November 2006

11.30.06, Thursday:

[10:25pm] Mmmm...I made Butter Pecan Cookies tonight, and they're...WONDERFUL...!!! ^_^ They will be one of the many Christmas Cookies this year that I'm going to bake for all the cookie-hungry stomachs I see...! ^_^

And I went to dinner with Giang tonight too! First of all, it was neat enough to hang out with my homegirl. Even better, we decided to check out Joe's Sushi, and LOVED IT! Hee hee...if ANYONE comes for sushi in Riverside, I know exactly where to take you. The manager there is CRAZY but entirely too funny and entertaining, as are the chefs. He checks on every guest, and yells like a maniac at all times, such as "WATER! YOU WANT WATER? YES YOU DO!" and things like "GET UP!" when some guests were too embarrassed to stand up when their friends told the chefs they were there celebrating a marriage, ha ha...The sushi chefs too, joined in, turning off all the lights and telling everyone to STOP EATING! and to put their attentions to those guests, sing to them, and so on, ha ha ha...and one table kept bringing shots to the chefs, so they downed quite a bit while there, but still produced yummy goods, ha ha ha...It's like Rockin' sushi...but way better...hee hee hee...^_^ I think they were mostly Korean or Japanese people working there, but it was still good. =) Food-wise, Minato's and Sushimon is still better, with Sushimon's deal being better since it's everything in the house, although Johnny's Special at Joe's did rock the house. ^_^

11.28.06, Tuesday:

[08:35pm] Grrr...!!! >_< NSTA really should own up...

An Inconvenient Truth Squeezed from Classrooms

I'm going to write to them...=P I want a video, ha ha. =) NSTA shames all of us as science teachers here...=P

Check it out: An Inconvenient Truth.

11.27.06, Monday:

[09:58pm] Thanksgiving Holiday was spent in Vegas, so I've been gone for a bit. ^_^

Oh yeah, besides Kenshin and Survivor, something else I watch is Top Chef. It's not as good as Survivor, and the drama is petty, but it's just interesting to see what they will make. I've tried cooking some small dishes in 15 minutes last week (small, but everything still needs to be cooked, peeled, heated, etc, like on the show), and I don't think I could do it, ha ha ha...20 though, yes. =)

So, Vegas. There are a million pictures from this weekend...be ready! ^_^

On Thursday, we got there around 10:30am-ish, but we missed the breakfast buffet at the Orleans. So instead, we hit the cafe, and ate up (1) a yummy Italian Frittata (like a sausage and peppers omelet, but with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella on top!) and (2) a Steak with Béarnaise Sauce Skillet. Béarnaise sauce is interesting, with a little lemony zing to it...I thought it was weird and didn't like it too much, but Shelton liked it, ha ha...we should have switched plates, cuz I loved the frittata!

After resting a bit at Shelton's, we meandered at Caesar's Palace, staring at their giant 50,000 gallon aquarium and playing at the Forum Shops, heh heh...FAO Schwarz rendered the most fun for the day, as you can see below. =) There were (1) giant wooly mammoths that (2) cost what we could all use to pay for a car, (3) a polar bear that could be (4) a good down payment for a car, a giant piano mat that we could step on and play Fur Elise, Star Trek Action Figures, (5) a Wilbur that Shelton could sit on (Wilbur looks so pained, hee hee!), and well, the funnest toys one could run into. =) (6) They even had this cool chef muppet that had a stick attached to its hand, like on Sesame Street! ^_^

Afterwards, we picked up Auntie from work, before heading home for a hot pot Thanksgiving Dinner with the Yuens and Hidi and Kin. =)

On Friday, we stopped by the Premium Outlets to check out the sales (awesome sales!) before running into Kevin Y. and Maybelle for lunch. =) We ate with them and Jing and Yuki at Shilla, a Korean BBQ Restaurant. Though the prices are high, they did have a lunch special (about $7) that was pretty decent, and we all munched on warm and tasty Korean food for lunch - spicy pork, bulgolgi and bulgolgi fried rice, and tofu/seafood pot, of course. =)

Later that night, Kevin and Khoi-Ahn joined us for Sushimon!!! =) We got there earlier, so we took a bunch of random silly pictures in the parking lot...

...and of course, ate all the glorious things that Sushimon had to offer...Toro, Mackerel, Unagi, and all the special rolls we could handle, muah ha ha. =) Special pictures below include Khoi-Ahn's pickled ginger pile (we all gave them to her, hee hee), and Uni being made, for Derrick, since he wasn't there, ha ha ha...=)

Saturday morning, we brunched with Uncle John and Carol at Bouchon, this restaurant in the Venetian. It was one of those secret high-class restaurants, where it was located on the 10th floor, and you had to take a separate elevator just to get there...and there was a pool outside in the courtyard next to the restaurant, heh heh. =) We delightfully ate up (2) Quiche Du Jour (spinach on this most delicious custard!) and (3) Smoked Salmon with Baguettes. Plus, they had the tastiest boysenberry jam I've ever had. Not that I've ever had boysenberry jam before...heh heh...^_^

The other happy things on Saturday included Auntie's perm, the Welsh Terrier at PetCo, seeing Shelton in action with his dad's friend who has an autistic child, (1) a late lunch at Noodle Palace for some mighty good won ton noodles, and having dinner with with Auntie AND Uncle. ^_^ We ate ate (2) crispy fried quail, stewed and stuffed tofu, baby bok choy, stuffed eggplants and (3) honey walnut shrimp. ^_^ All that before we headed home early on Sunday...actually, we headed to RCAC, and not home yet...!

Vanessa was back for this weekend, so we all got to see her again! Woo hoo! ^_^ Other neat things that happened at RCAC included Josh's record time for the Rubix Cube, and the fact that Vanessa got three mentions in the Thanksgiving Sharing, ha ha...while God got one...! (j/k j/k! ^_~)

11.22.06, Wednesday:

[06:50pm] Yesterday was great! Amy, Chris, ET (and not Ian, as he was still sleeping, ha ha!) and I sat in a parking lot, waiting for our unsuspecting victim while playing Egyptian War. Finally we spied her and drove off to get her...and ambushed Nina with loud honking and yelling and an embarrassing show of Asian languages to pick her up after school, muah ha ha ha! ^_^ It was great! Then we were off to watch Happy Feet - it was so funny and cute! Much too hard to stop laughing...and the Mexican penguins were way too funny! - dined at In-N-Out and shopped till Chris, ET, and I were pretty much dropped, heh heh. =)

I thought there were going to be extra mouths at dinner, but as it turned out, it was just us four! So I made a ton of food...way more than enough, hee hee hee...I made a pasta salad to start us off, using the recipe I've used before, only this time, there was only macaroni pasta, and instead of celery, I used corn, and added some crab flakes in lieu of shrimp. And I added apples, for an extra clean taste. =)

Besides a just-right cooked boiled chicken, stir-fry cauliflower and Chinese sausage, and some potato patties, I had a lot of time today to grind up some pecans and crackers to make them Texas BBQ Nutballs again. =) Only this time, there was meat, as well...we don't carry vegemeat around this house much. =)

11.21.06, Tuesday:

[08:40am] Eureka! I've found it! ^_^

Accredited to St. Francis Drake, written over 500 years ago...!

Disturb us, Lord,
when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

11.20.06, Monday:

[07:29pm] It was so nice to sleep in today! And I actually did! I didn't get up till 8am...! I actually woke up around 6, but went back to sleep...and then woke up at 7 but my bro was using the bathroom so I just ended up sleeping again. Hee hee.

And what a glorious day it was, for the most part. =) I visited Mr. Gee, who is in the hospital - I got an email from his son last night that told me he was there. I was so worried! As it turns out, Mr. Gee thinks it was the flu, his son thinks he may have had a congestive heart failure...but the doctors couldn't find evidence of either (I read his charts, and they were all good!), and at the moment, he may possibly have TB, so we wore masks when I visited him. Praise God that he's doing well - and I'll continue to pray for him. It'd be great if you would too, as he's an older gentleman, and I worry about him. =)

Besides dinner, today's creation included something I've not made in a long time - Mimi's Cafe-style Carrot Bread. =) I didn't have raisins, so I added more pineapples and walnuts, and put them into muffin cups so that they're portable for eating purposes, ha ha. ^_^

And a new creation for dessert included two cans of Dole Tropical Mixed Fruit ($1 a can at Albertson's right now! I walked around there today and saw them, so I decided to get them. ^_^) with shredded coconut sprinkled and mixed in, hee hee. =) I learned this yesterday - it was Betty's fruit dish at church that totally tingled my taste buds. Not that it was just a fruit mix, but it had passion fruit nectar all over it! I asked her for the recipe, and she said...Costco...Buy a can...open it...add coconut on it. Ha ha ha ha! ^_^ Better with Sour Cream, she said, but I like sour cream MOSTLY on tacos, so I opted out on it.

Happy Feet tomorrow!!! Muah ha ha ha...^_~

11.19.06, Sunday:

[10:40pm] "What happens in Pergamum, Stays in Pergamum."

I know I've said it before, but Ed Lu is my Yoda. ^_^ God speaks through this man so that I hardly even doodled on my sermon notes today, ha ha ha...I could not stop taking notes for fear of missing a single word! The sermon was titled "The Church With Muddy Shoes", and paralleled the ritzy Pergamum with who we are and should be as Christians, despite our human nature, which can be ugly... Some key points from my notes:

• With Truth comes negotiation, to accept or reject it...
• People didn't go to Pergamum for its spirituality, but from all over the world for its glamour, prestige and what one could experience there...and sadly, Pergamum can be in our backyards, our car, work, home, or a few clicks away from a few gadgets one could buy online. It's a sad reflection of when we put God second, third, or even last on our priority of what is most important in our lives...
• God's eyes are clearer than the clearest crystal. He sees through us - even to the smallest molecule that shapes our morality. He sees how we harbor greed, plays foul, favors the recreation of this world, and our audacity to flirt/romance/experiment with taboo and how we prioritize ourselves, even over Christ.  He sees us when we are loud and proud of our achievements, but he sees us even still when we are silent and secret in our sins.
• Immorality is as common as germs, except these germs are bold enough to be seen...seen enough to be mimicked...and mimicked enough to be mainstream and "normal" now.
• A tree is as sturdy as its root, as a building is only as strong as its foundation. In the same way, you are only as strong as you allow God's word to SHAKE YOUR LIFE.
• Humility is not weak - it takes strength to be able to control and employ self-control in our lives. (Think: Kenshin! Ha ha!)
• True faith and Christianity does not take start and end at church. It's how you reach out to affect the lives of others!
• Christ has a purpose for you, but first, you must be certain of either being a servant of God's kingdom or a slave to Satan's throne.
• You cannot expect forgiveness without sincere repentance.
• To those who overcome, God will bless them well. (Revelations 2:17)

Fellowship was just as wonderful. That, or God opened up my ears extra today. =)

• In Judges 1, God commanded His people to enter into Canaan and take over the country, basically. But they did not fully listen to him - they didn't drive out the inhabitants fully, and either used them as slaves or incorporated themselves into their society by marrying their people and so forth. Of course, when this happens, the purity of God's will is corrupted and tainted, and well...basically, it's how all these little things can build up and up and up and create something bigger later. A victory can no longer be complete.
• What do we tolerate in our lives that we know we shouldn't, and yet, have not completely driven them out yet? A relationship? Certain friends? Money? Music? Vanity? Materialism?
• And why haven't we driven them out yet? Why not, when we know we should? Is it out of selfishness? Because we're too tired? Maybe too comfortable with how things already are? Not strong enough to do it (on our own, that is. With God, it's quite different. Some of us may have even had those experiences, so we can testify to that difference!)?

On Saturday, Ros and Tako came over, and we went to Sephora for our makeovers! Fun fun! I liked how their makeovers turned out. I didn't like mine, and thought the lady went a little too thick and crazy with the eyeliner. =P But apparently, everyone else - them (and I value their opinions highly, as they're my bridesmaids! ^_^), my mom, and others - seemed to like it. They said I SHOULD have it on a bit heavier or it won't come up on the pictures. Hmm. =P

We CPK'ed for lunch, and got Marble Slab for dessert. MMMmmm...that ice cream was amazing and creeeeamy! Well, I hadn't had ice cream in a long time too, so that may have had some effect on how I felt about Marble Slab. =)

At night, MSG went off to the Thanksgiving Sharing Night at church, where I ate some of the best Mexican tacos I've ever had in my entire life. =) It was actually being sold by a neighbor to the church, who sets up her own little show to cook up carne asada, carne al pastor, lengua, tripe, and who knows what else on a portable grill. Ghetto, yes, but it made me drool like crazy. =)

Ooo! My mom and dad just gave me an early Christmas present! A pair of exquisitely beautiful earrings. So lovely! They're my Yodas too! =)

It's not just me and Shelton, Fred and Huy and Kaishira and Rick...but Ros and Tako...ET and Josh and Megan and Theo...and...yeah...we're all waiting to Save the Cheerleader. Save the World. ^_^

Stuck in my head: 'O Sole Mio...! ^_^

11.17.06, Friday:

[06:55am] No students today! It's been busy, but yay...finally done...I even finished bubbling in all of my grades last night, which means, all I do for today is plan and prepare my classroom for after break. ^_^ Woot! Break has already sort of began! ^_^

I made the Double Cranberry Muffins last night. Mmm. Tart and crunchy with that orange flavor in the background. Quite tasty! ^_^ I'm passing out many for people at work this morning, hee hee hee...

11.15.06, Wednesday:

[09:53pm] Oh joy! The week is almost over! And break is coming nearer...! ^_^

Tomorrow is the district exam, and Friday, there's no students as we're off to grading and fixing our rooms up. An easy two more days. =)

Break means more cooking and baking time...mmmm...! More wedding planning too, which is actually quite fun! Time to play at the grocery store, the gym, 87 and 88, the fish, friends and family. =) It all starts Friday after I leave work for a week. I'm excited! =)

11.12.06, Sunday:

[07:41am] The last of the Mushroom Chronicles! Mushroom Chronicles V: It's been less than EXACTLY a week (which would be after church, ha ha) and the mushrooms are all gone! With the last 6 giant sized white mushrooms, I diced them into big chunks, sautéed them with green onion, 2 slices of finely minced turkey, and an egg for a breakfast-y feel. Then I rolled them up with crescent rolls with some mozzarella cheese and baked them till they were nicely browned.

Imagine biting into one of these for breakfast! Fresh from the oven, warm mushrooms flavored with bits of goodness, and stringy mozzarella pulling you back for more. ^_^ My dad and I are the only ones awake, and so we ate 2 each, ha ha...there's 4 left for 3 more sleeping stomachs...^_^

11.11.06, Saturday:

[10:25am] I made potato pancakes this morning, and my dad calls them "Cake of the gods", or "sun seen bang" in Cantonese. ^_^

Crispy-fied and crunchy on the outside, chewy and gooey on the inside, and full of potatoes, flavorful garlic, and green onions. Better than the green onion pancakes (Chong yeow bang), he says, cuz they're chewy inside (some corn starch mixed in) made it taste like those Chiu Chow Fun Gor's. ^_^

11.10.06, Friday:

[05:23pm] Happy Birthday Dorothy! ^_^

Though I didn't have to wake up early, I ended up getting up at 6am, ha ha ha...but at least I've got a million things done, and even had time to play in the kitchen today. ^_^ While cooking and baking, I was contemplating how much fun it would be for people like Rachel Ray and Giada and Emeril, and all those people - not to be on TV really, but to get to cook and have fun with it for a living. I mean, I love teaching - it's AWESOME, but cooking? Ooo, cooking would be great too!

But then I realized that maybe I wouldn't like it, to cook and try to make everyone like it. I like my cooking, and then there are certain types of food that I won't go for - like bittermelon, ha ha - but when you're one of these TV chefs, you have to find a way to be innovative and make it so that enough people will want to keep watching you and buying your stuff, like books, DVDs, spices, books, and kitchen ware (think Rachel Ray's Santoku knife - but I do think it's cool mostly because it's Heidi-verified, ha ha - or Essence of Emeril, heh heh). Would a million people want my recipes? Probably not, heh heh - but I enjoy it nonetheless. So anyways, I'm glad I can cook without the pressure of the masses. If I could, I'd build a roadside cart and sell fresh baked muffins and sandwiches and all that good stuff. Something different every day, but something tasty. ^_^ Unfortunately, this world won't allow for it. There's regulations now too, ha ha ha...and being Chinese...well...you know how Chinese kitchens can be. ^_^

Mushroom Chronicles IV Angel Hair Pasta with Mushrooms, Turkey slices, Mozarella, and a Salmon Patty on the side. ^_^

As for baking...I finally made the Ginger-Carrot Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese! ^_^ And MY is it tasty. ^_^ <bathed in heavenly light> Fresh from the oven, in all its glorious splendor...! </bathed in heavenly light> ^_^

Dressed to the nines...

Ready to g'it in mah belly...!

...with a dollop of the spiced cream cheese topping...

If there were only Smell-a-vision (cheaply and widely available NOW that is...)!

No more pictures - time to finish it all! ^_^

11.09.06, Thursday:

[09:42pm] I love how tomorrow's a holiday. Yay Veteran's Day! ^_^ It makes me think of the honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in DC. Oy, that was the last time I saw Edwin! Aw, I miss Edwin!

Mushroom Chronicles IV I picked up a bag of basmati rice at the grocery store. Mmm. And made it, but mixed it with mushrooms and parsley. ^_^ Though Jasmine Rice is still my favorite, basmati packs up pretty close for not being a "Chinese" rice, ha ha ha...

11.08.06, Wednesday:

[06:32am] Yesterday was good!

• Textbook Adoption...we're split 50/50 on two books right now. Final decision next week.
• 1 hour lunch break! So some other middle school teachers and I ate at Chipotle. ^_^
• One of the other middle school teachers used to be Sierra's VP. He also was there during UCI's first year, when it started! He was there when someone suggested ANTEATERS for the mascot! ZOT!!!! Wow! ^_^
• Working at Barnes and Noble. Ah, how I love doing that...it reminds me of back in da days at UCI...^_^
• I got to see Giang after work! So we ate pho and egg rolls. Yum!!! ^_^
• I got an early Christmas present from Giang! ^_^ Thanks! Oy, you beat Gilbert! Heh heh!
• We meandered at the mall, and ran into a few students too. All I had to hear was "OMG, it's Ms. Lau!" and I knew I was spotted like Hiro spotting wide-eyed at  Nathan Petrelli flying in the desert...! O_o

Mushroom Chronicles III

Another usual favorite: Sauté Mushroom Sandwich with Turkey Slices and a bit of mayo (it looks like a lot huh? But it's about a 2 tsps. worth. ^_^ I love mayo anyways, but I was so excited in building this that I forgot to put it on the bottom slice, so it's just the top part.) Lots of mushrooms, warm on crispy toast...and even daintier if you slice off the edges and cut them into smaller squares. =)

11.06.06, Monday:

[06:56pm] Mushroom Chronicles II

So I got home a little earlier than usual tonight, and decided - hey, I gotta cook up more mushrooms! Muaah ha ha...

So I made Stuffed Mushrooms - the same wonderful recipe that Heidi brought to House of Joy in January. I love this recipe. I use it whenever I can, ha ha ha! ^_^ Except this time, it was with those giant, Costco-sized mushrooms...^_^

(1) Mushroom caps ready to be filled!

And well, since I was starting on dinner, I might as well make another dish. I also got a bunch of canned salmon from Costco, something else my mom claimed was going to be too much for me to finish. Time for my yummy Salmon Patties! ^_^

(1) Start off with a can of Salmon...or Tuna...or whatever you like. =)

(2) Salmon, Mayo, Shredded Carrots, Oatmeal!, Green Onions, and an Egg...

(3) They mingle, and become friends...add in some Old Bay or salt/pepper before you form them into patties and brown both sides on the skillet. ^_^

(4) Again, dinner table lighting sucks. BUUUUT, these are crispy good on the outside, and moist and flavorful on the inside. And presented on a bed of canned corn, hee hee...even better! ^_^

[06:32am] Happy Birthday Mello! ^_^

I woke up around 3am this morning for a few minutes, and realized...my thyroid is not as pained anymore! Yay! I can swallow painlessly and though rotating my head too much to the left still can be slightly painful for the back of my head, it's turning more than before. And I don't feel much of any headache right now (though it seems to get worse later in the day, maybe). God is good! ^_^

I have developed a runny nose and a hoarser voice though. But I like this better than before. Heh heh. =)

Shelton brought me the honey I liked on Friday! ^_^ Bonus points again!

Church was hectic this Sunday. I was microwaving the kettle corn for class, and realized, I wasn't even teaching! Oy! But it's okay - I think it's all figured out now what's going on for the Sunday School class.

The highlight of church yesterday though, was Derrick's blingage. Posted here for all to see. ^_^

After church, we went to Costco! Oh how I love Costco - free foods on Sunday, and everything in bulk everywhere! Bringing me to Costco is dangerous. I wanted a giant package of mushrooms, and my mom was like - you won't be able to finish it! I just want to SEE you eat it all! Shelton thought it'd be funny for me to eat it all too. =) So, I will document everything I do with these mushrooms here, ha ha ha ha...

11.04.06, Saturday:

[08:54pm] $763.60 later, the a/c works again in my car. =P Warning to all 2002 - 2005 Honda CRV owners...there was some flaw in their design for the entire a/c unit, where the compressor will fail and eventually contaminate and annihilate the entire system. To replace it would be about $2000! Honda paid for the parts, but I had to pay for the labor. Grr. I shouldn't have to pay for a single penny of something that wasn't due to me, but to their own lack of care in design and engineering...for an a/c system that would fail about 4 years after it was born. =P And I would have been done paying off my car next summer, heh heh...So am I going to write to American Honda? Indeed I am, and let's see what they say. =T

I ran out right after the mail-lady dropped off our mail. No magazine yet! Grr. Waiting, waiting, waiting. =)

My mom and I got our free hot stone back aromatherapy, hot towel massage and head and neck massage. It was great! But I still have my headache, and this time, it's moved around to the front of my head. It's debilitating. =(

After, we met up with my dad and bro and had dinner (dim sum on weekends-and-not-Mondays are great there) at New Capital. The hostess was ignoring us when we were trying to get a number for dinner, so my mom walks right up to the manager, says hi and hobnobs for a bit before saying that we're hear to eat dinner and wanting to set a date for the banquet, and he gives us a table right away, with some free appetizers ("white cloud duck feet", some delicacy that happens to be my mom's favorite usually). ^_^ They had a special tonight - $2.99 a pound for LOBSTER! It was so good. =) As was their crispy stuffed fried tofu, pea sprout veggies and cold chicken dish. A meal fit for the gods. ^_^

[09:07am] Oro!!! ^_^ Food is great! You all know how much I love food...and how many of us are bonded through friendships that have some component of good food in it...ha ha ha ha...

And now there's more! ^_^

Elissia, I've always thought was super fantastic, ha ha ha...she was my neighbor teaching a science-PE split, and this year, fully PE, which is good for her. Though we all miss her cuz...well...her replacement...which I will leave for another blog, as this is a happy one! >_< But anyways. We found out this week that we both get the Kraft Foods Food & Family Magazine (it's FREE! You can get it too! ^_^) and that just strengthened our bond, ha ha ha! ^_^ Plus, she said yesterday she got the winter edition! Aghhh!!! I'm waiting eagerly by the mailbox every chance I get!!! ^_^

And then there's Kaishira, who seems to share that, as she put it, "unhealthy obsession with food". YES! ^_^

Gotta catch 'em all! ^_^

And oh yes...

Save the Cheerleader. Save the World. Ha ha ha ha! ^_^

11.02.06, Thursday:

[06:30pm] You know those license plates holders that say..."Happiness is...being so-and-so's grandmother"? Or in this case...

Well...

Happiness is...

When my dad surprised me with a cup of warm honey water! ^_^

We didn't have any of the bee honey I usually am used to, and no lemon either, and I was craving honey-lemon tea last night. But it's okay. I had my water, and lots of it. But then suddenly, I hear vigorous stirring downstairs, and next thing I know, he shows up with a tall glass of honey water! It was from that little plastic bear that I'm not too fond of, but the fact that it was from my dad made it all wonderful. ^_^

My head and neck? They still suck. But I think I'm getting used to it. =T I'll just have to wait, right?

11.01.06, Wednesday:

[08:39pm] Time is going by so slowly today!

Heidi is RIGHT ON! ^_^ I went to the doctor's after work, and they said that it could possibly be Strep Throat, so they took a culture to find out. If it IS, there's nothing I can really do about it. Great. Just to rest, really. And they said the pain I felt under my throat is where my thyroid is too, and it could be acute thyroiditis, which means, the strep throat thingies (virus, he kept saying, but I thought it was a bacteria? You know, streptococcus...meaning little round cocci-shaped bad guys? I didn't major in bio for nothing!) have attacked my thyroid. Interesting enough, it says online that it happens to be on the left side most of the time, and it's rare. How rare? I have a rare thing? I'm learning all these facts - it's fun to be a nerd! So yeah, they took some blood to check the TSH levels in my blood too. I'll find out in a few days.

I asked him about my strange little twitch while I was at it, ha ha, and he said it's normal. Sigh. I want it to go away, but well, it seems like I'm gonna have to keep it. =T

Meanwhile, I came home, did a few things, ate some, and then went to sleep. And sleep, and sleep, and sleep. It felt like I slept such a good, long sleep, but it was only about 2 hours! I'm up for a little, but think I'll go sleep soon. =)

[06:11am] It's November! Happy November! ^_^ The month of many vacations (Veteran's Day, last day of the trimester with no students for a day, and Thanskgiving Week in the RUSD, ha ha...) and holiday foods!

I found out that Huy and Fred watched Heroes too! Woo hoo! More to join in! ^_^ Super-Hiro is still the coolest. =)

Ugh. There's something wrong with me. =( I've had a slightly dry throat in the past few weeks, but that's normal - every year, around this time, my throat goes out a little because it's not used to using the Teacher Voice again. But yesterday, when I woke up, my throat actually hurt, and this was not normal. It's not super painful, but it's like...well...you know when you swallow something and it's too big, and you can feel it going down your esophagus? It's kinda like that, but always there, off to the side, not in the esophagus I don't think, a little to the left of my Adam's Apple, just where it dips. I've never had anything that deep down before - and I haven't had a sore throat in forever, so I don't even remember how THAT feels. There's no bumps - it just hurts a little when swallowing water/food, or when I involuntarily swallow saliva, or when I poke it (which I try not to do, ha ha), or when I move my head a certain way. No glands are enlarged at all.

I had a barely-noticeable-slight headache in the back of head too - you know, the lower back, where it's just next to the brainstem area and dips in a little. It's especially tender on the right side. The pain wasn't so bad, but it got a little worse later last night, and this morning, it's about the same.

Methinks I need to go to the doctor's tonight. =P I never like going to the hospital, because I just sit and wait forever...heh heh...

Halloween Traffic is horrible! It took my parents about 2.5 hours to get home last night! I made dinner - broccoli, made fried rice with the leftover rice, fried up a fish, and roasted a whole chicken. I tried butterflying it, AB style, but...I did it the wrong way and cut the wrong side, as I found out later. Either way, it came out crispy good with a hint of sweetness - I brushed the Canadian maple syrup that we hardly use all over the skin in the end, and it 'twas mmm-mmm-good...^_^

What did I use to marinade the chicken? My own good stuff - dark and light soy, grated ginger, some cooking wine, salt, and well, that's about it. Brushed with some honey or syrup, and it's all set. =) I think we Chinese aren't used to rosemary and thyme and sage as much, though they're tasty too, heh heh...I was going to buy some rosemary and experiment on making a focaccia, but it was $2 for a little package! Was it worth it? At the moment, no, because we have bread at home. =)