Orchid SOS

My orchids aren't doing very well. They look sad and droopy and dark green. I want them to be healthy and flower so I did a bit of research on the 'net. I found out that you should use sphagnum moss to fertilize the plants and help them get healthy again. I bought some of what I thought was sphagnum moss but it turns out that I bought the wrong kind. :( I bought sphagnum peat moss. The difference is that the peat moss is the decomposed version of sphagnum moss and isn't as effective. *sigh* Well, nevertheless, I put the sphagnum peat moss on the orchids and hope they do better. I'll check on them again in about a month and compare how they are now.

Pasta for Ladies .. of the Night

So I've got some anchovies that I'm trying to figure out how to cook up for dinner. Ming doesn't really care for them so I've got to figure out how to incorporate them into dinner where you really can't tell they're there. During my search I came across pasta puttanesca. I've heard of it before and it incorporates the anchovies in the pasta sauce ... sounds good to me. I read about its history and found out that it was served by ladies of the night in order to tempt men to come to them:

"This sauce is named for ladies of the night. They would place pots of it in their windows to tempt men into the bordellos. "

Whoa ... I'm going to be making an illicit sauce? I would never have guessed that something as simple as pasta sauce would have such a colorful history

Sudoku Mania

I got sucked into doing sudoku. I've been going up to the city to do work for a customer every now and then and it's a long train ride. I normally read the paper but eventually I finish the paper and it's still awhile to go before I get to my destination. I started doing a sudoku puzzle and I finished my first one yesterday. I understand why people are so addicted to this now; it's seemingly easy but it does take a bit of work at it. I've ended up going electronic and now I'm doing the puzzles on the computer (much easier than pen and paper since its ultimately easier to read on the computer than in a tiny little box on the paper.)

Call me crazy but I just joined the masses in loving this game. Well maybe not love but definitely hooked and once you start a puzzle, it's hard to stop until you finish

Scratch and Sniff Stamps

China has released some stamps where, if you scratch it, it smells like Sweet and Sour Pork. These stamps are to commemorate Chinese New Year, this year being the year of the pig. I wonder if scratching it will make people hungry for dinner ^_~

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Celebrating Tet

I'm not Vietnamese but I'm going to celebrate Tet at Tamarine Restaurant. I've been wanting to try Tamarine for a long time, especially since people have been giving it really good reviews. I've eaten at its sister restaurant, Bong Su, in SF and really enjoyed it. I can only imagine that Tamarine will be just as good as Bong Su.

I normally celebrate Chinese New Year so Tet will be a different experience. I'm looking forward to it since the restaurant will have different decorations and entrees out for Tet. They're even going to have a lion dance -- in downtown Palo Alto! O.o

Review: Kite Runner

I stayed up late last night (gasp, on a school/worknight) and read The Kite Runner. It is an excellent book and I recommend that everyone read it. It is about a boy who grows up as the son of the richest man in town (or among the richest). It takes place in Afghanistan prior to any of the upheavel. During the boy's childhood he grows up when the monarchy is still in power and it gives great insight as to what Afghanistan used to be like. Gradually there is a coup and social upheavel, causing the boy and his father to flee to America. As an adult, the boy is summoned back to Afghanistan and he sees how it has changed and how life has become unbearable when under the rule of the Taliban.

More than anything else, this book helped open my eyes to what life was like in the middle east. All we've ever heard is that its a war zone (since that is what its been like for the past 25 years) but it wasn't always that way. It used to be beautiful and "normal." Towns were prosperous and while not as "advanced" as the states, the towns had their own charm.

I also learned a bit about Afghan culture and how different it is compared to Asian culture. It was refreshing to hear the intricacies of their culture and how they also value the concept of family.

I stayed up very late to finish this book but it was a total page turner. If you haven't read it yet, it is a must read.

Happy New Year

Happy new year and welcome to 2007! What did I do to celebrate the new year? I played wiiiii!!! Since getting married earlier this year Ming and I decided to be ultra social and lay low. We spent the evening at home and played wii all night. Yup, we're a ton of fun. O.o

I love the wii. It's a lot of fun to play and since Ming has cleaned the house, we've got ample space to play it. I'm most addicted to Tennis (wii sports) and Zelda. I haven't really played other games yet since I'm trying to become a pro on Tennis and get further than just a wooden sword.

Hope that everyone had a good new years and didn't get too drunk. ^_~