Keeping the holidays low-profile

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
12 November 2011
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I’m not sure why, but I have had an aversion to following seasonal trends in the past couple of years.  I guess it’s because after reading so many articles about Christmas, New Year’s, or the like, I don’t want to be contributing to all that.  After all, how original could you get with that stuff?  Instead I prefer to enjoy the season, where people are hopefully making positive changes in their life as they look to family and re-evaluate their priorities.

This year I’ll be vacationing in China with my parents, which is a great way to spend the holidays.  It’s too bad Panda couldn’t be with me too, but we can do plenty of trips in future years.  I’m really looking forward to going back to China; it’s been 3 1/2 years and it will be nice to visit again.  You can be sure that around that time I won’t be writing about a tree and presents!  I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other wonderful things to write about and thank goodness for that!  If you want the same old holiday stuff, go watch some TV.  😛

Turning white

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
06 November 2011
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Lately I’ve decided that when I get my next phone, it will be white.  It’s not just an aesthetic thing though the brightness of white is kind of nice.  It’s actually much more practical: you don’t see fingerprints, smudge marks, or greasiness on white quite as obviously as you do on black.  The more I use my phone, the more convinced I am of the benefits of a white device.  I guess part of the problem is that I use quite a bit of lotion and the smooth screen of the phone gets covered in a layer of it.  After a couple months of use, no amount of wiping, buffing, or cleansing seems to work for very long.  I even have a microfiber towel handy at my desk to clean off the screen periodically.

My iPad is white and I if it weren’t for the screen turning black when it’s off, I’d probably notice the smudges only once every ten uses instead of once every use.  I know a lot of people use screen protectors for this very purpose, but I like how the screen feels with nothing on it to alter it.  Unfortunately that also means that I have to clean the thing every time I use it.  I think it’ll also be a nice change from all the black devices out there.  It’s nice to have a bright spot among all the dark.  I wonder if Apple will ever go back to trying to offer their products in a range of colors.  I think that could be quite nice too!  I’d probably be the odd one choosing orange to tout around, just because it is so cheery and eye-catching.  In the mean time I’ll just have to stick with white.

The hedonist diet

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
02 November 2011
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I’ve never attempted a diet to lose weight (my strategy is eat less, move more) and I don’t ever plan on partaking in one.  I go by what I have now dubbed the “hedonist diet” – also known as eat what you want.  I tend to follow my cravings a lot, whether it means snacks, greasy food, or even Ethiopian.  It’s the one thing I don’t control very often and I allow myself to enjoy almost unconditionally.  After all, why not enjoy eating and turn it into an experience each time?  It’s not just something we have to do, but it’s something we can love to do.  Food can bring us a lot of pleasure, from alluring smells to delicious tastes, and I like to appreciate every moment of it.

This is what makes me a terrible grocery shopper and a big spender on restaurants.  When I grocery shop, I usually have one or two things in mind that I want to grab, and then I end up wandering the snack or ice cream aisle and come out with way more than I probably should.  Last time I went to Ralph’s, I came out with four boxes of popsicles because they all looked appealing.  More recently, a Whole Foods run landed me some grapes, string cheese, Greek yogurt, and chocolate fudge bites – none of which I originally intended on purchasing going in.  At restaurants, I usually make the mistake of overestimating how much I can eat at that moment and get one dish too many.

Well, this is how I spend my money.  I don’t really buy clothes or shoes or makeup (or whatever else most other girls probably buy).  I don’t drink or smoke or gamble, which are all pretty costly ventures.  Instead my money goes into retirement savings, rent, and FOOD.  Lots of food.  It’s the greatest pleasure in life next to love.  At least it is in my world!  I am very content with my hedonist diet and I’m lucky enough that my genes allow me to eat a lot without bloating like crazy.  Hopefully that lasts me well into old age so I can always enjoy eating the foods I love when I want, and as much as I want.

Almost snow

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
30 October 2011
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I went out to the east coast for the weekend and on Saturday, it was raining or sleeting all day.  At times, it almost got cold enough for us to get some snow down in the DC/VA area.  Almost.  I hear that more northern parts did get snow, and quite a bit, and I’ve got to say I’m a bit jealous.  I was hoping for some snow to enjoy here as well.  While I’d all but forgotten the experience of getting into a cold car and trying to defrost the windows while warming up, I do miss snow.  Nobody said I had to miss all the unpleasant experiences that come with it, right?

My selective memory allowed me to remember a brisk walk with snow crunching under my feet.  Pretty positive memory.  It allowed me to remember building snowthings and catching snowflakes with my tongue.  Very positive memory.  It did not, however, allow me to remember the bitterness of a freezing cold car.  Not so positive memory.  Well, that’s how it goes I guess.  After so many years removed from this kind of life, I chose to focus on the things I did like about it rather than that which was less desirable.  Nevertheless, with all the pros and cons trying to weigh each other out, I still wouldn’t mind moving back to more volatile climates for awhile.  It’d make me appreciate LA even more when I returned, right?

Old writing ways

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
26 October 2011
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After over three years of inactivity, I am back to journal-keeping.  I’m picking up right here, right now, and hopefully will find the time to start filling in what I’ve missed out during this time.  It feels good to be writing again, even if it does hurt my hand a bit.  This habit was so much a part of my life for so long (13 years!).  I’m glad I have the time and the patience to do it again.  For awhile, I wasn’t sure if I would return to the art of putting pen to paper, so it’s encouraging that I have.  Unfortunately I’ve found that doing so has distracted me from blogging!  I guess I’ll have to start to learn how to manage my time between the two and differentiate what goes where.

Perhaps my journal-writing will evolve from the daily journal I’m used to into a more thoughtful, story-like weekly account of my life.  I think if I get too busy again, I will try to still keep up with my journal at least once or twice a week.  After all, with no notes to take at work and no other need to use a pen during my normal routine, it’s a welcome change to be physically writing so much again.  I always found it to be a really therapeutic thing to do.  I might even spend some quiet time writing on the flight to see Panda Friday night.  I remember one time I was on the plane writing so furiously fast that the guy next to me gave me a curious look.  It was a great moment of flow of consciousness that I had fun with.  I’m looking forward to more of those moments again.

Not a gold girl

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
22 October 2011
0

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!

Momentum

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
17 October 2011
2

I’ve been working on getting the motivation to properly study for the GMAT and prepare my applications.  It’s really hard, since once you get out of a groove, it’s really hard to get back into it.  I’ve been out of school for nearly three years now (yikes!) and it’s been awhile since I’ve really had to study for anything.  I was doing well when I took my GMAT course earlier in the year, but since that ended, I’ve been halfhearted with my attempts at studying.  I really need to buckle down though, so I can get the score I want and feel confident with my applications.

How do I get that momentum going again though?  I’ve tried arranging study sessions with friends that keep falling through, and I keep reminding myself, but every time I should, I just want to unwind after a long day.  Even on the weekends I get tired and would rather be lazy than productive.  Maybe it’s because I don’t feel the pressure just yet.  I do tend to work pretty well with a deadline looming or something making my work more urgent.  I think I’ll outline a plan and start counting the time I have left before everything is due.  With concrete numbers in my head, I might just have to tighten the reins and get my act together.

iOS 5, eagerly anticipated

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
12 October 2011
1

I was totally nerding out today, what with the new iOS 5 coming out.  Just after 10 AM PST (as many predicted, since it seems to be Apple’s favorite time), the new software was released and I immediately began to download it for my phone.  I kept hitting a 3200 error as they pinged Apple’s servers only to get no response, or perhaps a failure response.  Apparently too many people were attempting the same and a lot were getting rejected due to the high volume.  I tried 4 or 5 times before I decided to switch over to my iPad and try to get that one updated.  Once again, I ran into the same error and had to try a half dozen times before giving up.  This time, I switched back to my phone and 2 or 3 tries later, it looked like it was finally going to work!  I lost track of how many times I actually attempted to install iOS 5, but about 6 hours later it finally worked.

By 5 PM, my phone had some exciting new features that I eagerly began to test.  Meanwhile, it was time for my iPad to take its turn again, and this time it seemed that things had cooled down enough that I got through just fine.  I think it was probably because the most eager people had already installed it and maybe partially due to the end of the work day, with people driving home, or to dinner, or otherwise occupied away from their computers.  Good news for me!  I was afraid I might not be able to get it all set up until late into the night or even later in the week.  It hasn’t been that long, but I’ve already started up a list of requests.

On Reminders, I love the ability to geotarget so I am reminded when I leave or arrive at a place, but I want to be able to control what that means.  Maybe I want to be reminded when I’m within a fraction of a mile, or maybe I want to be reminded if I’m in the vicinity, say at a 5 mile radius.  I also want to be able to choose locations based things other than my current location or an entry in my address book – what about a listing on Yelp, or even just pointing my finger at a location on a map?  I had to go through and add all these businesses to my contact list so I could set a reminder when I go there.  Not a very efficient way to handle things.  The one other function I’d really like is the ability to choose multiple locations.  For example, right now I want to get some more tea from Teavana.  I don’t care which one and I don’t know which one I will be close to in the near future, so I’d like to add all of them (or the most likely ones at least) to my location reminder.

In the Notifications dropdown, I want to be able to choose what apps to include.  I have no interest in a stock ticker and I’d rather that not take up space on my list.*  And why in the world does the iPad not come with a weather app?  Just because I don’t have 3G doesn’t mean I don’t want to check the weather based on my wifi location!  That would be useful to have in the notification bar just like on the phone.

On the iPad, I like the idea of undocking the keyboard, but why does it have to get stuck in the middle of the screen?  I want to be able to slide it up and down as I please.  I also don’t get why when you split the keyboard in half, it has to get so small.  Once again, I want full control here, choosing how far to drag them apart, which would determine the size of the keys.  When it automatically shrinks down to iPhone keyboard size, it’s just too small.  Since you can quickly take a picture with your phone now, why didn’t they implement the same for the iPad?  I want to be able to quickly take a shot with that device as well!

As for things that are broken, I noticed were that you can break into the phone past the lock code if you use the new quick launch camera feature and try to look at photos.  Definitely a security breach to be fixed ASAP.  Another thing is the inability to put Newsstand in a folder.  I have no need for it, so I just want to tuck it away somewhere.  So far I haven’t been able to use tabbed browsing on my phone, which I’m pretty sure is supposed to be offered.

Of course mostly it’s all good though.  I love the reminders, especially with geotargeting.  I like the new look of the notifications and the less intrusive nature.  The Notification bar is very handy!  The swiping between open apps in the iPad is fast and fantastically convenient.  I’ve wanted to be able to take pictures faster and with a physical button to push.  Finally being able to format my emails a bit is nice.

I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more as I use it more and go through the checklist of features to make sure I know them all.  I’ll definitely think of further suggestions/ideas – too bad I don’t know who would listen!  Sometimes I wish it was easier to give feedback and actually be paid attention to.  Hopefully the people at Apple will be trying to do some of the things I did and stumble upon the same issues…  Until then, I will enjoy what I can use.  🙂

 

*As it turns out, I found that you can choose which apps to display in the Notification settings.

Leisurely pace

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
08 October 2011
0

When I come home on the weekends, I don’t want to do much more than eat, sleep, and sit around online or playing with the cats.  I always been a bit of a homebody, preferring to stay at home and read or write in my journal in my early years, and hang out online in more recent years.  I find it very rewarding to just let the days drift by, not worrying about things and relaxing with Missy sleeping next to me.  I also love lounging around outside, basking in the sun and admiring the nature around me.  Who needs the high-stress environment of a metropolitan area?  I certainly don’t, and I’m pretty sure that’s why NYC doesn’t appeal to me at all (unless I’m just visiting).  Living in LA has been nice though, since it’s so spread out and there are so many neighborhoods that it doesn’t feel like a city in most parts.

I find it so relaxing and fulfilling to rest with a purring kitty, let the sun warm my body, and be able to have some peace and quiet.  My apartment complex has too much noise during the day, which is why I especially like coming home.  When there are too many sounds, lights, and smells around you, it can be distracting.  Coming home to breathe fresher air and hear to little to no noise is a nice break from the hubbub in other parts of LA.  I guess that’s why I have been itching to spend more time back east somewhere – there are so many great regions with plenty of seclusion and easy access to nature.  I’d like to spend more time enjoying some of the simple pleasures – sipping a cool drink on a hot day, watching the fireflies at night, sitting on the porch with a gentle breeze blowing… even have some hot chocolate on a cold, stormy day.

I get a little piece of that whenever I come home and it’s nice to sit back with no responsibilities, no worries for a brief time every week.

Apple announcement

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
04 October 2011
0

Well, today Apple finally revealed the upcoming iPhone release, which proved to be just an upgrade of the current iPhone 4.  Ok, maybe just is a little harsh.  Granted, they did announce some cool stuff, but the only thing that I was interested in was the new Siri app that the iPhone 4S has.  It’s basically a built-in personal assistant/concierge to help you in your day-to-day life, whether it’s finding a new restaurant or answering text messages hands-free.  The cool thing is that it seems to be really good at voice recognition and understands what you are saying far better than any other application I’ve seen.  Not only that, it knows more about the meaning of what you’re saying so you can use conversational language like you would with a person.  You don’t have to memorize a list of simple commands that it can understand (like most other similar technology) – just talk and it will understand what you’re asking for.

What I’m looking forward to even more than that is the new iOS 5 and iCloud.  A lot of the updates with those two things make life a whole lot easier and the technology of iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Macs even more seamless.  I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to take a picture quickly and easily with my phone.  I always said that they should make one or more of the external buttons function as the shutter button when running the camera app.  It’s really hard to tap an icon on the screen to get a shot when you only have one hand.  They’re finally allowing that, with the volume up button acting as the shutter clicker.  Additionally, notifications and reminders are key organizational tools that I have other apps for, but will be so much better when it all easily integrates with the rest of the suite of tools in my device.  Now I can set these things and have them added to my calendar or pull from my contacts list.

I know that cloud computing is the new era, so I’m really glad to have iCloud coming soon.  It will be so nice to have all photos, contacts, and calendar updates automatically synced across devices and backed up on the cloud.  As it stands you have to set up syncs manually, which is a bit of a hassle.  I just hope that the introduction of iCloud also means my game progress will be saved across devices.  Right now when I play a game on one, it doesn’t update on the other, so I end up only playing certain games on one device, then having to switch to another device for a different game.  As of yet it doesn’t look like this is possible, but it’s got to be on the horizon.

I definitely would not consider upgrading my iPhone 4 to the 4S, but I’m looking forward to what iPhone 5 will bring.

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