"Back in my days..." and odd childhood rituals

Hallo.

Been awhile.
Been doin' a lot of thinkin' (a favorite past time).
These days, I've been recalling my childhood a lot these days. A lot of nostalgia mixed with "Wow, that was a weird phase."

So lets talk about these times.

I am a 90's gal. Technically 80's cuz I was birthed in '89. But I really don't remember too much of the 80's. Sad. So the 90's!

Does anyone else remember those toys from Carl's Jr? The one's where they gave you a small monster that functioned like a plant pot and then you grow grass in it and cut it like hair once it was long enough? That was pretty bomb for a happy meal toy! They probably wouldn't sell that these days probably cuz kids are allergic to dirt now...

I remember the creepy crawlers for the guys (I grew up with brothers) that was the equivalent of the male easy bake oven. Sadly, I never got to make anything since "sharing" was never a part of my big bro's lingo. I cried my river already so I'm good.

Speaking of brothers and toys... Anyone remember Treasure Rocks? Those were soooo cool! At least they seemed cool... I got it for X'mas when I was four or something. Since I couldn't do anything on my own, I always needed the parent's help. I begged them to let me open and play with it, but they said no another time.

Well, lacking the patience to wait, I decided to be a clever one. Once everyone was asleep, I snuck out of my room with my Treasure Rocks and went into the bathroom to do the deed. Man, was I excited! I remember always watching the commercials on TV; I craved so badly to shake that bottle and to discover the same measley rocks are beautiful gems!

I opened the box up, filled the purple bottle up with water, and loaded in the rocks. Just when I was about to shake the bottle, m older brother bursts into the bathroom. I freaked. Let me tell you something: my brother was always out to bust me. I immediately began to stand up for myself, but he just grabbed the bottle from my hand, shook it, the "jewels" came out, and he left. I had no idea what just happened. He didn't even use the bathroom. To this day, I wonder how my brother knew I was playing with treasure rocks at 2am? Fond memories.

I could go on about toys forever. Another time though.

Some other things I recall are strange, almost OCD-like habits I used to have as a wee lass. Maybe they're not so weird. Maybe YOU had them too! But who cares?

Let's see....

1. When I went to the mall with my mom, I would not only hide inside the circular racks, I would seek out silky clothes to touch. I ran around rubbing the material between my fingers in search for the cool, smooth feeling. I loved it. I lived for it when I was at the mall.

2. When driving, we'd pass by a lot of electric poles. As a game, I would clamp my teeth every time we pass one (and there was a lot). It was kinda like avoiding the crack on the side walk. I HAD to do it. If I didn't, I would mentally go insane.

3. If I did one thing with one side of my body, I would have to do it on the other side to acheive balance. Maybe I was OCD.

How much has changed... This is brief. I definitely recall a lot more of the awesome 90's childhood! Another time.

Ciao.

Growing Pains

A good couple of weeks have passed since I last posted.

A good couple of weeks getting acquainted with my new "working life."

Here's what the typical work day consists of:

Come in. Turn computer on. Sort mail. Check e-mail. Sit. Eat lunch. Come back. Sit. Sort mail. Sit. Go home.

If I'm lucky, there'll be an e-mail in my inbox. IF I'm lucky. Most of the time my boss is out which reduces my things-to-do list to niente. So that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands.

So, what do I do to pass time? Well, I would ideally love to do other work like practicing music, composing, painting, crafts, or even just working on my new blog. I guess I could do these things, but it'd be way too obvious that I have nothing to do. Covering up would be pretty hard. God forbid someone in the office walking in on me painting something artistic like a naked woman mixing her tea with a tampon or something... Anywho...

What I ended up doing is reading. I love to read so it's nothing new to me. What is novel about this favorite pass time is that I am reading more about the business market, the economy, and politics. These are all areas I had absolutely no interest in in the past. The perks of working at a business/finance newspaper company. Why not indulge?

Sadly, all this intense reading is depressing. There's a lot about the bleak economy and terrible job market. Adding to this, I have too much alone time on my hands. "Isolation" if we want to use technical terms.

I've always enjoyed my alone times to sort my feelings out and to center myself. I'm also a believer in balance. So when there's too much alone time, let's just say my mental/emotional state goes a bit cray cray. I begin to over-analyze everything and become my worst critic.

Here's the condensed version of what's been running through my mind:

The economy sucks. The job market sucks. Why is it so hard for most college graduates to get a decent paying job? I began to look at the different generations and I happen to fall under the Millenial Generation.

Millenials.... This generation were brought up with so much special attention and care. I know many of my colleagues and myself were brought up to be competitive. We competed with grades, extra-curricular actives, volunteering, athletics, private classes, second languages, and God knows what else. I know this generation is very gifted and talented.

We were raised to believe we would make a difference in the world. That we are special and unique. Mr. Rogers anyone? Captain Planet? Blah, it goes on.

We entered the job market (I did anyways) expecting amazing jobs where we felt like we were making a difference in the world. Well, based off of experience thus far, that a far cry from reality.

Is unemployment rate high because people can't get jobs? Or because most people don't want to "settle."

Which brings me to another point. This generation grew up in a time of instant gratification and ADHD. With high speed internet and more TV shows than one can follow, we grew up expecting immediate results and options. I think many of us lack patience.

Perhaps many of us are not patient enough to undergo and painfully boring job...

This is just my thoughts of course. I am sure there are many people who are working many jobs and can barely make a living. It really is frustrating.

But flipping the coin and looking on the brighter side of things, this just might be the time for us Millenials to learn/practice the virtues of patience. We can learn how to save money. Become more self-sufficient by learning DIY's. Become much more eco-friendly. There really is a whole lot of opportunity in this period of time is we really look into it.

I'll definitely work more on looking at the glass half full.

But while I go through this growing pain, I'll bake and eat cake.

I made this amazing Poppy Seed cake that I once had in Munich! It's called Mohnkuchen. I got the recipe from here. I just cut the strudel and dough recipe in half. Enjoy!

Fun Day Birthday!

This  post is especially dedicated to my food-whoring buddies!

Sooooo.... it was my birthday this past month :D Yay for aging! Seriously, though, I hurt my back from moving... I'm 22 going on 50.

Due to the recent stressful events taking place during summer, I really really REALLY wanted to do something relaxing on my birthday, like, EAT!
Or just not moving...

I really don't do much for my birthday. For instance, my 21st birthday, I was locked up in a hotel room by myself in Switzerland and spent my 22nd on an eight hour flight. Then again, who can say that they were in Switzerland or on a plane for their birthday? Me, apparently.

Whenever people ask me what I want to do for my birthday, I always say, "Oh, nothing, I don't really care about birthdays. It's just a birthday." 'Cause I'm bad-ass like that. Well, being the "bad-ass" that I am, I whined everyday to my roommates that I want to be done moving by the time it's my birthday just because it's my birthday. I digress...

Come the special day, my lovely roommates take me out to Downtown LA for a birthday brunch! I chose the sheik Bottega Louie. I've only been here once before and have been dreaming of coming back for a few months.... Because driving through downtown traffic is an epic journey(or downright hell, depending on how you look at it).

This was my second time here. Last time, I only got coffee and their Princess cake.

What I love about this place (apart from their beautiful pastries) is their packaging. I want to say that they get their packaging from Laduree in Paris.... If not, it looks suspiciously similar.

I have a love/hate relationship with the design of the restaurant: it's very minimalistic. It's beautiful in the morning, because you can see the golden streaks of sun rays seeping through the airy building. Later in the evening, though, it just "feels" eerily, uncomfortable. Not to mention, the echo makes it obnoxiously loud. Maybe it's just me, but I like cozy.

For my first Bottega Louie breakfast experience, I chose the Lobster Hash. The roomies ordered a Farmer's Market Scramble and an Egg-White Omlet. Won't lie, I made the best decision of the three. Long story short, I don't think Bottega Louie's strongest points are their food items (it's not bad, but it's not epic).

The desserts are where da goldz at! I picked out a custard-based dessert called La Vanille something... Sorry, I can't regurgitate important information, but here's a picture....

The inside of this glory is a custard that is a cross between mousse and jello. Nice vanilla flavors, not too heavy. The crust was like a speculoos cookie. Some sort of spice cookie. It was orgaaaaaasmiiiic!

While I was picking this dessert out at the display case, the lovely roomies ordered another dessert for me! (they know I'm a secret fatty) A Peanutbutter terraine!

I would describe this as a snicker bar in cake form. Polar opposite from the last cake, but nevertheless delish... Just super heavy after eating breakfast and another cake at 10am.... 

But you know what? It really was a wonderful birthday! A few weeks before this, I literally thought I'd be homeless and jobless. I remember telling myself that I'd be as happy as a fat boy with cake if I had shelter and a job by my birthday. Lo and behold, wish granted. 

Hello from the Real World

Why, hello. Thank you for stumbling upon my blog. Let's begin with introductions:

Hi. I'm a recent graduate with a music degree who stumbled upon a administrative/advertisement assistant job for a news paper company. My bilingual skills saved me in the job department. Post-college/Life-lesson #1: bilingual skills save ass. 

Anywho, after my fourth day at the office (consisting of four solitary individuals), I realized summer vacation is gone forever *dramatic music* I also realized that I don't have a set schedule, big/small assignments, friend-circle drama, etc. to give me those little "thrills" in life. Lesson #2: I'm in control of my life. Like, FULL control of my life. 

Looking back last year, or the year before, I was either running around in a foreign country, working a summer job, attending music work-shops, partying, or just veggie-ing out. Regardless, I knew I would always have school to return to. School: that set pattern of life, the familiar faces, the challenges... What is there not to love? Well, here I was now sitting in my cubicle watching my post-its dry out. A small voice in my head whispered, "So, this is the real world..." How much of this can I handle? 

After a pretty stressful summer of job-hunting, interviews, apartment-hunting, and moving; some old college friends visited me. These pals are still in school so they're obviously still naive about a lot of stuff. Like I was. Ha.

 I felt like an 80 year old as I lusted after their hopes and happiness that comes with being in college... I know that I want to go back to school soon. Now, if possible. 

Somewhere during their visit, they all encouraged me to start a blog about food (I am a closeted fat-ass). Tonight, my roommate encouraged me to start a blog about my life. I'll take it both as a sign. 

Tonight, I start a blog about food, thoughts, work, and whatever else I feel like. Basically my life. 

Enjoy!