The City of Angels

Money vs. Fulfillment

2009-06-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

Nowadays I am spending many hours, reading books and soul-searching.
One of the books I read was Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez.

The book shows interesting relationship between money and fulfillment (I'll call it Happiness).
It says that most people are not happy, regardless of how much money they make.
On a scale of 1(unhappy) - 5(ecstatic), most people marked 2.5 to 2.8, not even 3!
I couldn't rank my current life to be 3 (content) either, even though I am happy most of the times. I couldn't say I felt content. I still have lots of things to do to prepare for the future.

The author also made me think about how many hours I have left in my life.
If I live 40 more years, I have 350,400 hours to go.
If I sleep 1/3 of the hours, I have 233,600 hours to go.
If I eat three times a day, wash twice a day, drive to somewhere an hour or two... I may have less than 120,000 hours to go.

So what am I supposed to do now... to be happier?
Before squandering any more hour (and dollar), I need to ask myself whether it enhances my happiness...
This way, I may be able to spend the rest of my hours and money more wisely...

Diet - simple way

2009-06-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

Diets Don't Work by Bob Schwartz said four rules to succeed in diet*:

1. Eat when you are hungry.
2. Eat exactly what your body wants.
3. Eat each bite consciously.
4. Stop when your body has had enough.

How simple is that?

Actually there is one more thing I want to add.

5. Drink each gulp consciously.

Luckily I haven't developed the habit of drinking soda with every meal.
Still, whenever I have a hamburger or pizza, I drink a coke.
Without the help (?) of soda, I noticed that I can't eat as much hamburger or pizza or donuts or other heavily breaded foods.

If my body doesn't want grease without soda's tricking me, I guess I need neither, after all.

(*Also shown in Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez)

Ultimate and free solution to my laptop overheating problem

2009-06-20T21:22:00.001-07:00

I killed my three previous laptop computers over the past 5 years, mainly due to the overheating and fan failure problems. I used those laptop computers everyday all the time, except for the sleeping time. Because I didn’t have a desktop computer, I used them at home, at work, at school, everywhere. Basically, those were overworked. I wished to blame any one maker, but those three were all from different computer manufacturers. I guess, laptop overheating problems are common. But, when this one, my current laptop began to show the same issue, I got really upset and annoyed with this chronic issue. After a lot of search in the web, I found that the overheating is an inherent problem to laptops because all the parts including the hard-working CPU are crammed into this small and densely-populated flat machine. “All right. I give up on this idea of using a laptop for everyday use, finally. I will switch to the dual system – use a desktop at home and use a small/inexpensive laptop for travel use.” That was the conclusion.

But, then, I wanted to do something – take some risk – to fix the overheating problem MYSELF. The thought process behind that I threw away the previous problematic laptops was… “Gosh, I would have just gone to the electronics street (there is such an area in Korea where you can get a real good and cheap computer repair) if I were in Korea. I cannot find good and cheap place to get a repair service in the US. OK, if I have to pay like $100-200 to check up and repair this getting-old laptop, I would rather replace it with a new one.” But, this time, I wanted to do something myself.

I did a thorough research in the web on how to cure the overheating problem. I found cleaning is the key. But, here was a challenge: take off the board and clean the parts inside! It seemed not dangerous, but I was hesitant to do that. I continued to search a better/easier solution. I found two easy-looking solutions: (1) blow in air to the fan area using the air compressor; and (2) buy an external fan (Targus by Target). Both options needed money! Targus looked good, but I have to go buy it for $$ (about less than $30, though). Buying an air compressor is another expense although I don’t know how much yet. SO,

I found my ultimate and free solution. HOLD THE BREATH AND BLOW YOUR AIR INTO THE FAN AREA!

You need these three equipments (?): a mask to keep dust from going into your lung; a protection goggle to protect your eyes from dust; and a straw.

1. Find where your fan area: in my Dell laptop, the fan was found in the bottom of the laptop. And, the hot air from the computer seemed to get out through the slits or holes in the left side of the laptop.

2. Swallow your saliva and make your mouth dry: you don’t want to put water into the system.

3. Blow through the straw a strong air into the fan area: you goal is to run the fan. If you blow an air, you will see both the fan running and the dust going out from the side of the computer.

4. Repeat this until you don’t see any dust come out.

And, another ongoing help is to have some space between the bottom of your laptop and the floor where your laptop sits. This will help the hot air come out easily from the lot of slits on the bottom of your laptop. I use the pizza baking pan! This works beautifully.

I did all this today. So, we will see how this will correct the problem. During this one day, which used to be a sufficient time to see at least 5 times of burning hot keyboard, my laptop is working so smooth and cool. And, it seems that it is at least a very good solution to clean the dust without taking apart the laptop.

Do you have a hot laptop? Try this.

Do you have any other ideas to fix the laptop overheating problem?

How to cook collard greens?

2009-06-20T15:52:00.001-07:00

How to cook collard greens?

I am so into trying new kinds of dark green leaves. We know that dark-colored leaves such as kale, mustard greens are more nutritious than the others such as iceberg. So, we try to eat more spinach or romaine lettuce than iceberg. But, really good stuff such as kale and collard greens are not popular mainly because of the tough texture and bitter taste. I didn’t like them very much, either. However, they are very CHEAP and good for your health, so I ought to try them more. And, I found them very tasty and stimulate different taste buds than the usual sweet lettuce.

First of all, this collard green bundle was 69 cents from my Wednesday Bang for the Buck. This has full of soluble fiber, definitely good for you. For more nutrition information on collard greens, see http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=138.

Wash them thoroughly, stirring them very much! Use vinegar to remove some possible chemical, too. Vinegar is used to neutralize the remaining chemical and also to maintain vitamin in the process of washing (based on my everyday knowledge).

Tear away the tough parts and use only leaves.

Chop the leaves and put some garlic and olive oil, salt & pepper and stir –fry them. I found that the collard needed quite a lot of cooking time to make them tender to my taste. I cooked them with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Put additional water if needed. At the last step, taste the dish and adjust seasoning; and put a bit of sesame seeds.

How I will improve next time: The collard was quite bitter to my taste. Next time, I will boil the greens and toss away the water (to remove the bitter taste), and then do the stir-frying from today. I think it will be perfect!

Pairing: Because of a little bitter taste, it will go very well with any kind of meat dish, especially fish dishes. This dish can replace your wilted spinach very nicely.

Do you have any more ideas about how to cook collard greens?

Frugal breakfast feast series (1)

2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

When I first came to the US. and was asked what we, Koreans, eat for breakfast, I was perplexed. We eat similar things for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, although there may be some different focus of each meal and probably dinner is more heavy. And, we have a saying, "Eat like a king at breakfast and eat like a beggar at dinner."
Yet, in the American diet, I found that there is a clear distinction among breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, I am getting used to it and, in fact, I love the concept, too. I enjoy Western-style breakfasts for my diet. There is no rule for breakfast, but as the first kind of breakfast combination, I like it this way.

1. Fresh salad: baby spinach or any kind of lettuce (use a very light dressing - I drizzle a bit of olive oile infused with rosemary and garlic, balsamic vinegar, and pepper)
2. Egg: poached, fried, or boiled egg
3. Bread: homemade bread with nuts and fruits

The picture shows the breakfast for today.
Baby spinach with cooked beets
Poached egg (this is specially good for people who are on a diet)
Berry/pecan bread (I sort of made a mistake of buying a big container of pancake mix and I am using it to make all kinds of bread; I made this bread using the mix and frozen berries and peacan)

Fabulous breakfast it was and very frugal.

What great breakfast ideas do you have?

Tomatillo?

2009-06-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

I bought tomatillos today and plan to experiment with this new vegetable very soon. Before you will read my adventure, here is some info on tomatillos. I looked them up today. Here is an article from LA Times. I tried to link the article directly, but somehow I didn't find any way to post the whole article in the blog, so I copied and pasted the contents.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-tomatillo14-2008may14,0,1107342.story

Tomatillo: a green sourpuss with a sweet side

Roasted, sautéed, grilled or stewed, tomatillos liven many Latin-inspired recipes with their vibrant color, often silky texture and mildly tart flavor.By Noelle Carter and Donna DeaneLos Angeles Times Staff WritersMay 14, 2008It's vibrant green and looks like a small, under-ripe tomato hidden under a delicate, paper-like husk. Peel back that wrapping to reveal firm, slightly sticky flesh with a scent faintly reminiscent of freshly picked herbs. Take one bite and the sweet-tart flavor rings with plum, apple and citrus notes.The tomatillo, a close but very independent cousin of the tomato and Cape gooseberry, is known by several names, including husk tomatoes, jam berries and Mexican green tomatoes.

Though widely available year-round, the main season is May through October. Allowed to mature, tomatillos may range in color from yellow to red, even purple. But they're best picked just before ripening, when the flesh is still firm and the flavors are bright with a gentle but assertive acidity. Look for firm fruit with tight, unwrinkled husks.With husks on, tomatillos keep for about two weeks stored in a paper bag and refrigerated, but husk them and store refrigerated in a plastic bag and they keep up to four weeks. If you garden and find yourself with an abundance, try freezing them (spread them, sliced or whole on a sheet pan in the freezer until solid, then place them in an airtight freezer bag).In Spanish, tomatillo means "little tomato," and records show that tomatillos were cultivated by the Aztecs as far back as 800 B.C.

Tomatillos liven many Latin American recipes with their vibrant color, often silky texture and mildly tart flavor. They're often used in salsas, especially those that lighten rich chicken and pork dishes.Tomatillos lend themselves to a variety of cooking methods such as roasting, sautéing and stewing. Cooking softens the acidity and brings out the sweetness in the fruit. And like tomatoes, tomatillos can be enjoyed raw.

Eat the fruit by itself, or use it to punch up a salad or cold dish.For a simple meal, try grilling tomatillos -- direct heat over a hot fire brings out the sweet notes of the fruit -- by cutting them into wedges and lightly oiling and seasoning them. Quickly grill the tomatillos so they're crisp-tender -- a couple of minutes per side -- then toss them with some quick-grilled scallions, serrano chile and marinated, grilled shrimp. Divide the mixture among freshly warmed tortillas, add a side dish -- and supper is served.Or try a variation on classic chile verde by using them in a sauce for a fluffy omelet made with panela cheese (a fresh Mexican cheese that softens to rich creaminess when heated). Sauté diced pancetta and tomatillos with minced onion and garlic. The pancetta cooks until caramelized and crisp; the tomatillo is added just so it warms through and blends with the flavors in the pan.

Freshen up the classic pairing of tomatillo and pork by adding citrus and fresh basil, mint and oregano. Stud a boneless pork roast with slivered garlic. Brown it in a heavy-bottomed casserole. In the same pan, sauté onion, garlic, serrano chile and coarsely chopped tomatillos, then place the roast back in the pan. Add some broth, orange zest and fresh oregano and roast until the meat is falling-apart tender.Finish the dish by adding some fresh basil, mint and more oregano to the sauce (there is no cilantro in this variation ) along with some fresh lime juice. Spoon the rustic sauce over the pork and serve with rice or grilled tortillas.

Is there God?

2009-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

"Is there God?" has been a big question for me as it has been, I believe, to many other people. This question rose bigger to me when my dad sufferred from cancer and passed away recently. I have been rejecting the existence of God, but I am one of the people who constantly think about it and keep rejecting the idea. I think this is because I want to believe in it. If not, I would have finished thinking about it. I don't have any specific religious affiliation that I regularly go to and belong to as a part; like baptized. But, as an excuse to be close to some kind of church, I joined in a bereavement training program which lasted 8 weeks at LA Our Lady of the Angels. It was a great experience. If any of you are interested in such a program, you will get much knowledge and understanding about grief, loss, and bereavement. Above all, you will meet great people who want to know about these issues and help others in greaf. They accept only $30 as a donation; you get free drinks and coffee every week and celebration lunch at your commencement, so it is way more worth it.

The last class was my favorite. Father Kidney came and talked about God and faith. He didn't particularly focus on Catholics, but he addressed faith in general. I just loved him. I am planning to go to his church on Christmas or other days when my spirit wants to hear some wisdom words. Here was the book, The Shack, that he recommended. I ordered the Shack through the paperbackswap (my beloved source of obtaining books) for free.

I enjoyed reading this book. I am not saying that this book answered all my existential questions and in fact, I sometimes got scornful or blasphemous while reading it. Still, I was on the side of liking it. So, I am recommending this to those who want to peek through other people who are also interested in these issues and see God, Heaven, Jesus, stuff from a different view.

Visit their website, too.

I really wished to translate the book to Korean, if it was not there yet, but it is out published in Korea, too. Gosh!

This post was linked to its Korean version at my Korean blog, http://blog.naver.com/yjhlove/40070293181

How did I start the blog?

2009-06-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

I should give the credit to the simple dollar guy (at least I call him that).
I don't recall how I got to know his website, but somehow I bumped into his blog and I just loved it. There were and are many many blogs and websites that are well-made and have good information and I from time to time visit them. But in most cases, my interests fade out soon enough. But, for some reasons, I keep visiting his. His blog is mainly about personal finance management, but he also talks a lot about pursuing passion and turning it into many aspects including making a blog. So, I thought about my passion. I found that I love making the best out of what I have: make the best dinner out of what I have in the refrigerator; make the best breakfast out of the leftovers; and make the best feast for a crowd out of my limited budget; and enjoy the most out of what the city offers. So, my blog is about how I do these in this city of angels~.

If you haven't found the simple dollar guy, check his blog http://www.thesimpledollar.com/.

Free hotdog June 15 5-8pm

2009-06-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Would you like a hotdog for free? I palnned to go to Burbank to get this and do some shopping. CHeck below for the coupon (I guess you may not even need this coupon, though) and enjoy.

http://www.hotdogonastick.com/

Wednesday Bang for the Buck (1)

2009-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love Trader Joes' and Costco, but my recent find and new love is Superior (http://www.superiorgrocers.com/). I follow the rule of frugal living by focusing on buying products on sale, but the most exciting thing about Superior is that they have produce special sale on Wednesdays. The prices are amazing!

Every Wednesday until I have good deals on Wednesday here, I am posting my weekly frugal grocery shopping spree.

Spree means about $15 grocery shopping that will provide for my weekly life (2 people). Isn't it frugal? I mix and match these with my staples and frozen foods, and make delicious and healthy meals for the week.

Last week, I bought the following items at Superior.

Seedless watermelon $1.27 (8.9 lb)

1 bag of Spinach $ 0.89

1 Mexican squash $0.35

2 cucumbers $0.42

Mexican papaya $1.11 (3.33 lb)

Oranges $1.56 (9.36 lb)

4 Gala apples $ 1.41

4 Tomatoes $ 1.10

1 bundle of cilantro $0.10

2 brown onions 0.25

Queso fresco cheese $1.99

3 bundles of beets $1.69

Total: $12.14

Here are some ways that I used the items for my healthy meals.

Spinach and Queso Fresco

When spinach is fresh, make a salad by roasted pecans, and crumbled Queso fresco cheese (you can use any crumbly cheeses such as blue cheese, and balsamic venegar dressing (oil, honey, balsamic venegar, salt and pepper). If spinach is left over from the salad, make wilted spinach (a bit of garlic, oil, and balsamic venegar).

Cucumbers

Make pickled cucumbers. My secret formula is 2 parts of water; 1 part of sugar; 1 part of venegar, and make the mixture boil and put the boiling mixture onto the cucumber. That way, you can enjoy the crispy cucumbers all the way.

Beets

Don't throw away the stems and leaves. Better nutrition is there. Cut the stems and leaves and wash them well, and chop them. With a bit of garlic and oil, stirfry them and use a bit of salt and pepper. They are not as tough as kale, so cooking time is not long. I found that shrimps went well with this side dish. And, of course, boil the beets and enjoy them with salad for quite a while.

H&M's Summer Sale!

2009-06-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

H&M's summer sale is NOW. I am planning to go shopping this weekend. I usually hit the clearance sections and so enjoy finding the treasures. We will see how I did this time.

http://www.hm.com/us/

4 Benefits of Line (laundry) Drying

2009-06-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

Personally, I love laundry. I love the smell of clean and sun-dried clothes. But, since line-drying is considered as a public nuisance and unpleasant scene and illegal, but primary because we have this "convenient" laundry dryer machine, we use the machine. But, I argue for more use of line-drying indoor.

I have lived in two places in the US: Michigan and LA. Both in this cold and hot areas, indoor line-drying works and is quite beneficial.

There are at least 4 benefits of line drying:

1. Reduce allergy symptoms. I think Americans love the work, allergy. Whenever their body gives some physical sign like sneezes, runny nose, and even stomach discomfort, they say it is allergy. My friend also had allergies to things that she couldn't put her finger on, maybe to cold air, damp air, nuts, alcohol, or stress... Whatever the reasons, she had to suffer sneezes especially in the morning, some rashes and itches in the hands and feet, etc. After having some washed and wet clothes in the room through the night for several days, her "allergic" symptoms were gone. In the cold areas, they tend to insulate the windows and constantly heat up their rooms, so the indoor air must be so dry. Wash clothes and lay them in the room to reduce runny nose in the morning.

2. Save energy and laundry cost. It would be nice to have your own laundry machine at home, but I don't have one in my apartment. We need to use the shared laundry machine. And, I don't use it unless I have big and heavy laundry such as bedding laundries. I actually do the handwashing. If you do laundry once a week, the cost will add up to at least about $15 a month for one person. If you don't use the dryer alone, it is saving lot of energy and laundry cost.

3. Save time (for me). Maybe it is not the case for those who have laundry machines at home, but for those of us who have to use shared machines, it takes time to go back and forth between your apt. and the laundry area. Because I am doing handwashing, I tend to wash a small amount of laundry every night. It saves a chunk of time I would spend for a big amount of accumulated laundry.

4. Better for dry eyes and skin. I tended to have some break-outs in my face from time to time. I thought I didn't wash/clean my face well enough and put more attention to washing it more clean, which I believe made my skin more dry and turning the vicious cycle more rapidly. After my night sleep got more moist with freshly-washed laundry in the room, my skin was very moist and did not have any break-outs any more! And, my dry eyes have no discomfort in the morning.

5. Clean. I don't think the shared coin laundry machines wash clothes clean! We put lots of chemical as laundry detergent and the machine just stirs a bit and rinse the clothes a couple of times. I use the mixture of borax, powder detergent, baking soda and soak the clothes about 30 minutes and rinse several times. Very clean results.

Well, when I have a built-in laundry machine in my house later, I will use it. But, I will not use the dryer too much, because I cannot live without wet clothes in my room at night. That is the way to go to have healthy skin and deep sleep.

OperaU: cheap opera tickets for students

2009-06-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

If you are a high school, college, graduate student, please make sure to check this link. And, of course, if you are interested in opera. You are not interested in opera? Still check this. What a nice opportunity to expose yourself to one of the main art genres that many other people enjoy! If you happen to not like it so much, it is totally fine. You have just experienced new things, and at very good price. A few days ago, I went to La Traviata and so enjoyed it. I went there mainly because I wanted to take advantage of the cheap price ($20), and actually didn't expect much, but I found that I fell in love with operas~~.

http://www.laopera.com/OperaU/

(In case, you don't want to click the link, I extracted some of the main points of OperaU below.)

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Are you a full-time college student? Then this is a perfect opportunity to come enjoy the amazing world of opera right here in Los Angeles. Register via e-mail and receive e-mail announcements for special ticket offers and events. Come join us for LA Opera's 2008/09 Season filled with diverse and innovative productions that span the operatic repertoire. From the groundbreaking LA Opera commissioned Howard Shore's The Fly, to Verdi's classic opera La Traviata, these performances will leave you spellbound. Come enjoy the vivid sights and sounds of colorful Spain in Bizet's Carmen. This season also introduces the first two operas of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold and Die Walkure. Acclaimed German visual artist Achim Freyer designs this operatic milestone. Don't miss a moment of this electric season with its star studded casts, including award-winning directors William Friedkin, Woody Allen and David Cronenberg, and opera stars Plácido Domingo, Anja Kampe, Sir Thomas Allen, Liping Zhang, Michelle DeYoung, Nathan Gunn and many more.

ABOUT OPERA U LA Opera's College Outreach Program Think you know nothing about opera? We bet you do. Some of the hottest Hollywood directors use opera music in their films to convey all extremes of emotion. Most likely many of your favorite movies include some of opera's great musical moments such as The Godfather, Pretty Woman, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Shawshank Redemption, and many more. We invite you to experience the thrill of opera with us this season. Opera is Passionate, Spectacular and Sensuous. Giacomo Puccini's Il Trittico includes a story of a passionate love triangle that leads to a tragic end. The Los Angeles Times has praised LA Opera's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute as "a lavish cartoon world" with designer Gerald Scarfe transforming the opera stage into a dazzling fantasy world. And it doesn't get much more sensuous than the fiery diva's heart-stopping drama in Bizet's Carmen. LA Opera's 2008/09 Season is truly a year filled with passion, spectacle and sensuality. Don't miss the chance to see these incredibly productions. Sign up now! For more information and to register click here. LA Opera also is partnering with a limited number of schools to bring special events to campuses, including opera recitals and master classes with LA Opera artists. As we further develop our outreach to college students, this page will be updated to reflect any new opportunities.

OPERA U EVENTS
Members are invited to special discount offers to LA Opera productions.
There are no upcoming events at this time, check back often for updates.

RUSH TICKETS
Student Rush Tickets are a way for LA Opera to offer inexpensive tickets just before curtain to people on a limited income.

BECOME A MEMBER To become a member of Opera U, all you have to do is fill out the following form. You will be added to our e-mail and mailing lists and will begin receiving exclusive offers from Opera U shortly. View Opera U Policy

Reserve seats now: Shakespeare Festival!

2009-06-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

This is a great FREE event for people who like enjoying plays, or just a chilly night under the stary night in LA. Reservation for free tickets began a few days ago, but I think there may be some remaining seats available. So hurry to check out the link below and go to the "Main Stage" tab and "buy" - researve the tickets. I went to the last year's event, too. It was very fun!

I am going this year, too. See you there~. What a nice way to enjoy the summer night and free.

http://www.shakespearefestivalla.org/