A pair of butterflies flirting as they do in a mating ritual.
butterflies flirting from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
This one completely ignored me even when I touched it!
motionless butterfly from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
And this one had such a cool bright blue color.
neon butterfly from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
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.
At a gathering awhile back, we had this delectable buffet home-cooked for us. If only I could have this kind of meal more often!
All home-cooked and delicious!
Mmm, a great selection of foods makes for a really appetizing dish.
I took a ride on a ferry all around the Hong Kong harbor. Here we are stopping at Central Pier to pick up a few people. First they churn the water really hard to stop the forward momentum, then a guy pulls us in.
approaching central pier from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
ferry docking from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
I’ve been driving the 210 freeway in LA a lot more lately because that is how to get from my house to Panda’s. Now that he is living from home, I go out to his town when I have time and I’ve found that the drive is quite pleasurable. The roads are clear with only light traffic when you get to the Pasadena area and you drive along the rolling hills, getting peeks of great views. There is a lot of greenery surrounding the roads and it’s very peaceful.
Usually PCH is known for its scenic drive, but I think that the 210 should be recognized for its scenic route as well. Sure, it doesn’t give you spectacular views of the ocean, but it also doesn’t wind around hills and force you to drive in one lane. You get lots of space, lots of nature, and a certain tranquility that you can only get if you park your car along PCH. Driving it is a whole other story. More adventurous and energetic, whereas the northern hills of the Valley are more zen and calming.
Being a light drive, you don’t have crazy drivers who cut you off or ride up on you until you speed up or move out of the lane. It’s a great time to clear your mind and enjoy the weather. No need to brake and go all the time, or try to get around that one slow car clogging up traffic. There’s plenty of space to maneuver around cars (or be maneuvered around) without getting in people’s space and igniting short tempers. I wish battling the 5 and 405 was half as easy. That would make my commute an absolute joy!
Check out this old school car.
Is the license plate just sitting there or is it actually screwed in?
They catch the light so nicely and give off a really cool glow.
glowing jellyfish from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
I have found that I’m not a big fan of pickup trucks. Most of the ones on the road are a waste of space, since the owners rarely make sure of the truck bed. Meanwhile, over half the length is the truck bed, so you might as well be driving a raised Smartcar for all the seating space you get. Plus, a lot of them are open air, which is not aerodynamic and definitely doesn’t help with gas mileage. Trucks aren’t that fuel efficient to begin with anyway, so it’s certainly not helping the case.
Of course, for certain professions, they are the perfect vehicle and can be very useful. However, I see far more personal ones than commercial ones. It’s not even like you can put people back there when you have a big group. That truck bed is not a very versatile space – all it can really be is a trunk and people don’t need that much space in their daily routine. I feel it would be much more sensible to drive a car that can fit at least 7 people if you’re going to be taking up that much space. Perhaps they should make that part detachable! Think of how much clearer the highways would be if all trucks without loads could just get rid of that tail portion.
Then again, the type of people who buy pickups probably aren’t the type who would want to drive around a tiny head portion of the car when they’re not transporting large items. In the land of excess, it’s hard to get people to think more conservatively (in the environmental sense). Oh well, it’s a thought, isn’t it? I think either that or only having pickups sold for commercial use would be a good solution. People who want to use one for moving can then rent them from a local leaser. Now that would be a nice thing to see.
A continuation of the last gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. Click images for full size.
See the final part here.
