Saigon

So my trip last week was canceled. We booked the wrong date and didn't even realize it until the day we had to leave. No worries though cause in an hour I am about to leave for Vietnam and I double checked our tickets just to make sure we didn't do the same.

It is my second time to go there, the first was to learn how to make Vietnamese food which was about 5 years ago. But this time i'm going with my family for vacation and we'll be going to Cambodia as well.

This may be my last out of the country trip of the year because I'll have to play catch up with work when I get back. I'm trying my best to forget the piles of orders that will meet me at the end of this trip just so I can at least enjoy my last ounce of vacation for 2011.

QOTD: How's your year so far? Are you expecting it to get better/worse?

Hear from you guys soon

RUBEN IV

P.S. I'll share some photos when I get back which is on the 26th

Zzzzz...

Good Morning Nerdy Bunch it's Monday,

I am very tired and probably will be for a while adjusting to having a job again, to working eight hours a day and especially adjusting to working evenings is wiping me out right now. It is such a good kind of wiped out though. I finally feel like I'm doing something. After the stress of spending a month frantically looking for a job finally having one is a relief, even though my head frequently feels like it is going to fall off from all the information that is being shoved into it. Hopefully after a couple of weeks I'll be on track.

Best Wishes,

Allysa

Wait what?

My life has been fairly uneventful, unless you find a person who feels like a jumbled ball of stress a fascinating thing to gawk at. In that case, I might be one of the most interesting people out there right now. Although I might have to redirect you to people who work on disarming bombs or something even in that case. I've been busy procrastinating writing for my thesis. Sure I've also written some of it, because I would have been too ashamed to face my thesis counselor if I hadn't written anything. Rest assured, had there been no shame factor, I wouldn't even have a table of contents sketched out.

I also went through a flu last week. Which was not all too convenient since I was needed at the university. We were supposed to measure some reindeer teeth. I was not all that up for the job and I predicted the situation was going to be like this:

Turns out it was more like this:

Even in a dimly lit storage room it was a bit too bright for me and my flu ridden eyes. It was a bit of a Jack Nicholson moment. My friend told me I look like a hungover Nicholson. I couldn't argue against it. I was pretty sure it was 100% true. I'm pretty sure it's the closest I will ever get to looking like a celebrity.

Today there was some weirdness going on at a part of the university I go to.

There were others too, located at random places...yeah, I don't even....

VACATION!!

Ok so I really don't have anything to say except that it's a Wednesday here and tomorrow i'm off to the pastry capital of the Philippines, Bacolod for their annual MassKara Festival. This is one of many prestigious festivals in the country, Considering the fact that we have 7107 islands and at least 1 out of 20 islands have their own Fiesta (that might be an exaggeration or an understatement, not really sure lol)

The festival was established to battle against the depression of low sugar prices a few decades ago.  Bacolod's main revenue comes mostly from the cane industry so MassKara, which means many faces, is basically a big party to say that even though they're under economic crisis they should still put on a happy face, or something like that.


Anyway that is all

QOTD: what Festivals do you have in your country?



Hear from you guys soon,



RUBENIV

What the what?

Hello Nerdy Bunch, It's Monday.

Oh goodness I can't remember my own intro. Anyway here is a list of things.

1. My head hurts

2. Happy Belated Canadian Thanksgiving

3. I just love turkey so much

4. Yesterday i drew some things and gave one of them to my brother

5. Do you have siblings?

6. I start my new job on Wednesday wish me luck.

7. I am 23 now hooray!

8. I may have already titled a post with this title, that is okay because it is a thing that I say sometimes.

Best Wishes,

Allysa

Giving myself up in the warm embrace of the kitchen

          I have been swamped with work lately and my lazy nature isn't exactly helping. My desk is messy and I have so much documents to update that i'm already tired before I even start. I detest paperwork, which is why I became a chef in the first place. But as you progress in your career as a chef things become more theory than actual cooking.  Actually I still do most of the work in the kitchen but having to go home with even more work isn't something I signed up for. I just want to sit in my chair and watch some TV or Listen to some music with my ice cold beer in one hand and a nice thick sandwich in the other. Don't get me wrong, i'm enjoying what i'm doing, but we're allowed to rant sometimes right?!?
          What keeps me focused and relaxed is just cooking at home, taking my time, and enjoying the fruits of my labor. I specially like making things that takes time, it gives you something to look forward to.
          Reuben Sandwich
Ingredients:
brine
2 Liters Water, 3/4 cup Salt, 1/4 cup Sugar, 2 tsp Pink Salt, 3 cloves Garlic, 1/2 tsp Clove, 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice, 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes, 1/2 tsp Corriander Seeds, 1 Stick Cinnamon, 2-3 Bay Leaves, 1 inch cube Fresh Ginger Root
          Put all of the ingredients in a stock pot over high heat. When it starts to boil stir for 1 minute to make sure all of the sugar and salt has melted turn of the stove. Cool completely before Using
meat
I kg Beef Brisket
          Brine in the chiller for 5 days making sure that all of the meat is submerged in the brine.
After 5 days, strain the brisket and rinse well with water. Place it in a stock pot and add enough water that it is completely covered.

Ingredients
Spices
1/2 tsp Clove, 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice, 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes, 1/2 tsp Corriander Seeds, 1 Stick Cinnamon, 2-3 Bay Leaves, 1 inch cube Fresh Ginger Root
          Add all the spices in the pot of water and brisket and put over high heat. When it starts boiling lower the heat and let it simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. If the water level is getting low just add water to keep the corned beef submerged. Strain out the corned beef and slice thinly

          Russian Dressing
Ingredients
5 Tbsp. Mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tsbp/ Ketchup, 2 tsp. Horseradish, 1/2 tsp worchestershire Sauce, Salt, Pepper
          Just mix everything together
          Quick Sauerkraut
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp Caraway seeds, 300 grams Cabbage, shredded, 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 Tbsp. Sugar, Salt
          This one is a shortcut I learned form my aunt who is an Austrian. Saute everything in a pan.

          Get your slice of rye bread, spread some russian dressing, put large amounts of corned beef, add large amounts of saurkraut on top of that corned beef, top that with some swiss cheese, and sandwich it with another slice of rye bread. Toast your sandwich if you like.

          For some it's drinking out with friends, and for others it's a day in the spa but for me it's giving myself up in the warm embrace of the kitchen.


QOTD: What do you do to relax or unwind?




Hear from you guys soon,


RUBEN IV

Stranded at Home = Ginger Carrot Soup

Typhoon is almost a way of life here. It's been constantly raining for 2 days straight now and people we're adviced to stay at home. So now i'm stranded at home doing nothing.

When I was still in school I remember being all excited about a typhoon cause it would mean that there will be no classes. Of course I didn't know better then, but anything to get me off school is awesome. You'll be stuck at home but still awesome. I haven't been in some form of schooling for 5 years now and people are almost never excused from work except for maybe instances like these. So what do you do when you're stuck at home?

It was so dark and gloomy out, almost like when just a hair of the sun is peaking from the horizon when it sets. I thought I should make something warm to get me through this weather or this boredom because, I have forgotten how to have fun during typhoons. So I made myself Ginger Carrot Soup.

Ingredients:
3 Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 inch cube Ginger Root. peeled and roughly chopped
Pinch of Nutmeg
Water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute everything together and add enough water to submerge the carrots. Cover and wait for it to boil. When it boils lower the heat and let simmer for 30-40 minutes

 While I was waiting for my carrots to be tender I went outside to check out my small herb garden. My one of my Calamansi's branches broke (Photo Left). Calamansi is a tree that bares mini citrus fruits and is indigenous to our country. I didn;t want to wast all of the blossoms that it had an thought that I would go really well with my soup. I also picked more flowers and herbs to add to my soup (Photo Right from top clockwise Basil flowers, Chili Flowers, Tarragon, Oregano, Basil, Calamansi Flower).

When the carrots are tender puree the soup in a blender. When everything is smooth  put it back in the pot. If it is too thick, add more water until you get the consistency that you like. Season with salt and pepper then serve while still piping hot.

Serve the soup with a drizzle of sour cream and extra virgin olive oil  then garnish with your herbs and blooms.

Now as an adult, I can't seem to enjoy the typhoon as much as I did when I was younger. Too many things to worry about like work, time, responsibilities, and ,in this particular case, floods that you see in the news. A lot of the things that comes in our lives are things we really don't have control over and something that I've forgotten, including my youth, Is to stop and eat the roses.

QOTD: What's your favorite thing as a kid?


Hear from you guys soon,


RUBEN IV

Anniversaries

Today I turned twenty three. I have mixed feelings about my birthday. I used to love birthdays, and I still get those feelings. The attention is part of it but I also just feel accomplished like I made it through another year and that is actually a pretty big deal for me. Three years ago my thoughts around my birthday changed pretty dramatically. Three years ago on October 6th a boy I had known since I was five took his own life. It effected me in a way I couldn't have imagined. We had been friends in elementary school and occasional friends, and occasional antagonists in junior high and high school. I hadn't talked to him in two years, but his death broke me down. The day he died I went to work stacking books in the library and halfway through my shift I lay on the floor and cried in the stacks when no one was there. I spent the next two months hiding. I retreated from the world I had no idea how to deal with what I was feeling. I was angry at Brad for dying, I felt so guilty that I couldn't help him and that he had died and I hadn't. I had made it through my roughest patches. In December I went to the school counsellor, I talked about it and I got better, eventually. When the anniversary comes around I get thrown back into the space I was in during that time I cry until the tears won't come anymore. I have moved on, but that experience shook my foundations. I have come out of it different than I was before some of my most fundamental beliefs shifted in the time it took me to get back on my feet again. So this time of year this anniversary, it's hard. I am brought back to a place of grief and have to take time to heal again.

Allysa

Growing up and Plans

It's time. I think part of what's been holding me back so far has been that I never quite knew what I actually wanted to do with my life. I had things figured out until graduation, but after that came the big bad blank. So far I've always had something to work for, or to look forward to, usually a set date on which I'd leave the country. I came back from the states and counted down the days for two years. I came back from Slovakia and couldn't wait for my intermediary exams to be over so I could head to the UK. Only now I have graduation, and all that's coming after that is „earn money some way.“ It is, admittedly, still „earn money some way“, unless I end up getting a translation diploma, but now it's „earn money some way to pay the rent until you earn enough freelancing to travel“. It's not much better, but, yes, better. There are plans (plans once more involving foreign places).

But now that I've figured out what I want to do, a lot of things suddenly shift into place. Twitter suddenly became a serious networking tool. Blogging suddenly turned into something business related. And down went the old crappy blogs, down went potentially embarrassing content on my twitter, away went most public content elsewhere.

It's nice to have something to work for again. It's nice to get focused for once, to finally know what I need to pay attention to, what I have to work on, when before everything was all over the place. I was learning six language at once, desperately trying to at least retain my level of proficiency in all of them. Now I'm comfortable dropping all but two, and there are once more things I can do to prepare to reach the next destination. It'll take time, and a lot of work, and most likely quite a few detours. But after years of being mildly interested in jobs I'm not quite sure I could actually do, this is finally something I know I'm capable of, 'cause dammit, if there's one thing I can do it's translate. So I might not be rich, I might barely get by, but in the end I'll do something I enjoy, something I know I can do well, something that'll allow me to keep learning, something that will continue to allow me to pack my bags every once in a while and start over somewhere new, until I get stuck somewhere that feels like home.

QotD: What are your plans?

Still an Addict

I just realized that it's been exactly 8 months since we started. I was looking at my first introduction and nothing really changed as much, i'm still addicted to burgers and i'm still working in the food industry.

I'm not really sure what else you know about me from the blogs I've been posting this past 8 months but here's 5 things that may help you to get to know me more:

1.) I don't eat pork - nothing religious, I just don't like the tastes.
2.) I turned 26 last June 1st
3.) My best sleep is when i'm traveling for long distances - I think maybe it's cause when I was a kid they'd drive me around to sleep.
4.) I love to drink coffee but I shouldn't
5.) Something new though is that I Opened my own business last May which is eating up most of my time. I now supply desserts to restaurants that wants to outsource that part of their business

Task of the Day: your turn to ask me questions of things you want to know.

Hear from you guys soon


RUBEN IV

P.S. Just saw the e-mail, I added you guys on skype =D

Limerick

Good Morning Nerdy Bunch it's Monday,

I would like to start by saying that I am never giving that introduction up, ever even on days like today when it is not Monday and not morning. Yup. Here is a limerick I wrote as part of my reintroduction.

There once was a girl named Allysa

who's mind was going to pieces

she worried and fretted

that she spend life indebted

to the government and never buy pizza.

And so I have manged to sum up my life right now and y greatest fear in a poem. Awesome. I'm unemployed and am worried about finding work because who doesn't worry about that sort of thing, being unemployed long-term is something that I actually worry about quite a bit. I generally worry a lot and sometimes I do feel like my mind is going to explode from the pressure of it all. I know this isn't much of an introduction but dealing with my anxieties is something I am having to focus on right now so you all get to hear about it.

I haven't heard back from everyone I sent out an email with my Skype name so we can try and have a little international get together. So check spam folders in case it got shunted off in that direction. Also in case you were wondering my name is pronounced Ah-lee-sah, which is very difficult to rhyme.

Best Wishes,

Allysa

waiting for winter

My old intro pretty much stands, but I liked enika's drawing tactics, so...here's some stuff that's been going on with me, in graphic form. Including me, in stick figure form.

My hair gets all messy because of static electricity. It's annoying. Also, my favorite jacket is a dark brown suede jacket. Gosh, leather jackets smell so nice. This is a very old jacket that my mom used to wear but nowadays it's pretty much my jacket, it's in amazingly good shape. Just really needs to be cleaned. Maybe one day we'll bother to take it to a professional. Maybe one day we can afford to spend money for such treatment.

Anyways, have a nice Friday!

Well, then, reintroduction time!

This is me.

I (still) study English Literature.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life for quite some time (only that it had to be location independent), but finally figured out that literary and/or script translation is pretty much the perfect job for me. Now I just need someone to hire me.

Languages are one of my main interests, and I speak languages, but occasionally this still happens.

I live in a lovely small town that mostly consists of a university and awesome old buildings. I like to complain that there isn't much to do here, but really I'm quite fond of the place.

But there are other places I'd much rather live in (at least for a while).

I love music, good telly and good food.

Another important thing to mention would probably be the fact that I can't draw.

QotD: Is there anything weird about you?

For example, I seem to attract strangers. If you ever need to ask a stranger for directions or anything else, and I happen to be within sight, you're going to ask me. Someone once commented on this after having spent a mere four hours with me (and no, I didn't warn them in advance ;) ). Considering I'm socially awkward, never know what time it is and am directionally challenged even in places I know well, I feel rather sorry for all those people (especially the ones I've gotten lost... oops).

Re-introductions

Good morning/afternoon/evening Nerdy Bunch ^_^

I totally agree with everything said so far. But just to add to the suggestions being given, I think we should start a new by introducing ourselves again to each other.

I'm actually very excited to chat with you guys just so we can build rapport in our group.

In terms of my schedule I am hardly free, but if you set a schedule I will make sure I make space to chat with you guys. As long as the time is within reasonable hours which is anything between 10 am -10 pm GMT +8

Hear from you guys soon

RUBEN IV

Blogosphere

Good morning Nerdy Bunch it's Monday,

I'm sitting outside freezing my toes off while writing this. It's midnight and the weather has just turned in a autumn direction so the weather is brisk. There are thin fluffy clouds skimming in front of the moon. I'm wrapped up in a blanket with giant headphones on so I'm mostly warm although I'm actually contemplating the benefits of a Snuggie.

As far as Blog improvement goes. I am down for some more casual pants conversation. I think it would be nice to go themeless for the next couple of weeks just to see what happens with that. Also I think it's important just to post even if the posts are stupid or un Pulitzery, my posts are going to be consistently late forever I seem to only have inspiration ridiculously late at night, but I'm still posting. My other suggestion is a question, what do we want from this blog what are we trying to get out of it. I think it would be interesting to play around with the mission of the blog a bit try out some creative writing some eductional stuff some more personal blogs, whatever i ust feel like it has been kind of uncomitted up to this point. Those are all of my thoughts on the matter.

Over and Out,

Allysa

Blog improvement

Since we all seem to have gotten rather lazy lately, I thought I'd make this weeks topic all about improving our blog.

First of all I think we need a reliable way to communicate with each other. Whether it's letting the others know that you don't have time to blog when it would be your turn to pick a topic or whatever else. So maybe we could exchange email addresses or skype names.

Besides that I guess it'd be nice if we all tried to talk to each other more. Check the blog regularly, comment on other peoples' posts even if you don't have anything outstandingly important or interesting to say. Somehow I've gotten the feeling that having narrowly defined weekly topics actually stalls conversations, and keeps us from getting to know each other. Because if we all write about the same thing from our perspective, we don't usually want to put everything we have to say into a comment on another post. I'm not really sure what the solution to this could be. Picking more vague or open topics? Sticking to narrow ones, but handling topics merely as an addition to normal blog posts about something of our own choosing? Not sure...

Up to my neck with flour and butter

I am sorry for not being able to post for the last couple of weeks. I have been so preoccupied with work and it's not getting any less busy. The -ber months is coming which means I need to start preparing for the holidays to come.

This also mean that I am desperate for vacation!! I just want to drive away from my responsibilities and go straight to the beach and just lie there on the sand with my below zero beer.

QOTD: what's your perfect relaxation vacation like?

Hear from you guys soon

RUBEN IV

P.S. I will try my best to make time from more posts

Where are you !?

HELLO...hello...hello...hello...hello...hello...

I don't have much to say today, I have finished my practicum and am looking for work and currently house sitting.

Best Wishes,

Allysa

Nostalgia

Good Morning Nerdy Bunch it's Monday!

I went home this weekend, and for those of you who are wondering yes I did have some chicken soup. It was the yearly fair and I went on Saturday afternoon. I listened to the main stage act and had my first ever corn dog (Inspired by Hank Green) i didn'

t actually like it that much probably because I don't really like hot dogs.

On the walk home I went through the park near my house, the park I played in as a child. There are lots of big obvious changes. Certain death-trap play-structures have been replaced by sanitary metal bars in jarring colours that don't look like much fun at all. A lot of things were the same though the dusty ball diamond with the weed encroaching, that has always had weeds encroaching. The slide that provided hours of amusement stands as tall as it does in my memory. The monkey bars are tempting, but I don't quite have the enthusiasm for hanging upside-down that my younger self had. I went on the merry-go-round and am pleasantly su

rprised by how fast it spins, no wonder I was so scared of it as a kid. Now, I lean my head back as the sky spins around my head. I am suspended in a perfect nostalgic moment. I feel like I am floating above the ground. I contemplate how the playground and I have changed, and how we have stayed the same. Caught on the edge between laughter and tears I realize that I would never want to go back to where I have been, I have come so far. Descending from my merry-go-round contemplation I walk through a patch of small yellow flowers they are identical to the ones I picked as a child and I am glad that I have come home so I can realize how far I've come.

Best Wishes,

Allysa

Tough question, that

I really don't know what I'd want as a last meal. At the moment I'd probably pick a nice thali, but my obsession with South Asian food is fairly recent and probably won't last that long (my food obsessions never do). A few weeks ago I probably would have picked a veggie stir fry, a few weeks before that a bean chili and so on (although (Italian) pizza is nice too). The probability that my food of choice at any given time would be vegetarian and spicy is rather high though.

... and blackcurrant ice cream for desert, please (or a mint popsicle if it's really hot).

(oh god, I just found an Indian foodie social network (in English)... I'll just start buying clothes three sizes bigger now (they have a six page thread consisting entirely of dal recipes...))