Food and my ramblings

This weekend will mark the end of our second week here in the little town of Campbell. I admit that I've had my bouts of home-sickness in the last few days. However, it hasn't stopped me from exploring both inside and outside of our home.

I craved donuts last weekend which lead to the discovery of Psycho Donuts. These are definitely not your average donuts. Pictured above, "Feng Shui" (left) and "Strawberry Fields" (right). While the donuts are definitely on the sweet side, the artful and crazy-themed shop is enough to keep me coming back for more! I highly suggest checking out their website here.

With both Marc and I still unemployed, we have to make use of our resources. I'm also pretty lazy when it comes to going to the grocery store. I made some banana bread with our close-to-rotting (not yet rotten) bananas. Not so bad!

I've been trying to make Pad See Ew the way they make it at some of my favorite Thai restaurants. Truthfully, I've had one too many fails and finally this week, the food gods were good to me as I was finally able to put the right sauces together. Score!

In addition to food, I have been trying to keep myself busy by engaging in a supposedly fruitful activity known as job-hunting. To say the least, it hasn't been quite as progressive as I intended for it to be. I keep trying to trick myself by saying that it's time to go back to work. As of today, I have been unemployed for 1 month. I have not been without a job since I was 15 so I'm sadly experiencing symptoms of withdrawal. I'm hoping next week will be a better week and I'm praying that waves of motivation sweep me off my feet and allow me to get further along in this search.

I have also been having my daily dose of library time. My goal is to visit every library in Santa Clara county. The novelty of a nifty blue library card was my gift to myself this week. So far, I find the Saratoga Library to be the best. It not only has the best atmosphere but it has friendly people and a wide selection of both books and media. I currently have about 10 books checked out (mostly cookbooks) and way too many CD's.

To library patrons of Santa Clara county, I apologize for checking out every single Broadway musical CD. I am trying to build my collection in the most cost-effective way so I'll be burning these babies for a few days before checking them back in. You're welcome to come over if you need something stat. To the libraries I have yet to hit, I'll be emptying you out soon. Sunnyvale, you're next! P.S.: I'm on the hunt for the OBC Recordings of Gypsy and Tick, Tick, Boom!

Ok, I really need to find a job. Preferably, a non-desk job.

Happy Good Friday to you all and have a spectacular Easter!

Hello West LA!

Poster I found on the corner of La Brea and Melrose.

We went home to Redlands to spend the weekend with family. Just when we thought we could sit back and relax, my brother called and asked us to pick him up. We made an impromptu trip to LA and made him wait...just a little, as we perused through shops and enjoyed the sunshine that broke immediately after the rain. The rest of the weekend was spent in our pajamas, cheering for the Lakers, a little bit of the Super Bowl, baking, and plenty of time to relax.

5 minutes (or more so, 5 miles) before I took this photo, it was pouring pretty hard.

Looks like it never rained! The Wiltern Theater is so rustic looking.

This HV is located at the Wiltern,

Would you mind telling me, what makes a drug ethical?

Where we spent most of our time. There is nothing like hitting the jackpot. (aka: used bookstore)

They weren't kidding when they said 1000's!

$9 later, we came out with 5 books! I love buying used books; it makes me feel less guilty when I give them away. Being the anti-hoarder that I am, I only keep my favorites on the shelf.

I finally found some authentic Moroccan Mint tea at T Salon in Melrose. It tastes exactly like what I had at Marrakesh a few weeks ago! I have been drinking this stuff like water lately.

The Unplanned Career

I've casually mentioned my frustration with my current job throughout this blog. A few months ago, I picked up this book by my favorite publisher , Chronicle Books. I started reading it without any expectation of finding solutions to my current career woes and concerns. I recently finished reading and working through it. Though I may not have a concrete plan of how I should go about seeking my next career, (whatever that may be) I've gained enough hope and inspiration from this book to keep learning about myself and trying new things.

It is so common in today's society to identify people by what they do for a living rather than who they are as a person. There are many people out there who are known simply for their significant accomplishments in their respective careers. These people are so stuck to their titles that it becomes who they are. I've even heard that some people tend to 'lose themselves' in their careers. Good for them. However, I still wish that society wouldn't undervalue character traits so much like they do now. Just because I'm not a lawyer or a doctor does not mean that I'm not a good person. What about my punctuality? My willingness to take initiative? My care and a concern for others? Apparently such things don't seem to weigh as much as saving a company from the depths of bankruptcy or generating a few million dollars in sales.

While I'm definitely an ambitious and driven person, I don't view myself as a 'career woman.' I don't want to be identified by what I do for a living. At the same time, I am attached to what I've accomplished so far and would hate to give up what I have already worked so hard for. It's a constant battle of self vs. self. You may wonder how that's even possible or perhaps you know exactly what I'm speaking of. In either case, we all have to make decisions and choices in our lives. More often than not, we struggle over them. If we didn't, making choices wouldn't be such a big deal, right? I'm all about learning from experiences and taking opportunities. If we bypassed every opportunity presented to us, how would we know what it's like to experience something new? We may not always be pleased with the outcome but at least we could say we tried, right?

Growing up in a community surrounded by medical professionals, I couldn't help but push myself down that career path only to find out that it wasn't for me. I still remember my high-school graduation party when I told guests I would be majoring in nursing. It was a safe answer. In fact, it was the only word that every SDA Filipino adult would want to hear. Well, besides 'doctor,' of course. I ended up changing my major two quarters into my college career. I couldn't handle the sciences. Four years of college and a master's degree later, I am still learning about myself and finding out that degrees earned may not necessarily lead to the 'ultimate career experience' that most talk so fondly about. Or it could be that I'm just not into careers.

I was given the false impression that once you're out of school, you will work and make money. With that money, you will buy everything you want and need and you will be happy. FALSE. Not everything will be handed to you in a silver platter. There will always be unknowns and you will have to keep putting yourself out there. It's because of the fear of the so-called 'unknown' that I found myself hiding in the caves of academia, trying hard to savor every moment of the 'safe world.' Writing numerous papers, working out statistics problems and taking exams isn't exactly the fairy-tale description of a 'safe world' or is it? To me, it was better than scrounging around my bank account to pay bills and sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. Putting yourself out there is more difficult than it sounds but I'm warming up to the fact that it could lead to great things. I'm living and growing from my experiences day by day.

I yearn for the feeling of fulfillment more than a hefty paycheck. I want to be one of those people who love their jobs. Who knows, maybe I won't get that far but maybe I will find something (an activity or a hobby or anything) that will fill the void of the 'successful career.' In that case, maybe I will be able to look at whatever job I have at the moment as 'just a job' and be able to function normally during the hours of 8-5. Now if only there weren't things called bills, this road wouldn't be so difficult to travel on. Careers don't have to define who we are. Stay true to yourself because no matter what others may say, it's your character that defines who you really are and that in itself will take you far.

Craftiness

I received these books as a birthday gift from my partner-in-crime, Ella. (Thank you, friend!) It only took me about 2 days to read through all of the material. These are great references for both business and non-business savvy people who are looking to start a business. It doesn't have to be a craft-related business but any business in general. While reading these books, I asked myself why our textbooks in business school were not written in such a clear and understandable manner. People have been telling me that I need to start my own Etsy store but I keep coming up with multiple excuses not to. One of them being, "I'm not creative enough." I have to say that these books have inspired me to at least dream it up and try, some way or another. I highly recommend these books and you can read more on the author here.

Here's to long-term business planning!