Oh hai!

Looking for new blog posts? Head over to my new site, Chatter (yes, the same name, different domain). All the posts from here are already transferred :)

Just pondering ...

I've been thinking about switching over to Word Press, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Basically, I'm looking for a few more options for my blog, like password protected posts and such. I'd like to transfer all my posts here to there, but I don't know if the hassle will be worth it.

I haven't had the time to research Word Press's system, so maybe I should do that first.

Has anyone out there made the switch from Blogger to Word Press? Was it easy?

Cross-Studying

I was having a conversation with two of my best friends during a coffee date the other day. Two of us (myself included) are all done school and one of us is still in school, studying Sociology and Anthropology. She was asked if she has taken any Psychology courses, and she said no, that they don't touch that stuff.

I found it odd, really, because I always thought that cross-studying was a good thing. Maybe it's because I studied a little bit of everything to be well-rounded and knowledgeable in a variety of areas. Other than the programs that require special admission (think Tourism, DAAD and Nursing) I took a course from every discipline. In first year I took Microeconomics (I failed, but I still remember some stuff), I've taken art history courses, a bunch of political science courses, psychology a philosophy courses just to name a few. Of course, I took all the required courses to get my degree, but I really found that studying outside of my major was eye opening.

Anyway, I never think it hurts to study outside of your field. You get a better understanding of other areas and personally, I think you can back up your arguments better.

What do you think? Do you enjoy taking courses outside of what you're studying?

Plain Jane

I've never been the kind of girl who needs at least an hours to get ready to go in the morning. Excluding eating breakfast and warming my car in the morning (Hey, Canadian winters are cold!) it usually takes me about 20-25 minutes to shower, get dressed and do what I need to do in the morning.

I'm always amazed by girls who refuse to leave the house without their full-blown make up done and hair looking perfect. I could never spend that much time caring about how I look in the morning. For me, it's moisturizer, concealer and a touch of mascara in the morning. I'm rather plain Jane that way, and I like it.

Kyle has asked a couple times why I don't wear make-up more often. Friends have "done up" my face on a couple occasions before going out to the bar and I really don't think it improved my appearance at all. Maybe it's because my odd Asian eyelids hide any trace of eyeshadow applied. Who knows.

Anyway, I wish women weren't so concerned about their appearances sometimes, and I'm not talking about weight or anything. Sure, if you have a giant zit that you need to cover up, okay, but do you really need to wear eight pounds of make-up to go to the grocery store? Probably not. Do you think guys will notice that you don't have your make-up on? Probably not. Will they be attracted to you anyway? Probably. Most guys like a natural look.

What about you? Are you "natural" or can you not live without your eyeliner?

10 for '10

I don't make New Years resolutions but usually I try to just do things that I've been wanting to do for a while. I got the idea from this post by Amber to list 10 things I'd like to accomplish this year. Some of them are planned already and some of them are not. Here we go!

1) Celebrate Chinese New Year in Vancouver - I really wish I celebrated my Chinese heritage more and I really enjoy taking part in Chinese New Year festivities. I haven't done so in two years and I'd really like to take the trip down and visit family. Plus, the food is amazing! I don't know if it will happen this year, with the Olympics making Vancouver crazy and all.

2) Have an amazing time during the Canucks game - Back in September, I bought Kyle and I tickets to see the Vancouver Canucks take on the Detroit Red Wings in March. We've recently booked out hotel room, and I'm super excited to go down. We haven't gone on an overnight trip together since 2008, so I'm looking forward to some good alone time.

3) Buy a house - I know it's a long shot at this point, but Kyle and I have been saving for about two years now for a down payment on a house. In October 2008 we had actually made a successful offer on a house, but the financing fell through as it was right during the time they were cancelling out zero-down payments. We're tired of renting and we really want our own place before getting married.

4) Advance in the workforce - Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but one day I'd really like to move up to a daily newspaper. Times are really tough right now, so it's been hard, especially since I want to stay in Kamloops

5) Go north - One of my best friends is having a baby in March and I can't wait for it to arrive! I really want to go up north and visit her in Fort Saint John, plus another friend in Prince George. Unfortunately time and money never seem to be on my side, so I guess I'll just have to play things by ear.

6) Cook - I'd really like to learn cook a wider range of dishes. My skills are generally limited to casseroles and pasta dishes, so I'd like to branch out a little. I love all types of food, so I'm curious to see what I'm capable of making in the kitchen.

7) Get in better shape - I've had a gym membership since July (or maybe August) of last year but I really haven't been using it to it's full potential. I want to try and hit the gym at least three times a week to start and eventually work my way up to four. It'll take some time, I know it, but I always feel amazing after a good workout and want to continue that!

8) Read more books - Last summer I read a ton of books but slowed down in the winter. There's a 900+ pager that's been sitting on my coffee table since October and I haven't even cracked the first page. I definitely want to get back into great books.

9) Hunt - Yes, some people may not like the idea of hunting animals, but I really enjoy hunting with my grandpa and I plan on getting my license this spring. My grandpa is quite proud of the fact that I enjoy going out into the bush with him and hunting for deer, and I can't wait to go again come fall.

10) Be a better blogger - I first started blogging about a  year ago for one of my journalism classes and I rather enjoyed it. Keeping to such a strict topic for my class was quite difficult but I've really enjoyed exploring the blog world and reading all the amazing blogs out there! It's made me want to work on mine and make it great!

Do you have anything you'd like to accomplish this year? Have any feedback on my blog you'd like to share! Yays or nays?

Friday Food - Chow Mien

I've decided that every Friday, I'm going to post a recipe that I've tried or recently tried. I love food and love trying new recipes, so when I find something I like, I'll share it with you :)

I've created a blog specifically for the recipes here and they'll be organized by ingredient, Ethnicity and difficulty for easy searching! That way, you don't have to search this blog for specific recipes.

Here's the first recipe:

Simple Chicken Chow Mien.

You can omit or add any veggies you like, but these are the ones I usually use. It's really easy, and in my opinion, quite tasty!

Ingredients:
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 can of chicken broth
- 1 big tablespoon of hoisin or oyster sauce
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
- bag of chow mien noodles (I buy the soft ones that are kept in the cooler by the produce at grocery stores)
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- snow peas
- mushrooms

The noodles I buy have to be soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, so I do that while I'm prepping the chicken for the pan ...

Cut your chicken into strips about 2 inches long. Put them in a large, deep skillet with some oil (I use canola) and cook on medium-high heat until no longer pink.

Note: This is when I usually start my rice!

As that's cooking, I prep my veggies that need to be cut. (Celery, carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, etc.)

Once the chicken is cooked, I add in the veggies and let them cook for 5 minutes over medium heat (I had my stove set in between 6 and 7). If you cut them into thicker pieces, put a lid over the pan and that will help soften up the veggies.

After the veggies are cooking I add in the noodles and mix them around a little before adding in my broth, soy sauce and hoisin sauce. I mix once more and then turn the heat down to medium and put the lid back on for 15 minutes to let everything come to an even temperature and let the flavour set in.

That's it after that! You can always add or reduce ingredients and adjust the flavours to suit your own tastes.

Two jobs, no life

I'm sure there comes a time in everyone's lives where they need to work two jobs (unless they're spoiled or rich or something). I've done it in high school; I was 15 and I worked at a little gift shop during the week and at a Chinese/Western restaurant on weekends during the evening.

I guess at that age not having a social life during the summer was okay. Everyone I knew was travelling somewhere and really, I thought it was cool to have a job. I didn't have to ask my parents for money anymore and I could start saving for something awesome.

I only did the two-job stint for that one summer and ever since then, I've just had one job part-time during school and full-time during the summer. Living at home helped ease my bills and having a dad as a mechanic (technically a heavy-duty mechanic, but he knows enough to fix small vehicles) really helped keep the money I made in my pocket.

Now, however, I live Kyle and have to pay for rent, groceries and all my other goodies. Sadly, I'm having a hard time managing my money and with my hours just being cut at work due to the winter slow season, I'm a little nervous. So nervous, in fact, that it's brought me to re-apply for my old job at one of the grocery stores in town.

I never thought I'd have to go back to working in retail, but I guess when times are tough, you gotta do what you gotta do. I haven't been hired back yet, but I'm sure it will happen. I'm not thrilled about it, but being broke is worse, especially when Kyle and I are desperately trying to save for a house.

So I may go back to not having a decent social life for a while, but if it will calm my mind, it's worth it.

Have you worked two jobs before? Did you mind not having a social life if it meant not worrying about finances?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fabulous night of celebration last night! I've only been asked a couple times so far about whether or not I've made a resolution yet.

I must say, I'm not one to make crazy resolutions. I've never sworn to eat healthier, quit smoking (because I've never seriously had to), or lose weight. Hell, I hardly make normal ones, like to be more positive, travel or read more books (although I have started reading more often).

Resolutions to me are like empty promises. You can make them to feel better about yourself, but you read in many articles that the majority of people fail within a month or less of making them.

I like to just tell myself that I will maybe do things. Maybe I'll travel somewhere new, maybe I'll go to the gym more often, maybe I'll be nicer ... you get the drift.

Regardless of whether or not you make a resolution, I hope 2010 lives up to all your expectations and then some.