Month: March 2011

Storm Comes In, Lights Go Out

What happens when a storm comes in with huge gusting winds and tons of rain? A power outage.

I was working on my friend’s hat when the power went out at around 6:15. I made sure it wasn’t something local to our house because the neighbor to the west still has power. It’s not. The neighbors to the west and south do not have power. The street lights are out on the other street as well.

My mom suggested that I take a shower while there was some light outside. I said naw. I should have listened to her.

Instead, since there really wasn’t much to do, I decided it was nap time! Lots of naps. Adamu called sometime in the evening, and I talked to him for a while, then back to sleep. Now it’s almost midnight and there’s still no power. I guess that means it’s time to go to sleep for the evening. Yeay!

Kinda sad that I didn’t get to finish the hat, but working by candlelight suck. Oh, well.

Greens and Wakame Soup

Part of the dinner I made for my mom and sister on Sunday.

青菜とわかめのスープ
Greens and wakame soup

Serves 4. Each serving is 77kcal.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 bunch (120g) komatsuna
  • 20g salted wakame
  • 10g niboshi (dried sardines)
  • 2 tbsp sesame seed oil

        A

    • 1 tbsp sake
    • 1-1/2 tsp salt
    • pinch of finely ground white pepper
    • little bit of soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp white sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Cut the komatsuna to about 4 cm (~1.5 inches) length. Wash the wakame and cut to bite size pieces. Remove the heads, entrails, and bones of the sardines. (I skipped the last part simply because the sardines I bought were way too small.)
  2. Place the sardines in a bowl with 4 metric cups (3.4 US cups) of water. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
  3. In a pot, heat the sesame oil and sauté the wakame. Add the water and sardines from 2. Add the ingredients in A along with the komatsuna. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the white sesame seeds and serve.

From 3 Minute Cooking magazine, March 2011.

Confused in FFXI

So I’ve been playing Final Fantasy XI since US PS2 release back in April/May of 2004. It’s been a long time, and a lot of changes have happened.

It hasn’t hit me how different things are now until recently. Several of my good friends in game have quit, no one does Campaign or Besieged anymore, servers have merged, and I’m still level 76 when everyone else has already hit level 90. Even how people level their jobs has changed. Before it was about grouping into a party of 6 and beating up mobs outside of cities. Nowdays, it’s all about Abyssea. Experience points are easy and fast to come by there.

It’s just not the same anymore.

That said, I’m not quitting the game. I felt a tad sad when I was looking at my friends list of all the people I know in game that have quit. It made me feel like an aged dinosaur. I didn’t know what to do. I pretty much sat there, chatting with people while my character sat in my Mog House waiting for the Besieged that never happened because I had to log off.

I guess that’s just how it goes. Changes happen in real life, so why should I be surprised when the same happens in a virtual world?

Sakura Blossoms and the Last Home Basketball Game of 2010-2011 Season

Went to the South Coast Botanical Gardens with a small group of my friends to view the sakura trees blossoming there. I was kinda expecting more, sorta like Ueno Park or the banks of Uji River, but it was still nice.

After the cherry blossom viewing, I drove down to UC Irvine for the last game of the season. We lost. The women’s team played against UC Riverside. The men’s team lost later that evening.

Looks like it’s going to be a noon game for Irvine during the Big West Tournament. Took a day off from work on Thursday to attend it.

Kefir and Coffee

My brother-in-law just came back from a business trip from Hawaii and brought my family some macadamia nuts and coffee. Since we still have coffee from his last trip to Hawaii (or my trip to Hawaii, not sure if it’s mine or his) along with Costco coffee I decided to make myself some coffee.

Unfortunately, I had to throw away my soy milk creamer a few weeks back because it went bad. I think it expired in January, but when I looked at it in early February, it was molding. Out it goes.

Remaining choices in the fridge were milk and kefir. Both lactose-free, so I decided to try it with the kefir. Poured kefir and honey into the cup, and then poured coffee in… I got microscopic curdles… Holy crap.

I wondered if I could filter out the curdles and get regular coffee again? Pass. Down it goes into the sink.

Since I made 2 cups. The second cup ended up with regular lactose-free creamer from the cupboard.