i cut off the top of eiffel tower, oops. it was so windy but it was a beautifully clear day.
 

 
the world's largest chocolate fountain, in bellagio hotel. the bottom half (left), and top half (right). it smelled heavenly - it's 27 feet high, and the chocolate (white, dark, and medium) is kept flowing at 125 degrees Fahrenheit. just wanted to reach in and...
 

stacy london on what not to wear is wearing a sweater i own! does that mean that i'm devilishly fashionable? muhaha

wow, just drove 10 hours to vegas... my grandma is sick with shingles and couldn't move out of bed, so we came to help her eat and take care of her. she looks so sick, her eye is swollen shut and she has that characteristic dermatomal rash (the first time i've really seen it). at least it's a three day weekend, I haven't been in vegas for a long time but it doesn't look like we'll be on the Strip this weekend. i brought two dvd's and lots of reading to do. i wish i brought my skates - there's an ice rink about half a mile from my grandma's house.

i had forgotten just how crazy the 15 N (the only road into vegas) can be. people driving an average of 90 mph, it's insane, on a narrow two lane road that you share with semis. it's like being in a video game.

happy new year's!

spent it fairly quietly, went to church and hung out at home with family. tried to break into lab (not sure why my card key isn't working, again! i think it's a hint that i shouldn't go to lab. ;) hopefully my cells won't overgrow and commit suicide) in this stormy weather. i can't wait until it stops raining.

i discovered the men's section at banana republic. ooh, the sales... i never thought it's fair how much more expensive women's clothing is. and the cheap cashmere that's not form fitting but extremely comfortable... fell in love with this sweater for a future boyfriend of mine. teehee. it was luxurious cashmere. i love the vintage look of these tees as well.

kinda sad how the holiday season is ending as well. safeway was having a 50% sale on all holiday items, so i bought egg nog, crackers and cheese spread, and unfiltered apple cider (only $3) for hot mulled apple cider. it's simmering on the stove here, i highly recommend ina garten's recipe (from barefoot contessa). here tis: (italics are my suggestions)

• 16 cups pure apple juice or fresh apple cider
  
• 4 (2-inch) cinnamon sticks
  
• 2 oranges, peels and juice (can possibly eliminate some of the peels, it adds a sort of bite to it. be sure not to get the white part of the peel but mostly the orange. i thought oranges would actually make it more sour, but it adds a delightful sweetness and depth to the cider.)
  
• 8 whole cloves (add more for more of that mulled spicy fragrance)
  
• 6 star anise (a bit hard to find, i found mine at dean and deluca in napa valley, but you can taste the licorice note in the cider)
  

Combine in a saucepan. Heat, simmer for 10-15 min, and serve in mugs. You can also add a dash of dark rum. ;) I left mine to simmer for a bit longer mostly to make the house smell like mulled spices. yum!

merry christmas, everyone! i hope everyone has a very warm holiday season, filled with family and laughter (and hopefully some pumpkin spice lattes and hot apple cider mixed in too). it's been a great year. whatever 2006 has in store, bring it on -

paper

in a brief moment of regression yesterday when the lab was emptied of the boys and only D and I were there, we cut up a paper snowflake and posted one on my bench, to make it more christmas-y. :) it was fun, the last time I did that was probably in first grade.

my parents watch home garden tv network 24/7, so maybe the interior decorating is rubbing off on me.

strike

i'm so fascinated by the mta strike at the audacity of the union to really stop the lives of so many people to make their point. no matter how impt their point is, it was a very bold move. the creative solutions to work around the strike are interesting as well, from two new yorkers' points of view - j and k. (nice skates, mmonk :)

another amusing aspect: analyzing the fashion that's coming out of this strike.

"People are dressing like they work in outdoor booths at the flea market," the designer Cynthia Rowley said.....

From appearances, that might include a two-month camping trip or an arctic triathlon, which is odd considering the strike happens to coincide with two major trends favorable for the conditions: boots and fur. But most of the styles offered by Dolce & Gabbana and Stella McCartney are affixed to towering heels, so they have been replaced with hiking boots and last year's Uggs, a sensibly dull alternative. Fur coats, hats, muffs and gaiters are in such abundance that animal rights activists would be well advised to arrange to work from home."

so funny that fashion is always addressed... i love it. :)

article here.

speaking of fashion and Cynthia Rowley, Project Runway was excellent tonight. (Cynthia Rowley was a guest judge) i am slowly getting my mom hooked on some of the bravo shows, which is fun to watch with her. santino is slowly rising to be less of the creative genius and more of an egotistical maniac. he's still really good at what he does, i think they're going to save him for the end.

 
a hairy neuron with some green heterologous cells~ kinda christmas-y, no?
 

aw, i unexpectedly appeared on my cousin's random list in one of those quiz things:

"4) Last person you hugged: my cousin last night when she dropped off my lil sister"

had a really good conversation tonight. haven't had one of those in a while, things have been a bit stressed with my family being home. but in a good way, getting involved in caring for them has been both a blessing and a challenge.

in the past week, two people have asked me if I'm dating, and why I'm not. is there a rumor going around at work or something?? It's so odd, so out of the blue. and i always sound so pathetic when i say that i haven't found anyone in davis. i'm perfectly happy and non pathetic until someone asks me why i'm not dating.

 
snowboarding at squaw valley in lake tahoe! it was amazing - it was beginner weekend, which meant that we got a lesson, lift ticket, and rental (i didn't need a rental b/c i have my own board) for $20. it was amazing - not only the deal, but the fact that it wasn't too crowded (b/c it's finals weekend?? not sure). The teachers were AWESOME - they were great teachers, better than Heavenly, but the teachers at Heavenly were cuter, hehe. They had stations set up so that the first station was strapping in your board, and learning how to fall properly, and the next station was learning a simple turn, and the next station was learning to go and stop, and the last stop was to link turns (the hardest one by far). I thought that the intro lesson would be too easy for me since I've been boarding about 3-4 times, but it was a great way to start out the season. In return, I think the lessons were too hard for first timers - like D in our group, it was her first time, and she got her butt kicked. ;) It gets better tho, after the first day, I promise... the speed and the movement and the scenery - very addicting.

The view was beautiful at Squaw - too bad I can't take my camera up there b/c I would probably fall and smash it to bits. Aside from beginner weekend, it'd be tough for me to go there b/c lift tickets are one of the pricier resorts (since the Olympics were there in the '60s). But it was a great time to go, with the good deal and all. there is also a beautiful rink up there with a view of Lake Tahoe, which I got to see.

Definitely learning how to link turns - still falling but it's starting to feel more comfortable on a slight slope, trying to get the technique down before I move to harder slopes. But for the last run of the day, N and I got to go up a slightly harder slope. It was so fun b/c no one was there, and even if it took us a while to get in control of a turn, no one was around so there was lots of room to do it. Tons of fun!! One of the biggest perks of being in Davis~ hoping to go again, possibly on Friday ;) for $10 student lift tikets at Boreal.
 

 
my pretty neurons
 

a bright light in the middle of a dark week

i did a toe loop (albeit a single one) yesterday! it was a good ice skating day - sometimes i just feel like sleeping in on saturdays and not getting up to skate, but i went and it was fun. first of all, a teacher told me that i should not be in basic 6 where I've been for two months, but in freestyle 1. woohoo! it was fun, skating in the top class, even tho I'm the worst one there. my next goal: work on a salchow and work on improving my spins.

am i the only one who's going to think that this is funny? in a chat with my mom:

mom: do you know this funny story?
mom: korean president who can;t speak english learn how to say when he meet Bush
mom: he would say how are you?
mom: but forgot and He said who are you?
mom: so Mr Bush sais I am Bush and korean president said ME TOO
mom: just joke

haha i like the way my mom says it too. as you can tell from this joke, president's not so popular... he almost got impeached in his first year of presidency. apparently the korean president Roh Moo-Hyun is seen as a "people's president", a bit populist and socialistic in views, who doesn't have a college degree, which may explain his english abilities.


me: did he get impeached?
mom: no
mom: he isn't impeached
mom: he did eye lid surgery

i thought this was a cute pic - the women in our family, the relatives on my dad's side. my grandma, my dad's sisters, one cousin, and me.
 
 

hilarious~

Your Nail Polish Color is Pink

How you're unique: You're girly without being high maintenance Why your style rocks: You're the perfect blend of stylish, preppy, and cute What this color says about you: "I am secure enough not to follow every trend"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and a little sassy, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine, the men! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

Your Ideal Marriage Proposal Is

A Christmas proposal, with lots of snow and city lights.

What's Your Ideal Marriage Proposal?

my favorite:

Men See You As Desirable

Men often find you immediately attractive and sensual You're honesty is refreshingly beautiful ... it draws guys in You are also able to be open with your feelings with no emotional baggage Packing light means you enjoy new relationships easily

How Do Men See You?

rent was... satisfying. not perfect (in movies, it's always an odd moment when the actors move from talking to bursting into song), but well handled. it was weird when the song orders were mixed or eliminated all together. but satisfying. definitely buying the dvd. anthony rapp was really good, i've always wondered what he'd be like. definitely played the nuances of mark well, it's so frustrating when actors let the funny moments of mark, fall flat.

thanksgiving tomorrow! going over the 80 E and through the suburbs, to my aunt's place. the parade's on tomorrow morning too. ;)

the holidays have begun! happy thanksgiving, everyone~

'Rent' can't be defined in a matter of 25 words or less. There's so much going on, so much to take in, it requires you to sit back and absorb the experience. And what an experience it is.

did i mention i can't wait until rent comes out? :)

 

harry potter was amazing fun. everyone should watch it, it's a little scary tho for kids (even for me, esp the beginning). cho chang is so adorable, esp her scottish accent with a little lilt. the bottom right picture: one of the funniest scenes in the movie. ;) snape is hilarious. top left: daniel radcliffe and ralph fiennes (who plays voldemort so deliciously evilly), at the premiere.

this was my first movie in a long time - all of a sudden, so many movies are coming out. rent on wednesday!
 
 

thanksgiving week

it's thanksgiving week!! so excited it's a short week, whew, I really need it... really starting to get tired of people in SCIENCE. i might have picked the wrong field to work in, people are so socially inept it's ridiculous. i feel like i'm dealing with my five year old cousins, with people throwing tantrums (throwing tubes on the floor), and having conversations like this:


Me: "So how's it going?"
M: "You already asked me that."

uh, ok. I shouldn't bother, really. makes me feel like i'm in junior high again.

it's ok - God, give me grace to deal with this, while I look forward to the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, and eating turkey and shopping (haven't decided where yet :) have a pumpkin spice latte at starbucks, everyone - I went there the other day in the morning, so amazed at how many people show up, and I'm sure they go often, probably every morning. Is it the modern day socially-acceptable drug dealer? People coming in for a fix.

three nights in ny

had another crazy time in NY again - I kept up my usual record of attending one musical a night (i tried to attempt two on saturday, but it was too busy with it being a three day weekend, and regular priced tix to light in the piazza were $100, eek). i can't wait til I can pay full price for broadway tickets. first night, i watched movin' out, which is closing soon - i was lucky and saw all the leads dance (no understudies). but the next night, i saw dirty rotten scoundrels - we won lottery tix, thanks to Jen's name being picked out, and got awesome box seats which were really close to the stage. unfortunately, tony award winner norbert leo butz was out and instead we saw his understudy, joe cassidy, which was still fine. john lithgow was so charming and very good with the details of his role. greg jbara was really good too, and now i am officially on his website. hehe. it's always fun meeting the cast afterwards, we asked john lithgow about performing with the NYC ballet again and he asked if we were dancers.

the third night, i saw the spelling bee musical - it was awesome! again, we got lucky with the lottery (after losing the rent lottery), and we got the FRONT CENTER seats. b/c the stage isn't high but it's like half a foot off the floor, we were basically sitting on the floor on this bench, and we could almost put our feet on the stage, as ken was trying to do. haha. the spotlight was ON us, the microphone where the spellers spelled was two feet away from my feet, and apparently the ENTIRE cast saw me and ken b/c we were laughing so much. jose llana, who played chip tolentino (from sex and the city, margaret cho's sidekick in one of my absolute favorite episodes), also did an impression of us laughing. slightly embarrassing, but we had such a great time. it really brought back memories when i won my county spelling bee when I was 10. i was trying to see which character i was most like, which is (no big surprise) marcy park, the korean genius who speaks six languages and sleeps 3 hours a night and cries in the bathroom cupboard, and who ends up (warning: spoiler) misspelling on purpose to ruin people's expectations of her. hahaha it was hilarious. really cute. my favorite character was jesse tyler ferguson, who played such a weird kid. when i told him i won my spelling bee, he was like, "so you're the real marcy park!"

my trips to NY is never entirely about musicals. i love the cute restaurants there, like the eatery, kitchenette, and cafeteria. it's such a rude awakening to be back, with a midterm on thurs and a presentation on friday.

from spelling bee:
Barfee: I can't believe I'm speaking to a girl who's named after a vegetable.
Olive: (quietly) It's a fruit.

 
meeting john lithgow! at the dirty rotten scoundrel stage door
 

 
25th annual putnam county spelling bee, otherwise known as the spelling bee musical. met with jose llana (left), a guy that I noticed as Margaret Cho's sidekick in Sex and the City, and Celia Keenan-Bolger, who was nominated for a Tony for her really cute role.
 

 
joanna gleason (rachel's boss who smokes, on friends) and greg jbara, in DRS (dirty rotten scoundrels)
 

 
i repeated my usual desire of watching a musical every night - this was musical number 1, movin' out. it was an awesome moving show, dance really emotes so much more than words ever could. i met michael cavanagh, the cute singer, afterwards! he was a sweetheart~
 

 
joe cassidy and john lithgow in dirty rotten scoundrels, a great musical on broadway right now. we got lucky in the lottery and got awesome box seats!!! we were so close, i swear greg was looking at me. hehe.
 

 
at cafeteria, a restaurant featured in sex and the city~ a cute restaurant in chelsea, having brunch
 

storming

it's really storming outside. i love the feeling of being warm and cozy inside my place when it's raining outside, with a cup of hot cocoa. i felt like a bubbling soup, and since i'm eating dinner at 11 pm, I thought I should make it a vegetable soup. So I tossed in all the veggies I had - hopefully it'll be good. is it worth a trip in the rain to grab some rosemary from my yard??

worked until 9 pm tonight - i gave a mini review for neuroanatomy to my fellow neuroscience grad students, which i had already gone over in med school. it's fun, teaching. maybe a possible future career...? as a tweed-wearing (but fashionable) academic professor.

a commentary on gwen stefani and her use of the harajuku girls:

"They shadow her wherever she goes. They're on the cover of the album, they appear behind her on the red carpet.... she, meanwhile, likes to pretend that they're not real but only a figment of her imagination. They're ever present in her videos and performances -- ...simpering behind fluttering hands or bowing to Stefani. That's right, bowing. Not even from the waist, but on the ground in a "we're not worthy, we're not worthy" pose. She's taken Tokyo hipsters, sucked them dry of all their street cred, and turned them into China dolls.

Stefani fawns over harajuku style [of individual self-expression and independence and rebellion] in her lyrics, but her appropriation of this subculture makes about as much sense as the Gap selling Anarchy T-shirts; she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women."

i guess i could be horrified by this reversion of using the image of an independent, expressive, rebellious icon into a submissive asian stereotype, but i'm just wondering why.

garrick ohlsson

garrick ohlsson
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

i met garrick ohlsson tonight! amazing piano player - i really miss good piano playing, it's so hard to find solid but people who reach beyond the normal expectations of musicality and finesse. on top of beethoven and brahms, he also played some smaller less known composers (korte, smetana) that wasn't as interesting, but then for the encores he played chopin. i think chopin's definitely his forte (har har)... it felt so easy, and it came spilling out of his heart into his fingers. it was thrilling to watch.

he wrote on my card, "To Jolene, Thank you!" he was really nice.

castro halloween 2005

castro halloween 2005
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

i haven't dressed up for halloween in a few years, and totally made up for it this year. we decided to seize the day and drive out to SF (on a school night!! *gasp*) to check out the legendary scene of Castro on Halloween. my PI told me that it's now very touristy and the real scene is currently the night before Halloween (so odd that my PI, such a typical scientist, would know this!) it was really fun, just getting out of davis, and also people watching. some of the costumes were amazing and jaw-dropping. the only bad thing about last night was one girl in our group passed out on the subway... i hate it when that happens, and they all look at me, the med student, to help out. um, lay her down and check her pulse? i'm not even cpr-certified (I know, I'm hopeless). even though there was a CPR-certified girl and another guy who had EMT training in our group of friends, they all look to me for help. eek.

everyone warned us how crowded it was. and they weren't kidding, even worse than korea! but definitely the mobs were better to deal with after downing a triple shot in one take. ;) definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

castro halloween 2005

false eyelashes
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

a very warm snow fairy

 

top left: scream!!
bottom left: sick pumpkin humor with a knife
right: healthy pumpkin, and bottom: vomiting pumpkin
 

 
happy halloween... my pumpkin's the one on the right, the "scream" pumpkin~
 

rain, rain, don't stay away
wash the dirt on my car away~

advent of fall

it's starting to feel like fall - turned on my house heater for the first time this season. it felt like a good night for a hot cocoa until I burned it while heating it on the stove.

alton brown had a great recipe: his looked really dark and creamy and yummy.

hot cocoa

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Hot water

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

warning: do not burn

subway in seoul

20050408X31a
Originally uploaded by gychang.

i'm going to miss korea. my parents are officially moving out, so i can't stop by there every four to six months anymore. this subway scene is such a familiar scene.

midterm is over, one more presentation to go, and then i'm going to crash~

another saturday night

i haven't heard from my friends in a long time except calls came in a sudden flood last night. of course this always happens the weekend before my midterm and journal club presentation. my choices for tonight:

1. Studying for midterm: first year neuroscience grad students are meeting up for a potluck and "review". I have a feeling this is going to drag out for a very long time, talking about irrelevant "but interesting" details of neuroscience. blah. planning on leaving early.

2. Itzhak Perlman with Leonard Slatkin coming today: man, this is so tempting. I would totally go to this except tickets have been sold out a long time ago. Went to the box office in hopes that there would be a stray ticket anywhere, but no such luck. Kinda considering going to the show anyways to buy a ticket that's trying to be sold, but yeah... might be a good excuse to leave review session early.

3. Clubbing in San Francisco: with my med school friends who just finished their second rotations and are ready to party it up in SF.

4. Going to visit another friend visiting SF: meeting for a nice dinner, in order to ditch review session.

5. Studying on my own. How sad.

ack dunno what to do.

nike's women's marathon in SF

"Each participant to cross the finish line will receive a ... an official 2005 Finisher necklace designed by Tiffany & Co."

now that's a great marathon prize, almost enough to make me start running.

is it weird that the day after spinning class, the most sore muscle in my body was in my left shoulder? i think i was trying to help my legs by pulling myself up onto my arms. eek, it was tough but pretty cool, I think I'll go back. It's better than working out by myself (a cute teacher doesn't hurt).

N told me that our spinning teacher mentioned his ex-girlfriend once in class. i don't know which is more thought-provoking - the fact that he might be straight (a straight guy who sings along to aqua's "barbie girl"?? not sure if those exist), or the fact that he shares about his ex-girlfriend during spinning class.

missing sunny san diego already. see the food journal i had below? i worked off part of the pounds today by attending spinning class. our teacher was this cute young guy who promptly turned on, for our first song, aqua's "barbie doll" and sang along on his microphone. hehe it was fun, and a great workout.
 
 

my food journal
destination: san diego (nickname: a city that is truly a stereotype of itself)

spent the weekend in san diego, it was a much needed weekend away from home after all the craziness in lab. i seriously went down to eat - hit all my local favorites, except for thin. it was so beautiful, the weather was perfect up until the last night when I was there and I ended my trip with a local thai restaurant and some gelato next door. altho the food was amazing, i have to say the best part was meeting with all my friends. met up with one college friend whom i haven't seen since college, and another guy that I've known since high school. it seems that a lot of medical ppl end up in San Diego - drawn by the good medical system and the beautiful weather. definitely a city i'm considering. :)

ah, too many pictures, so check out my flickr.

 
"what to eat??"
 

 

white chocolate pineapple napoleon, at extraordinary desserts (more info on this fabulous place, below). note the gold foil on the flowers.