Guess which one I traded for which?
Long day
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, panda
02
August
2010
Well, today started off kind of rough with a bunch of things I needed to take care of. For some reason I was feeling really cold and shaky as well, which didn’t help my concentration. I also realized that I really couldn’t find my voucher for a set of beauty services (a hair cut, hair coloring, manicure, and microdermabrasion) that I had bought at a steeply discounted rate. Bad news, since I hadn’t even used the microdermabrasion, which is the main reason I bought the thing.
Then Panda came online from the East Coast, where he is for a couple of days and he had a rough day. He didn’t really want to talk, which made me sad, because all I wanted to do was hear his voice. It made me sad that he was unhappy and not fully enjoying himself over there. It was also frustrating because he couldn’t tell me all the details of his day. So not only am I far away, I have to be distanced in other ways too.
When I returned to campus, another counselor was using Panda’s room for meetings with students, so I spent my time in the lounge and occasionally the hallway. Things can get awfully lonely though, and all I wanted to do was rest and chill. The hours dragged on slower than they ever have and I found conversation where I could. I didn’t even have an appetite to eat most of my dinner. It’s been a tiring day.
At least towards the end I had some fun hanging out with The Legend and some other counselors. Now my legs are achy and I just want to rest, but all I can think about is whether or not the salon will still let me get the service on my voucher if I can’t find it anymore. 🙁 I’ve checked my desk at work, my car, the room, and emptied out my purse multiple times. No luck. My last hope is that I somehow took it out while at home one weekend. It’s really not likely though, yet I haven’t a clue where it could have gone. How unfortunate.
And tomorrow is an early day. I’ve got to get up an hour earlier than usual. At least soon Panda will be back. 🙂
Pet clam & sea snail
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: animals, interesting, observation, travel, videos
01
August
2010
When I was in Thailand, I wrote about the day I found a bunch of clams on the beach. Then I posted some videos of them burrowing into the sand. Here now are videos of the two that I took back to the hostel, climbing around, burrowing, and otherwise doing amusing things. I’m not the only one to find this fascinating, am I?
sea snail and clam blending into the sand from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
happy clam from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
(Yeah, I know, it’s slow going. But check out how the sea snail flips itself over and burrows away, whereas the clam goes in tip first and squeezes its shell.)
It just glides so smoothly. But out of water, it finds it’s no match for gravity:
Part claw, part… lotus? You decide:
Based on the previous video, now can you find the part of the clam that is sticking out?
And then the grand finale! The clam is so happy it burrows a little, then thrusts itself out of the sand. Meanwhile, the sea snail decides to come out to play too.
Trader Joe’s humor
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: amusing, observation, pictures
31
July
2010
Hahaha, what a cheeky way to bring attention to their store, which is kind of blocked by the gas station.
Writing obsession
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: behavior, habits, opinion, preferences
30
July
2010
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…
Mini monster truck
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: cars, county fair, experiences, interesting, los angeles, videos
29
July
2010
A little show at the LA County Fair. I wonder how many times those guys have flipped over in one of those things…
gravedigger monster truck from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Cilantro life cycle
laelene Post in photo blog，Tags: food, interesting, observation, pictures, plants
28
July
2010
Ever wondered how a cilantro leaf gets to be the way it is? Well, here’s a step by step guide for you!
First you get the buds...
...that bloom into flowers!
Then they give way to little, unrecognizable leaves.
The little leaves start to thicken.
Eventually they start to get the shape and form of cilantro leaves.
Finally they look like the leaves you get atop your favorite dish!
They get to a point where they won't get bigger.
After awhile they begin to die and lose their coloring.
Finally, they end up limp and wilted as they give way to new sprouts.
And the whole life cycle can be seen from top to bottom. 🙂
Fortunate fix
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, pictures, technology
27
July
2010
My phone slipped yesterday, landing on the cement floor at work. I’d never had a problem before, but this time I picked it up to find the glass had cracked. Dismayed, I immediately began to research whether or not that was covered in my warranty, and eventually found and article that gave me hope. It talked about how Geniuses are now allowed to replace the screen in store, so there was hope of getting it done for free! This was confirmed in a CNET article:
We’ve received reports from some readers who had success having their iPhones with cracked screens replaced free of charge by geniuses at the Apple Store, but don’t count on it.
I immediately booked an appointment at the closest Apple Store for after work. The guy who helped me told me it would normally cost $199 AND it would void my warranty to get it replaced. But lucky me, he was in a good mood and we had a good rapport going, so he decided to replace it for me for free. 🙂 It was a quick fix in the back, taking about 10 minutes. I signed some paperwork and was out the door, brand new screen in tow. Now I’m super paranoid about dropping it and I admire the smoothness of the glass all the more.
It’s a good thing I was able to get it fixed so easily (and for free)! Otherwise, I would have spent much of my time running my finger along the cracks, which would have inevitably given me a cut eventually. The top part where the cracking started is actually higher than the part with the cracks. If it weren’t for that, I’d be ok with not fixing it, but it had become a bit of a hazard for someone like me who likes to fiddle with things. I was lucky the cracking was in a rather unobtrusive place to begin with, and even luckier to have gotten the whole thing replaced!
Themed gardens
laelene Post in general blog，Tags: nature, observation
26
July
2010
Last night I was describing the Huntington Gardens (at the Huntington Library) to a friend and realized that I’ve never heard of a German garden, or a French garden, or a Spanish garden. Why is that? Instead, there are Japanese gardens abound, and a fair amount of Chinese gardens as well. Other than that, there are themes based on plant type or ecosystem – rain forest, desert, wetland… I find that Japanese gardens tend to focus more on the features – zen gardens, bonsai trees, and bamboo – whereas Chinese gardens have a slightly stronger focus on architecture – pagodas, stylized gateways, and small buildings. Both definitely have a water element present (particularly a lake), which isn’t always the case in other gardens.
Western gardens seem to be more about flowers, an open field of grass, and greenhouses. But in terms of a country or culture having a particular type, I can’t say that I’ve heard of any. Is it just me or do Asian cultures have greater cultural identities than Western cultures?
Blue lights
laelene Post in video blog，Tags: driving, los angeles, police, videos
25
July
2010
You can always tell motorcycle cops from their distinctive blue lights. Panda and I saw one late last night that prompted a whole discussion about how you don’t really see them out after dark (and therefore don’t see those blue lights much). Well, one time I saw this chain of five!
cops on bikes from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
