My Sunday as an Autograph Hound & Baby Sitter Extraordinaire

Note to self - when roaming the sprawling UCLA campus on a hot Sunday make sure to put sunblock on all areas of your body not protected by clothing!  Part of my shoulders are terribly sunburned because I did not heed this warning.

If you were wondering what I was doing in UCLA on Sunday, my husband was doing his lab/volunteering - giving chair massages to people at the LA Times Festival of Books and took me along because I liked books.  I wanted to get more information about the Writer's Program at the UCLA Extension and maybe get an autographed book or two to add to our collection (sad to say, the only reason I buy books nowadays is to get them signed by the author - see Eccentricities of a Kindle Owner post for explanation).

The authors I read were nowhere to be found though although I did find a few interesting personalities at the Festival.

Antwone Fischer signed his book, A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: And Other Lessons for Succeeding in Life, for me although I had not really read his work until then. When I saw the schedule, his name seemed familiar to me - so I hiked across the field from where I was to find his signing area.  After buying the book and dodging a creepy Men's Health mascot that was trying to get me to take a Facebook photo with him - I waited in line for the mysterious Antwone Fischer.  When we got home my husband pulled up a DVD we owned about his life story.  I should really watch that - I think the DVD was still wrapped in plastic.  He was really friendly and very low-key.  I could tell he was a man worthy of respect.

Another author that caught my interest was Buzz Aldrin, astronaut and Dancing With the Stars contestant.  I took pictures of him - his book had sold out and the line to get it autographed was so long - so I had to be contented with snapping pictures of him while he was signing somebody else's book - paparazzi style.

At my husband's request, I queued up to get Daisy Fuentes' book autographed.  She stood out from the crowd, not only because she was quite tall, but because of the way she carried herself.  Poised and elegant, her modeling years are still evident from the way she dressed.  She was really accommodating.  She let us take pictures with her and she took the time to listen and talk with people who wanted her autograph.  If I had not been a fan before meeting her - I am definitely one now!

The highlight of my day?  Babysitting this beautiful baby boy with the most amazing blue eyes - while his mom got a free chair massage.  Ok, so he wasn't officially part of the Festival, but he sure made my day!  There is nothing that can ever compare to a baby's smile - talk about stress relief!

If given the choice, would I go again?  Most definitely!  UCLA is an amazing campus, I love their old buildings - just strolling through the majestic campus was worth all the sunburn and heat exhaustion.  This Festival gets two thumbs up from me!

A Long-Lost Hobby Rediscovered

One of the activities I enjoyed doing as a kid was drawing faces or portraits.  I spent hours sketching - trying to perfect the drawing of noses.  Eyes and lips were easier for me to depict.

I tried to draw my husband once - my biggest mistake being trying to draw more of him than I was used to.  You see our art teacher taught us the proportions of the face and because I loved drawing faces I memorized these, but I didn't memorize the proportions of the body.  Although, I vaguely remember that she taught it to us as well.

Back then we had HB pencils, those blue-colored pencils with different weights that helped you with highlights and shadows.  At the local craft store there were only charcoal pencils.  These were heavy and hard to completely erase - hence the white pencil to cover up the unerase-ables (for a minute there I didn't think there was a use for it).

I particularly enjoyed re-learning the proportions of an infant's face, I was better at drawing babies than adults I think.  It's a hobby I re-acquired due to my husband's busy schedule and the defective laptop I received that I had intended to use for freelance programming that weekend.

I find it relaxes my mind when I do artistic things.  I think I may have gotten a little of my grandmother's talent at drawing (emphasis on the little)- she could sketch amazing images (my grade school presentation materials were always artistic masterpieces because of her drawings).

I haven't had any time for hobbies for a long time - I actually enjoy being able to bake and draw - among other things now.  Being the introvert that I am, I prefer spending quiet time by myself - rather than going to a long list of activities.  It's a great way to unwind!

What are you doing this weekend?  Discover a hobby today!

Going the Extra Mile for Customers

FedEx tried to deliver my replacement laptop yesterday. It was sent via Overnight Delivery by the people from Dell who are trying very hard to make it up to me for sending me a defective unit last Friday.  The only problem was that I didn't know they were delivering it so soon - the case manager I talked with said it will take 7 to 10 days to get the new system!

So I missed the delivery person and found a door tag on our front door informing me that I could pick it up from their warehouse that night after 6:30 PM.  I was relieved that they did not leave my laptop out on the porch under the welcome mat like most deliveries I get.  This particular package required a signature.

We drove to the warehouse indicated in the door tag, but got there a few minutes after 8 PM.  I was ready to just turn around and go home when we saw this van driver walking out of the building.  My husband asked him if they would consider letting me pick up my package.  We were both cold because the rain had just stopped and disappointed that we didn't get there in time.

The kind man walked back into the warehouse and got someone to give me the package after I signed for it and produced the proper identification.  They admonished us to come before 8 PM next time then the two very considerate employees sent us off with my package.  Wow!  Now that's great service!

Thank you for going the extra mile!  I'm recommending your company to all my friends.  I'm definitely a very satisfied customer!

Kitchen Confessions of the Geeky Kind

- Soft Peaks and Tomato Soup Cake -

Our DBA brought in home-made tomato soup cake that she baked herself this morning.  It was surprisingly delicious!  I didn't think so at first when she handed it to me - especially when she told me she used two cans of Campbell's tomato soup.

Why would anyone put tomato soup in a cake?  But after the first bite, I was a fan! Yummy!

Although I like baking too - the recipes I tried were always tagged as "Easy" and always sounded delectable to me usually because it had some form of chocolate in it or condensed milk.  I love milk!

I remembered a recipe for tres leches cake from one of my favorite cooking blogs and the concept of combining three milks into a cupcake sounded mouth-watering to me.  So I printed out a cupcake-variation of the recipe and looked at it for the longest time.  It looked complicated to me!  I mean it didn't just say to mix all the ingredients then bake it.

It said to beat the egg whites with the baking soda and salt until soft peaks formed.  I tried to bake lemon meringue pie and it asked me to do the same with the egg whites - not really knowing what soft peaks meant (and neglecting to think of researching it online), my meringue fell flat on top of the pie - what a terrible disaster! I never tried baking anything like it again.

So I shied away from the recipe at first - but decided to go ahead and try making it anyway.  This time I did a little research and figured out what soft peaks were supposed to look like - the gooey molten marshmallow-like consistency had never before been attained in my kitchen.  I took out my stand mixer and set it to the fastest speed I could get it and before long there they were - the soft peaks!  I was so happy!

The tres leches cupcakes looked like rice cakes that we have in the Philippines at first.  I poured the combination of the three milks over it - and, being the impatient geek that I am, made a big mess on my pan.  It tasted so good - I think I will make this recipe again - and this time make 24 cupcakes instead of the 12 heaping ones so that I don't make as much of a mess when pouring the milks (and the cupcakes actually become presentable enough to share with friends).

So there they are my kitchen confessions for the week!  The moral of the stories being - "Don't judge a cake by its name" PLUS "Don't let soft peaks stand in the way of great cakes or pies!"  I'll tell you when I learn the "Patience makes less messy tres leches cupcakes" lesson as soon as I accomplish it.

Happy baking, my friends!

Movie Night: Bounty Hunter

My husband took me to watch The Bounty Hunter late Saturday night when he came home from his volunteer/lab event. This seems like a very popular movie, the theater we went to was full considering that this movie had been out for several weeks now and it was a late showtime.

It's a love story that was trying very hard to be a detective flick.  Investigative reporter Jennifer Aniston chose to meet her story source/snitch and did not show up in a hearing for hitting a cop on a horse.  The judge cancelled her bail and released a warrant for her arrest.

Her miserable ex-husband, Gerard Butler, a former cop who is now a bounty hunter gets the assignment to bring her in.  He thought it would be an easy five grand - but nothing is ever simple when it comes to affairs of the heart.

The movie then proceeds to become a cat-and-mouse game where he chases after her.  Along the way they realize that they might not have worked on their relationship as much as they should.  And you can probably deduce how it all ended from here.

The story line was cute, I must admit.  I found it very hard to laugh at the couple's jokes for some reason.  It wasn't as entertaining as I had hoped it would be.  I wasn't blown away by this movie - watch it if you must.  I liked Gerard Butler's The Ugly Truth better.  I can't wait for the end of the month to get here - along with all the exciting new movies they are previewing!

The Great 48-Hour Disappointment

Learning from the tax form I prepared at the beginning of the month, I ordered my first tax write off last Wednesday.  Isn't it beautiful?  I am very partial to this color, but one of the major reasons I chose this laptop is because I would be able to get it within 48 hours. Great, right?

It was delivered Friday afternoon, I excitedly took my usual un-boxing photos and set it next to my - well technically my husband's now - 17-inch Gateway laptop.  The new laptop looked gorgeous in comparison, but then I plugged it into a power source, pushed the power button and waited...

Nothing!  The machine would not turn on.  I was so disappointed!

So I called technical support - the person actually wanted me to open up the laptop and reset the memory module.  It was a good thing my husband wasn't there or he would have screamed at the operator.  It was then that I called customer service and requested that they replace the unit they sent me.  I was expecting them to put up a fight, but they connected me to someone who took care of everything for me.

So in 7 to 10 days, I will get my replacement unit with prepaid labels to put on my damaged unit and I just have to take the old unit to a UPS store - and the transaction is all done.  The process is very simple, but they didn't deliver on their "Get it in 48 hours" promise at all!  I guess as long as they give me a unit that actually runs, I will be happy - now if they upgrade the processor to a Core i7 and the RAM to 6 GB that would be so much better!  What?  Dreaming is free!

The Eccentricities of a Kindle Owner

Ever since I got my Kindle, I've paid much more attention to and enjoyed Oprah's Book Club newsletter more.  I've tried looking for websites that feature new books and book reviews, but none of them has been as organized and as nice to browse through than Oprah's website.

Books are integral parts of her magazine, website and newsletter.  I am able to sift through large volumes of newly published works and pick the one I want to read.  Although she features the print version of the book, I find that I am more likely to buy a book with a Kindle edition.

My mother-in-law has a huge collection of books she forcibly lends me, but I find myself shying away from reading them.  I'm not sure if it's Kindle loyalty or paper cut phobia, but aside from magazines I rarely read anything outside my beautiful Kindle.

Do you e-Reader owners have the same aversion?  I love my Kindle - I've tried reading more authors since I've had it.  Before when buying printed books, I tend to go for authors I know and love.  I was missing out on a lot!  I've read various genres of fiction - some of which I had not considered reading before.  My Kindle has really opened up a new world for me.  I love its huge selection of books, I rarely look up a book that does not have a Kindle edition, but when I do I always click on the link to request the author to have it in a Kindle version.

I love reading and with my Kindle I am able to read more!  Happy reading, my friends!

Gadget Protectors: Worth the Investment

I dropped my phone this morning as I was trying to turn off the alarm.  I am usually very careful with my phone, but I have uncharacteristically dropped my Palm Pre more times than I can count.

Thankfully, I decided to purchase insurance for it plus the protective case shown on the left.  Admittedly I purchased it because I loved the fish bone design and the lime green color that made my Pre look really different, but I've been thankful for its protective qualities a lot lately.

I've dropped my phone on tiled floors and even on concrete.  It has bounced on the hard surfaces (probably because of the rubberized back cover) and the front cover even fell off one time, but my phone did not break.  I don't even have any cracks on it.

This is the first time I've ever bought a case for my phone.  I never really thought I needed it.  But I'm glad I did and with the advent of expensive smart phones, I think cases are becoming a necessity - especially for those people with small kids who love playing with their parents' phones.  I'm sure my coworker-mommies would agree!

Keep your gadgets safe, buy insurance and protective casing!