lunch for less than $3 USD. Clean, elegant restaurants with fishing boats hanging from the ceiling, better soup dumplings than din tai fung (not to mention the people in the window making them are actually Chinese), and tastefully hung paintings. Who woulda thunk?

  The best duck I have ever had!!

dim sum-- it looks the same as the stuff here, but it certainly doesn't taste like it.

Shop selling lots of dried goods that I would never eat.

Dear Mr. Jones,

There is a limit to practicing your right to free speech and at some point, it is better to shut up and keep it to yourself. Such an example is Mr. Jones, the pastor in Florida that wants to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of September 11. I think that this man is an absolute idiot, and it makes me shake with anger and frustration that he would endanger the lives of others in order to prove his own point. Watching the news last night, I wished that I could have the ability and power to prevent him from what he’s about to do- talk sense into him, shake him, whatever.


At this point, embassies around the world are on the alert for any violent activity that might occur as a result of this Koran-burning. So are our troops. I’m perfectly fine with people expressing their opinions, but it is when other people are at the risk of getting hurt at that expense when a line needs to be drawn. Mr. Jones, our troops and overseas representatives cannot die to prove your little point- they are already risking their lives to fight this war. Burning Korans will do more harm than good-- terrorists are already blowing up people and buildings without you aggravating the situation even more! There are so many people still hurting from September 11, but outright disrespect for another religion is not going to help solve anything. Unless you are willing to stand at the forefront of your opinions, burning the Korans yourself in front of a mosque in Afghanistan surrounded by Islamic extremists, don’t do it. And don’t you dare make our troops and overseas representatives pay for the consequences of your foolish actions.