Tuesday, August 24, 2010

School is going to start soon, but as of now my schedule is still not settled yet and I feel like everything is hanging in mid air. This has got to be one of the busiest summer vacation ever, after my summer classes I had a few weeks of break, between practicing that got hung up during a regular semester and teaching students, running some seriously time consuming errands, and getting a bad cold,  I also got ANOTHER dog, yes, here you go,
yep, a real dog. It all started last week when I decided to pay a visit to the animal shelter and learn a thing or two about it. And may I use the expression of "opening a can of worms" because that's exactly what happened to me? It's like a horror movie except it's real. Most pets don't make it out of the shelter alive, and the particular one that I visited keeps pets for about five days and if no one come to claim them by then they are euthanized.

I was so excited when I arrived at the shelter, only that my excitement was followed immediately by sadness. I saw a dog looked almost just like Kelly but three times bigger, and he was wearing a red bandana around his neck, and he looked very scared and was rocking left and right  inside his little doggy cell not knowing why or how he ended up there, this reminded me very much of Kelly when I first found her. I also saw the black little poodle mix in the picture and he was the loudest cry baby so I naturally bend down to see him, and he quickly reached out both paws and squeezed my hand in between them. I typed in both dogs' numbers in my phone and went back into the office to ask about information on them. The officer behind the computer told me that the black little guy was about three years old and he was a stray, this was his last day for a chance to be picked up, and the white fluffy dog was turned in by his owner, he was 9 years old and possibly had arthritis and that was the reason why the owner had turned him in. It really broke my heart when I heard this, and I wanted to keep this dog but I was not sure if I could really afford the medical expense if I really needed it. To my relieve, the second time when he checked on the file, he said the dog had already been adopted and was going to be picked up the next day.

So that settled it, the little black poodle mix was going home with me. The adoption procedure was simple, all I had to do was pay, and so I did. The dog needed to be neutered and given all kinds of shots and that only took one day. Next day he was ready to be picked up, I made a run to the pet store to buy a new leash, a dog bed, some more kibble and food bowls and got everything ready for the new dog. When I came back to the the animal shelter again I was given all kinds of forms and papers and then finally the dog, all fixed and on a leash and jumping up and down. That's when I was first able to see him well under the sun light, he was really dirty and he was nothing but a bag of bones, but he's got a ton of energy. That's it, it's a happy ending at last, one puppy saved out of many. I had a chill feeling as we walked out of there leaving all the other dogs behind. So I tried to not think about it anymore, farewell, little puppies, I'm sorry I can't save you all.

Sunday, August 22, 2010


I think things are about to get real busy around here, and I haven't got myself quite worked up for it yet, so I really enjoyed my relaxing weekend.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

When outside reached 100˚F and I had to work while having a bad cold was really not fun. I sent the last student home because I had to stop myself to cough twice in one sentence, and my voice is my livelihood! Anyhow, I put Kelly in the car, packed my camera, a book and a few doggy treats and went out for a date with my baby. It turned out to be the perfect Saturday night, I felt so much better just sitting in cool summer evening air and the white wine and pasta never tasted better:)

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ondine

Je croyais entendre
Une vague harmonie enchanter mon sommeil.
Et, près de moi, s' épandre un murmure pareil
Aux chants entrecoupés d' une voix triste et tendre.
                                         CH. BRUGNOT (Les deux Génies)

I thought I heard
A faint harmony that enchants my sleep.
And close to me radiates an identical murmur
Of songs interrupted by a sad and tender voice.
                                        CH. BRUGNOT (The two Spirits)

Sunday, August 15, 2010


Have you ever tried the Pacific Dining Car in L.A.? I really liked it, especially the old time feeling that I had only seen in movies. L.A. almost has that overly familiar feeling of a hometown to me now, something I never imaging myself saying back in 1999 when I first came to this country.
I usually spend my Saturday stressing out about teaching and Sunday stressing out about accounting homework, but that seems like the story long ago because, hey, I'm on vacation! So I sat in a coffee shop read a Jane Austin novel while bf worked on his papers.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

eek, I'm in pure sugar coma heaven, good night!

oh I love Saturday nights, when work is done and I can cook a yummy dinner!

Friday, August 13, 2010


Several months ago I was shopping with a friend in Pasadena and found this sofa on display in Restoration.  I instantly fell in love with it, it was so soft and roomy that we sat down for a long time and started chatting and didn't want to get up. It's now officially on my to buy list of things when I have a house of my own :)

I love ramen, especially on a chill day or when I'm feeling sick. The broth has to be flavorful, noodle not too soft and egg boiled to perfection, not too cooked or runny, and best of all a side of sliced pork to top it all. Now, I can't be thinking about all the carbs and calories that a bowl of ramen has because really it wipes out three days of my working out plus I crying into my salad plate the whole week after, but life is short, so I keep indulge on these little things once in a while.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

bf and I met up for a breakfast and coffee date in downtown and made a visit to MOCA before he had to head back to work. I never thought there can be such a thing as a quiet spot in downtown L.A. to sit down and sip coffee, but apparently I was wrong.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Another great weekend! Boyfriend and I left for Temecula on Saturday evening, we both had work to do during the day, but came 6 o'clock we packed our bags and headed out of town. The plan was to go there one night before and meet our friends the next morning.
The whole trip was quite fun, I felt like having a continuous hangover through out the day. I have to admit though, this kind of fun I can only handle maybe once every other year, otherwise my liver might just go on a strike. :)

New Year Preparation

I always like to do a bit of preparation at the end of each year to welcome the new year, although this year things were very challenging, I...