An experiment in meatless
07
February
2013
I got involved with BzzAgent towards the end of last year and recently started getting some offers through it! It’s been pretty exciting and I wanted to share my first FREE product: MorningStar Farms veggie burgers. I was sent a coupon for a free box and I opted for a very delicious-looking Grillers Chick’n Veggie Patties. Since my mom was home, it took me awhile to finally getting around to cooking for myself and it turned out great!
So here’s my oh so simple recipe, Chinese style (aka no exact measurements)…
Ingredients:
1-2 MorningStar Farms Veggie Patties in the flavor of your choice (depends on your appetite – one is plenty for lunch and two is great for dinner or to share)
2 handfuls of veggies chopped up and ready to stir fry
1 dollop of soy sauce (if you must add some stronger flavor)
Instructions:
1. Chop up the patties & veggies into bite-size pieces.
2. Heat up a wok or stir fry pan and dump in all ingredients.
3. Stir around so nothing burns and turn down heat low if needed.
4. After stirring for awhile, throw on the extra sauce as desired.
5. Turn off burner and enjoy with rice, rice porridge, or alone!
Yup, and that’s how cooking goes in my household. It came out pretty well, though with the strong flavor, I didn’t need the soy sauce. I definitely want to try it as a burger next time. You should give it a try sometime too! 🙂
Odd jobs
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, jobs, ucla, work
05
February
2013
Have you ever tried to get a bunch of odd jobs? I just joined Fiverr and posted some “gigs” on the site yesterday in an attempt to get more traction for my sales, but also to see if I can get some extra income from doing random tasks. For now the only thing I’ve come up with that doesn’t involved selling a product is teaching people origami. I’ll have to keep thinking of what else I could do that’s worth $5 but not too much effort on my part. I was going to do a Chinese name translation, but there are a lot of those out there so I’m not sure if I should compete…
Awhile back, I became fascinated with community marketplaces. I had considered trying to become a TaskRabbit and provide services like pet-sitting, but I don’t really have a strong skill in those sorts of things that I could really do well. It’s always a challenge trying to pinpoint my expertise in things like that – a concrete skill that I can do better than most that people would want to have done for them. Then I came across Vayable, which I thought was really cool with its community-powered tours. I have considered doing a UCLA tour through that, but have yet to organize an awesome tour that I would be proud of. Luckily, I have a head start since I’d led tours for summer orientation, but I also want to include more cool historical facts and some updates since the campus has changed so much.
Most recently, I learned about Lyft, which is a community-powered transportation service. That’s something I think would be really cool to do, since I’ve often driven my friends around, but I live too far from the central areas of Los Angeles to be of much use right now. Such a pity, since I enjoy getting out and driving around (and hate finding parking) so this would be a great way to earn some money.
And a Happy New Year
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: behavior, celebrations, events, holiday, videos
02
February
2013
How quickly the first month of the year went by! It seems like just last week I was listening to the festivities put on by the neighbors.
happy new year 2013 from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Sprinkles Ice Cream
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: cupcakes, desserts, experiences, food, ice cream, pictures
31
January
2013
I’ve always appreciated Sprinkles for starting the whole cupcakery craze, so I was definitely interested when they opened their ice cream shop. So far I’ve been twice and tried their ice cream sandwich (using cupcake instead of cookies) and ice cream sundae. I love the triple chocolate ice cream and the sundae I chose. The red velvet cupcake used in the sandwich was a bit more dry than I would have liked. Still, fun times trying out their different designs. I’ve always wanted to have ice cream and cake bits in one!
On my first visit, I tried a Sprinkles Ice Cream Sandwich with triple chocolate ice cream and red velvet cupcake as the sandwich.
On my second visit, I tried a Sprinkles Ice Cream Sundae with cookie dough ice cream and a s’mores cupcake.
Inside, you can see the ice cream sandwiched between the cupcake.
On furniture innovation
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, home, opinion
29
January
2013
I can’t seem to find a “perfect” spot for my desk. Today’s the third time I’ve moved it in the past few months and I’m still not fully satisfied. I think what I really need is a swinging desk that can rotate 90 degrees from an L shape to an I shape. I’d like to sit at the desk and have the wall/window on one side, the bed on another, and the desk filling in the other two. So far I’ve tried it parallel to my bed, perpendicular to it, and at two random angles. Triangles don’t seem to work since I can’t get out and keeping everything at 90 angles to each other leaves one side gaping. I suppose I could use the back of my chair as the fourth side, but I like having my back somewhat against the wall.
I’ve always liked cozy corners and being tucked in tight, but I still need to be able to get out of my chair without having to climb around furniture like a monkey. It’s definitely a challenge with conventional furniture that assumes people like having their space. It also seems to be assumed that furniture shouldn’t be easy to move. Why is that? I am constantly rearranging my furniture, wishing that they were designed to be more mobile. After all, a single change in your furniture arrangement can greatly change the look and feel of a room, so it’s like moving without ever leaving! I think it’s good to exercise change periodically. It’s amazing the new perspectives you achieve!
I’ve actually conceived of a variety of alternative furniture ideas that I’d really like to see become a reality someday, if only for myself. We as people are mobile and flexible, so why shouldn’t our furniture be more so? Sure, we’ve got lazy boys that protract and retract, but what else? Surely someone can design a desk that can change just as easily. Alas, until then, I will probably have to continue exploring creative ways to try to achieve that effect with the stubborn bulky furniture that currently exists.
Sandy aftermath: squirrel-sanity!
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: animals, behavior, nature, videos
27
January
2013
It’s been raining a lot here lately and the crisp freshness of the air after a wet day reminds me of the time right after Sandy swept through Panda’s place in VA. The squirrels had come out in force, frantically eating the food they’d hidden!
squirrel burrowing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
squirrel in bush from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
squirrels out and about from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
squirrel stashing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Party for Charity
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: club, downtown Los Angeles, events, experiences, party, pictures
25
January
2013
Tonight my friend had a birthday party fundraiser for BRAKES at 333 Live, a club in downtown LA. I’m not normally a party-goer, but I wanted to support the cause so I went. A lot of attendees were in my social circles so that was cool.
Just getting the party started.
Things start heating up!
Auctioning singles for dates!
Let the good times roll
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, panda
23
January
2013
Whenever I’m with Panda, I have a lot of fun and often forget to do things I routinely do, such as update my blog or write in my journal. In fact, back when we met is the first time I stopped writing in my journal ever since I started in 2nd grade. I always attributed it to having too much fun to sit around writing about it. Alas, it seems to be true yet again as I get to hang out with him and find myself neglecting my writing. But I’m ok with that if it means more quality time with him!
Cozy under the blankie
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: behavior, cats, habits, pictures
19
January
2013
Missy loves snuggling under the covers! Nevermind how hot it gets or how hard it is to breathe sometimes. 😛
