Panda and I went on a little tour of Engineering IV at UCLA for UCLA Day 2011. They showed us this plasma chamber, the smallest of the ones in the room, which had an amusing (cautionary) sign posted next to it.
Haha, click on the image for full size and zoom in on the paper lined in red!
Recently, I decided it was time for a new purse. The one I’ve been using is just too large and flops over from not being full enough. I had previously been using a smaller handbag sort of thing, which I switched out of when I wanted to be able to carry my iPad in my purse. I also wanted to be able to separate my iPad into a different compartment so the inside of my purse wasn’t just a bottomless pit of stuff, but held things together better. I hate digging around looking for something I know is in there, but got lost among the depths of the purse.
Armed with this criteria, I decided to do some shopping this weekend and came across a dark purple purse and a nice white one at Kohl’s. I loved the color of purple purse, but it was a bit too long so the shape was kind of weird. The white one looked really nice, but couldn’t fit my iPad in the center compartment that zipped up. Other than that is was the perfect size and had all the compartments I was looking for, so I went ahead and bought it to give it a test drive. I took these pictures to get Panda’s input and he pretty much thought the same thing, which gave me the final boost of confidence that I chose the right one. And hey, if I changed my mind, I could always return or exchange it. After all, Kohl’s has a pretty good return policy!
Then at work today, I asked the opinion of one of my coworkers and she brought to my attention a detail on the purse that makes it a little less classy. I really love the triangular holes and the black stitching, but part of the silver lining looked cheap. So, I decided to continue with my search and see if I could find something that would meet my needs better. This time it also came down to two purses, one white and one purple. I really liked the brightness of the white on the black and white one, but the design was too flashy and not at all like me. On the other hand, the color of purple one wasn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy the shape and the middle divider was deep enough to hold my iPad and zip up.
Between the light purple one from today and the white one I had purchased yesterday, I couldn’t decide which one was better, so I just got the purple one to give it a test run as well. While I really like the shape of it, the external pockets, and the internal compartments, I love the look of a white bag! We’ll see how this one feels as I use it tomorrow. I was already noticing how much easier it was to have a purse closer to your body, rather than a huge hunk of a thing hanging down your shoulder. As for the color, it’s not something a lot of people would choose and I am perfectly fine with that. I don’t mind standing out in a crowd!
I’ve already switched everything over to the purple purse and I’m still having trouble deciding if I should just keep both, choose one, or keep looking. My coworker did mention going to the Fashion District, so if we can do that this weekend, I’d definitely be open to replacing these with something else that catches my eye. It’s hard to know when something is good enough! I can’t help but think of what there might be out there that I have not yet discovered. If I don’t find something soon, I think that either of these purses would do the job just fine and I’d never know the better, so I won’t worry too much about it.
Oh, and all this has reminded me of why I’m never that interested in shopping! A “quick” trip to look at some items quickly turns into an hour or two and next thing you know, the day is gone.
My friends and I went to eat at Little Ethiopia (the restaurant) in Little Ethiopia (the place) to satisfy my craving for Ethiopian. Yum!
I love Ethiopian food!
For one, the bread is this unique spongy sourdough-tasting pancake thing.
It's soft and a bit moist, with a lot of air holes.
Uh oh, it can be kind of delicate too.
I had a Groupon, so it was super cheap. And that dessert gum they gave us was so novel!
All day, Angelenos have been bracing themselves for the 405 shutdown, which has been dubbed “Carmageddon” due to the potential for massive gridlock across the city as traffic diverts elsewhere. As it is, the 405 is known for terrible traffic conditions, so we were really unsure of what would happen when a 10-mile stretch of the northbound side (approximately from the 10 freeway to the 101 freeway) and a 4-mile stretch of the southbound side was closed for the weekend. Anyone trying to get over into the San Fernando Valley would have to find an alternate route, ranging from PCH along the coast to the 101/170 or 5 further inland.
We’ve been hearing warnings for over a month, with traffic condition signs flashing: “405 Closed 10 to 101, July 16-17 Expect Big Delays” It’s been over the news and I’ve heard that even people in Norcal up to the Oregon border were notified! Caltrans sure worked hard to make sure that as many people knew as possible so locals could plan to stay in and visitors could schedule around the weekend. As we got closer, we were even told about an app called Waze that could provide us with GPS routes based on traffic conditions to help us get around the congestion.
So Friday afternoon, people started leaving work (wishing each other a Happy Carmegeddon), hoping to get home before the craziness. Many even stayed at home that day so they wouldn’t have to deal with or contribute to the evening traffic. By the time I was getting out around 6, the freeways looked clear. They never looked like at on a weekday! I was originally going to wait until 8 or 9 to head home so I could avoid the commuter’s clog, but since it looked so good I packed up and left around 6:30.
It was the most amazing commute I ever had. Even with normal free-flowing traffic, there are still a lot of cars on the road, but this time it was so much more empty. I only saw one car using the carpool lane, and that wasn’t for lack of carpoolers! They just didn’t need it. The only time I really had to slow down was up by the Getty Center, where there had been a crash that needed to get moved over so we could squeeze by.
Thanks to Carmegeddon for freeing up the roads before the closure. It made my life a lot easier that night! We’ll see how the rest of the weekend pans out. I’m steering clear until Sunday night.
I came across the show Sister Wives yesterday and decided to look into it tonight. I’ve found it fascinating to watch their complex family dynamic and all the relationships in a delicate, precarious balance. The show focuses on the ups and downs of the adults in the family, with the wives all in love with the husband and the husband in love with all the wives. The husband is very careful to spend approximately even time with each wife, rotating where he sleeps each night and making sure to eat, pray, and speak with each of his dozen kids and three (soon to be four) wives as often as he can.
While their lifestyle is considered illegal, I find that I don’t quite understand the negativity that seems to surround their choices. Each person chose to live this way and all are strong in their stance. Who are we to judge whether it’s right or wrong when it’s between consenting adults well aware of their actions? This kind of persecution is very similar to gay couples. So why is it that gay couples have garnered a lot of public support for their lifestyle, when polygamists are still looked down upon? I don’t understand it. Fundamentally, it comes down to the same issue – what makes a family a family and who gets to decide what is and isn’t?
Personally, I feel that each person should choose how they want to build a family and what it is to them. While I would not choose polygamy myself (one-on-one relationships are hard enough!), I don’t see the “wrong” that seems to offend people so much. Though I suppose that in this case, the polygamy practiced is a one-way street so it can be offensive in a sexist sense. The man may take on new wives, but the wives may not take on new husbands. Still, it’s not like polygamy on the part of a woman would be accepted in society either. Why can’t people just accept the choices that others make in their personal lives?
Polygamy seems like less of a crime than adultery. At least here the wives enter into the marriage well aware that there will be others and the man (hopefully) is respectful enough to consult them on any additional wives. There is no hiding of affairs and love children and all that crazy drama that seems to be in the news constantly. The husband in this show loves and respects each of his wives, adores his children, and does his best for all of them. Things could be much worse!
I came across this fun brand of nail polish with an entire line of items that change color in the sun. They have everything from stuffed animals to swim trunks to frisbees. And of course, nail polish!
In the sun, you get bright colors...
...and then they fade to more muted colors inside.
I find it interesting how each animal moves so differently. It’s like their signature. Climbing, lumbering, crawling, slinking…
trapeze monkey from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
lumbering bear from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
giant tortoise crawl from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
the jaguar slink from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
It all started with Jaycee Dugard… and ended with TV shows from my childhood! Yeah, I know, random. And you will never guess how I got there.
So there I was driving and listening to the radio when I heard that there would be a special on Jaycee Dugard. Hers is a fascinating story, so I went online to take a look since I don’t have a TV to tune in with. As I watched that story, I was reminded of one of the shows I used to love to watch (maybe because my dad loved to watch it): 20/20. Since I was already on the ABC site, I started to watch videos of 20/20. The episode I watched ended with a tour of the Spelling mansion that was just sold recently.
Now I’m not really into this pop culture thing, so I had no idea the Spellings were rich. I had only heard of Tori Spelling here and there, and I have no idea what she has acted in. I went digging more into this story of the sale of “the Manor” and eventually that led me to some related articles that covered 90’s pop stars. Aha! So that’s how a kidnapped girl leads to stars from my youth.
I started perusing the listings (you can read them yourself too) and there were so many great memories! From Full House and 7th Heaven to Xena and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, I started to remember all those shows I used to watch. I had all but forgotten about Boy Meets World and Home Improvement, Touched By An Angel and The Secret World of Alex Mack. But then there were some of my favorites: Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oh, and Bill Nye the Science Guy and Lamb Chop’s Play-Along!! I did enjoy those learning shows. I also remembered some not mentioned: Early Edition and Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Boy do I miss the good old days of good old television. I didn’t know all the shows covered, but I was surprised at how many I did recognize and watch.
It was nice to look back on those shows and if they are available to watch… I’d love to remind myself of how good they were.
