Posts Tagged ‘preferences’

365great Day 58: a great view

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 58: a great viewWho doesn’t enjoy looking out from a mountain or across a valley or over the ocean or even from a penthouse and checking out a beautiful view? It could be a wide expanse of fields, a mountain range, the great big ocean (or a giant lake), maybe even a downtown skyline. When you look out at a landscape, it’s hard not to marvel at its beauty. I’m sure everyone’s idea of the best view varies, but we can all appreciate “seeing the big picture” in that way. I personally love sunsets behind mountains or over the ocean, as well as a glittering body of water as far as the eye can see. I love a connection with nature! Meanwhile, my mom enjoys more man-made views like that of a dense sprinkling of lights at night, whether from street lights or buildings. To her, they sparkle like stars for a bright nightscape. Whatever your preferences, a wonderful view is great.

Two-toned cars

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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If I made cars, I’d paint them in two colors, much like the Toyota from the LA Auto Show. Why do we get stuck with so many cars with no flair? I think Mini Cooper’s just about the only brand of car you can get these days that has two colors. Still, I think you can have a sleeker look since the line of change is very much horizontal for those.

Instead, a more curvy line that helps accent the shape of the car or creates an image of how air might sweep along the side would add such appeal! I don’t understand why car companies aren’t doing it. People are already so I seeded with self-expression through their vehicles and getting to choose a two-tone design just allows them to add another layer of choice and (supposed) individuality.

I know I’d go for it!

Not a gold girl

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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I’ve never really liked the look of gold, and not just the metal, but the color in general.  This is especially the case with jewelry and cars.  For example, I never understood the people who would pay extra to get their car logo in gold… you couldn’t pay me to drive around with that add-on, yet there are people who pay a premium for it.  That look just doesn’t appeal to me; in fact I find it rather tacky.

While I will never get a gold-colored car, I’m not as averse when it comes to jewelry.  For the most part I find gold jewelry to be too much for me, but occasionally I have come across a piece that I like.  Still, I strongly gravitate towards the silver or platinum versions of a given item.  Perhaps part of it is due to the warmth that is associated with that color – I guess I expect metal to be a cool thing, hence my attraction to silver, black, white, and clear – all very cool shades.

Just an observation about some of the quirky things that can drive a person’s decisions.  I guess the nice thing is that I never have to worry about spending extra money to upgrade an item with gold!

Ink and paper

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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I miss writing.

Not so much writing to express myself, to create something, or to document things.  What I really miss is the physical act of writing.  I’ve been maintaining this blog for about two years now, a few months after I stopped keeping my daily (handwritten) journal.  So all my thoughts and experiences are captured on the keyboard, electronically.  Then at work I spend my typing emails, instant messages, and clicking around the internet.  Hardly a need for pen and paper.  At home, I talk to Panda via instant messenger and communicate with other friends through email and social networks.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had to sit in a class or meeting and take notes.  I haven’t had a need to write a letter to anyone.  I don’t even pass notes to my friends like I did in middle school.  Now it’s all happening through my computer.  And after two years, I’m finding that I want to get back into writing things again.  Sure, it can be a waste of paper, but there’s something so satisfying about watching ink flow onto paper.  I’d like to catch up in my journal (yikes, two and a half year’s worth of stuff to write!) and use my wonderful sets of pens again.

I suppose that’s my inspiration.  I have some fantastic pens that make me itch to use them.  One set is scented, smelling like anything from strawberries to blueberries to grapes or lemons.  The other set Panda got for me and they’re designed to prevent check fraud.  They also happen to write really well.  It’ll be a bit overwhelming to piece together my life since I stopped keeping track of my daily experiences, but I might just start up again and get back into the world of writing.  I’ve always found it a sort of pleasing end when I run out of ink in my pens.  Think of all the things I wrote (and maybe also doodled) with that pen!  The marks that were left behind!  I love preserving memories.

Election day

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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I’ve hated the negative back and forth going on between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, so I chose to exercise my vote by not voting for either of them.  This time around I chose to stay away from the polls because there was nothing I strongly cared for or believed in.  I’ve voted in both presidential elections since I could vote, missed the mid term election in 2006 since I was studying abroad, and now again decided not to participate in this mid term election.  I also don’t feel good about voting if I didn’t take the time to review the materials for the opposing sides to make a decision that I am comfortable with.

But, I think in a way I was hoping that Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina would win, just to get that business perspective into our government.  We could use a bit more fresh blood with new approaches.  But I guess I generally do tend to side with Democratic views a bit more, so I guess the outcomes can still be good.  We’ll just have to see how things pan out from here…

Law enforcement obsession

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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I have this intense fascination with law enforcement.  Whenever I see a police car, I always have to stare just a little.  There’s something about the blue lights that only they can flash that really catches my attention.  I’m always curious to see what they’re up to, whether pulling someone over or helping someone out.  (And usually it’s hard to tell which is which.)  I’ve even heard some phantom sirens when I thought there might be a cop, ambulance, or firetruck nearby.  I really like to see them and imagine what they’re rushing off to.  Are they going to save someone’s life?

Maybe I should have been a policewoman or paramedic.  I like the idea of rushing around to help people.  Unfortunately, I don’t like the rest of what those positions entail – catching people for speeding or going through medical training.  Instead, I prefer to be the onlooker, captivated by those flashing lights and blaring sirens.  One of these days I’d love to ride in each vehicle just to see what it’s like inside.

Lettuce wrap obsession

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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As of late I have developed a strong affinity towards lettuce wraps.  They are a great combination of refreshing and light, yet tasty and filling.  I love that the inside is warm, savory, and generally very fulfilling.  Then the outside is great for balancing out the heavier, oily inside that it wraps around.  The high water content in the leaves is great for a refreshing crunch as you bite in.  The cool exterior and warm interior is a pleasing contrast.  Plus it makes for a great surface to hold without getting your hands greasy.  Granted, once you take a bite you’ll probably get juice dripping out that gets on your hands, but that is easier to avoid.

There are the standard lettuce wraps where you scoop in minced meat and use the lettuce as the “skin” of an egg roll (at least that’s the shape I wrap them in).  I’ve had them at both PF Chang’s and California Pizza Kitchen and they usually come with some crisp white fried rice puffs, as well as some water chestnuts.  I’ve also had egg rolls wrapped in lettuce at pho places and Rock Sugar.  They are dipped in a delectable sauce, which is also appealing and offsets the savoriness with some sweetness.

The things are not cheap as appetizers, but I find I have been getting them whenever I see them on the menu, because they are such a wonderfully balanced dish.  It’s like having your salad, entree, and dessert all in one dish.

Nape

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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One of my greatest pet peeves is having dry hair on the back of my neck.  I dislike dry, static-y hair as it, but when that’s sticking to the nape of my neck, I can’t stand it.  There’s something about that area that is very sensitive and I wish it was easier to reach.  I like to give it a nice cleaning in the shower and try to keep my hair off it as much as possible.  Unfortunately, I don’t like to tie my hair up, so I end up pushing my hair over my shoulders to keep it off my back.  I also love to run my fingers through my hair so that it will get my hair off my neck (and my ears, which is another area I like to keep clear).

When I first moved to California, I hated the feeling of my hair because it got so dried out from the arid climate.  I began to put my hair up and take showers in the morning to keep my hair as wet as possible for as long as possible into each day.  After two years, my body finally adjusted and my hair was no longer as dry.  I also began school at UCLA, which has a more humid climate than the Santa Clarita Valley.  I got used to having my hair down again, but I still like the feeling of getting the hair off the back of my neck.  It’s like lifting all these things weighing down on me and getting a little more freedom, a little more breathing room.

I’ve dreamt of shaving my head, but I haven’t dared do it since I don’t have a feminine enough face to pull off that kind of look.  I’d love to know how it feels to have nothing lying on your neck or shoulders though.  Perhaps someday I can get a wig and give it a try.  It’d be an interesting experience, I’m sure.  For now I’ll just have to keep pulling my hair back.

Writing obsession

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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Have I ever mentioned my office supply fetish?  Well, I call it that, but it’s really more of a deep desire to own all the cool stuff I see in the office/school supply section.  Usually it’s pens, but sometimes erasers and notebooks and even colored staples catch my attention.  So because of this obsession (mainly with writing instruments), I love to write.   I don’t love to write for the words.  I do enjoy to write/type for expression, but to physically write I am driven by a completely different need: I love to write for the feeling of ink on paper.

I write for the feeling of how smoothly the ink glides onto the paper to make a mark.  I write with colored pens to brighten up my day.  I write with scented pens to amuse me with their smells.  I write with thin .05mm pens because they are the perfect thinness.  I write with .07 or .09mm to be bolder and make an impact.  I write with metallic and/or glittery pens to shine.  I write with milky pens because that was the fad.  I write with Sharpies to mark my territory!  I scribble and color in and draw random lines, just to fill the paper with ink.

I know it’s wasteful, but I get a certain pleasure from using up all the ink in a pen, so sometimes I will waste it just to make it happen faster.  I also love to completely scratch out things I’ve written that are outdated because they’re an action item or reminder that I’ve taken care of.  That adds another level of satisfaction to the satisfaction of ticking something off my list.  And because of all this, I can’t help it – I’m a doodler.  After all, that’s a great way to use pens when you don’t really have anything to write.

So there.  I admit it.  I am absolutely obsessed with writing.  Just not for the reasons most people might be…

Wanting the best of both worlds

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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The past few days I’ve suddenly grown an itch to cut my hair again.  It’s getting to a nice length where cutting it won’t make it too short (and thus force me to shower in the morning so it won’t look too poofy during the day).  Yet, it’s still not quite as long as I’d like (enough for it to be considered longer than average).  Then again, I think my hair just doesn’t grow very long and probably will never reach much further than the bottom of my shoulder blades.  Besides, my impatience with it once it gets to that magical length that it refuses to grow beyond prevents me from ever allowing it to really get any longer.  After all, when you can’t easily comb out your hair with your fingers to give a quick fix, it starts to become much more of a hassle.  Nonetheless, I really like the idea of growing my hair out longer.  Pity it likely will never quite work out the way I’d like.

I think another issue I run into is that my body doesn’t allocate enough nutrients to my hair for it to get past my shoulder blades and not start to get really dry and brittle at the ends.  There is nothing quite so distasteful as finding a slew of split ends hidden in there, and getting a dry, scratchy feeling from the tips of your hair.  And my hair looks nothing like those shampoo commercials where ladies with long, flowing locks sport their shiny and extremely slippery-looking hair.

The other main obstacle is also related to its feeling – the feeling of hair on the back of my neck, which I hate more than most feelings.  There’s something about that heaviness weighing there that I really don’t like.  I’d tie my hair back more often, but I like having it down and keeping it up gives me headaches.  Plus, when it’s down, it acts as an insulator for my neck, ears, and shoulders.  Being one who gets cold easily, that little extra help really makes a difference.  I also just like how it looks that way.

I wish I could have longer hair without the hassle of dealing with it.  And I wish there was a way to keep it off my neck without tying it up.  So instead, I guess I’ll have to settle for a medium-long length that is enough to weigh itself down so a quick brush will fix most problems, but short enough to not feel too heavy on my neck.  While I’m at it, I’m thinking of getting streaks again (highlights? lowlights?  I have no idea what the difference is – just something lights!).  I haven’t had extra color in my hair for awhile now, so it’d a fun change.

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