roller coasters

every time we go to LA, hosive and i try to go to an amusement park. we’ve been to disneyland, sea
world, six flags: magic mountain, knott’s berry farm, and universal studios. i always want to go to
legoland, but after looking at prices and the hours their open, we decline and pick another one. we try
to take my grandmother and my little cousins. danny LOVES this, since it means we take my little cousin
out of school for the day (everyone should now say “theresa, you are the best-est cousin ever!”).

since we usually head to LA during the spring right after easter, it’s low season at the parks; this is good
and bad. good because there’s usually no lines and bad because often times not all the rides are open
or the park is open for a much shorter time than during peak season.

each place has it’s pluses and minuses. disneyland is small compared to disneyworld, but is still fun for
the little kids. sea world does a great job showcasing the animals with shows and interactive areas like
dolphin feeding times. knott’s berry was much more family friendly with a good combination of rides for
the younger ones and adults so both feel like they got something out of the park. the food is great too.
we even saw people going just for the food at the restaurant right in front of the park (who knew?!).

universal studios was more rides that showcased movies. some were good and others were just cheesy.
the tram ride is a must only because you might get a chance to see something being taped. i think we
saw a shooting of “Princess Diaries 2″.

my favorite thing about parks is the rides. particularly roller coasters! so far my favorite has been the
“X” at Magic Mountain. this thing is INSANE! you have no idea which direction you’re going in, if you’re
on a loop or going down a tall stretch, or even when it’ll be over. it works like this. there’s a pair of two
seaters that are on an arm. each two seater is on it’s own axis on the arm. so you’ve got two points…
one on the actual tracks and the other on the seat. as the arm is moving on the track, the seat is also
moving forward or backward on the axis. all of this means a CRAZY ride like you’ve never had before.
here’s a video of what i mean:

side note: i think i’ve been on only 1 of the 10 tallest roller coasters, superman. it might be fun to
check out the others too! 10 tallest roller coasters

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simplicity is key

i saw this and thought “true!”

i’m not apple or google fangirl, but i do like some of their products but more so i’ve always loved simply
designed things. next time you make something, maybe think about this image.

[via: bitsandpieces]

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snl at 3am

Saturday Night Live is usually at its best during political races. And this presidential race is really
bringing out Amy Pohler and Fred Armisen’s funny bones. This Saturday was a great example. The
following sketch is a little on the long side but still hysterical!

i’m currently undecided as to who i’ll vote for, for president, but i’ll wait till the democratic nominee is
sorted before i start doing my research. RESEARCH, which i hope everyone else will be doing as well,
instead of joining whatever bandwagon or party line.

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mmmm…pickles

so i like pickles. but i’m particular about the type of pickles. i know i’m particular about many things. but
aren’t we all allowed to have our opinions? personally, my favorite “western” pickle is the half sour
pickle, that can be found most readily in jewish delis like Katz’s. i also like pickled onions that can be
found most often in the ghettos. then of course there is the all important kimchi variations, almost all
of which are pickled.

but this is something definitely new:

it’s a popsicles made with pickle juice. i know that texans do enjoy their pickles in various forms
including, battered and fried, but this seems a little excessive. they tout themselves as the “healthy”
alternative to the sugary goodness of conventional popsicles.

i’d be willing to try this popsicle, but i get the feeling that this might be a texas craze that should stay in
texas.

bobspicklepops [via: seriouseats]

ps: i’ve got to do 8 sessions of physical therapy over 3-4 weeks and i’ll be done with this knee business.
Yipee!

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more chopsticks!

ok i must have an obsession with silverware because this is the third entry about it (choplery,
pen cap silverware) . >_<

as most asian folks do, i use chopsticks pretty often. not just for eating food, but also to grab things
from very tight spaces, and stir my drinks for example. chopsticks are versatile. when you’re eating with
chopsticks, rarely do you need knives or forks if you know how to use them properly.

[picture: uigarden]

i’m also a bit picky about the types of chopsticks i like to use. if necessary, i will use the chopsticks that
are really long and clunky/thick like the red ones in the picture above but i prefer not too. they’re too
cumbersome and never accurate enough. these types of chopsticks can be found at most chinese
restaurants. now some folks would tell you they’re long for a reason. to turn your chopsticks around to
serve others or take from a communal plate. ok honestly… i find them annoyingly large, and if you’re
going to turn them around to avoid “germs” then i hope you and everyone else washed their hands. i
personally have way too many pairs of these in my own home (we inherited them from joseph’s old
living space when we got married) and wish they would go into the trashbin or given to some needy
asian folks who need chopsticks. but some would ask…why throw out /give away perfectly good
chopsticks? *sigh*

i do like the top two types. they’re both extremely accurate and the best part is that you can cut things
in half with them neatly. however i think metal chopsticks are better. they just last longer and you can
put them in the dishwasher (*gasp* no korean woman would do this. sorry but THIS one does)

check out these chopsticks! they would only be better if they were completely metal. they also look
freakishly like weapons.

[via: RandomGoodStuff]

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chopstick cutlery?

i seem to have an interest in alternative-use silverware (re: pen cap silverware).
otherwise known as “choperly”:

These function as both chopsticks and spoon, knife, or fork! korean restaurants should place these
at the tables, so people who aren’t skilled with the chopsticks don’t have to ask for forks =P

i wonder how easy they are to use, as non-chopsticks?

[via: designgostudio]

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what happened…pt2

yet another long one because i don’t know how to properly edit myself. publishers/editors are more
than welcome to critique and edit my text on their own =P

so my insurance stinks. it took them forever to approve my MRI. some folks suggested to joseph that i
try calling the insurance company to push my approval through, so I did that. Turns out the insurance co
thought no one put in my request. i’m inclined to believe my doctors office who said they did. the office
also called the insurance company again and was able to get an approval right then and there. soon
after i was able to schedule my MRI. yippee! *sarcasm* so that’s thurs afternoon. the MRI will be used
to determine the final diagnoses of what is likely a sprained MCL. this is pretty standard.

so what have i been doing in the meantime? working from home. definitely not fun. i much prefer to be
in the office, but that hasn’t been possible since I can’t really bend my knee. and going up and down
stairs has proven to be difficult and painful. that basically means that i can’t ride the subway. i take cabs
to my dr, and take the bus when i’m not in a rush and i’m sure to get 2 seats. one for my butt and the
other to keep my leg elevated.

but i’m scared to take the bus now too. i was sitting in one of the two seaters, and it started to get
crowded. each new person who entered the bus would see the second seat empty from “afar” and think
“whooo… empty seat no one wants!” head over and then be disappointed. one lady said “oh! BUSTED
KNEE!” and kept walking towards the back of the bus in search of another seat. but what made me
scared was actually a woman who didn’t bother to look at the seat before attempting to sit down. she
got pretty close to sitting on my knee. the only thing that stopped her was my hands on her back and
saying “PLEASE DON’T SIT” a number of times.

so this means i don’t leave the house that much. so i’ve been doing this instead:

an extremely generous friend was kind enough to send me some materials, a circular needle, and a
book! she works for the designer who also authored the book and sells a line of chunky yarns.

honestly i’ve never worked with chunky yarns before so it was a little awkward. i had to start over a few
times, but eventually i got it and the scarf turned out great! i modified the pattern a bit to fit more my
style (less ruffles and narrower), but it was a fun project! i’ll be starting on a knitted hat from the book
soon too!

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kimchi for spacemen

one of my favorite things in life is kimchi. that’s not surprising since i’m korean. most koreans are i
guess a bit obsessive about their kimchi. in my case, my favorite kimchis are usually variations of
mool-kimchi (water kimchi). Why of all kimchis mool kimchi? because it doesn’t smell as much so you
can take it to work, it’s refreshing when it’s ice cold, and is still got that kick from vinegar and spices!

i know it’s not the traditional cabbage kimchi but for those reasons it’s my favorite. however, i do enjoy
the traditional as often as i can, as do most koreans; especially korean astronauts according to the
NY Times. the korean gov’t spent millions… MILLIONS.. on trying to figure out how to ship kimchi to
space.

i wonder if they’ll sell this in korean supermarkets like they sold tang in the US. we’ll find out in april,
and if they do i’ll bring some back

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what happened?

thanks to all that have expressed concern and have been praying for me!
this is a long entry - but for those of you who’ve asked what happened and what’s going on here you go:

i got back from a ski trip monday nite. i was originally supposed to come back on sunday, but things did
not work out that way for one reason in particular. i hurt my knee skiing.

after arriving late friday nite, saturday started out great with an early start. we had breakfast, rented
our skis and boards and headed to the resort. it was a bit chilly closer to the top of the mountain due to
the wind, but otherwise conditions were great, and not much ice considering the lack of snow fall and
it’s the east coast which is infamous for ice covered slopes. but the day started turning. first one of my
friends, was run into by a reckless person, and the person took her down (if you can’t handle blue or
black diamonds stay away or stay to the inside of the slope please!). we all gathered to help her get her
skis and poles. sooner after, folks started to head back down including myself, but unfortunately another
friend wasn’t able to get a good start and fell.

too bad i was right behind him, since we had just started out, i ran into him. except it wasn’t just a
basic collision. one of my skis clipped his snowboard and i started doing a split over his head and my
knees, legs and ankles were all in weird positions. eventually i felt a pop in my right knee and one of my
skis coming off. soon after i fell to the ground screaming in pain.

he was able to flag down some folks and ski patrol made its way to me. the ski patrol guys who helped
me were Jim and Bob. (I kept thinking. It’s Jim-Bob. But not sure if they thought it was funny when I
mentioned it, so I didn’t say it again.) Jim-Bob somehow got me to the clinic. I don’t remember much
except being in some serious pain. Getting down the slope was a little bumpy, even with my leg
strapped in tightly, not much could be done.

Folks were nice at the clinic. First some nurses just checked my leg for basic stuff i guess. probably just
things like bleeding, broken limbs, swollenness, etc. then they recommended I go downstairs to see an
orthopedic surgeon. the doctor was nice enough, but he felt a little rough with my leg. he kept picking
up my leg without any sort of warning. that was painful too >_<

after a bit of prodding, picking up and putting down my leg he determined that I tore my MCL and not
my ACL. Which is a relief because if I tore my ACL I may need surgery. He said it’ll likely be about
6 weeks of healing which may or may not require physical therapy. Either way, he wasn’t 100% sure
about either the MCL or ACL, and wanted me to see a Dr in the city, and get an MRI.

So I have an appointment to see an Orthopedic surgeon on Thurs morning. We’ll see what happens from
there. In the meantime, I’m not in much pain and I’m fairly mobile. I sit for most of the day with my leg
elevated and iced. It gets difficult when going up and down stairs, going to the bathroom, taking a bath,
in bed (trying to sleep - restless leg >_<), or standing for extended periods of time. The worst is when
I happen to step in a weird way/angle and i’m shocked at the pain.

Thanks to everyone on the ski trip who helped take care of me! Especially Oli who hung out at the clinic
with me, and delayed her lunch to make sure I was ok.
Thanks to everyone for praying for me!
And Thanks to Joseph for making sure that people knew what was going on and asked people to pray for my
healing.

My fashion sense has never been that great, it’s even worse now

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hi I’m helvetica! what are you?

lately i’ve really been into various design related things, especially in terms of product design and
usability of products… this includes the use of various fonts to convey a message. so it was fun to try
to figure out what font I am…

the font types are somewhat limited but still fun
[via: typecaster]

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