Saturday, January 31, 2009

Shiz Can't Cook Series: No Bake Cheesecake

I went to Target to pick up some cupcake paper cups.
It's for the no bake cheesecake that I'm planning to take to Ards' b-day party tomorrow. Individual ones are nicer for parties, right?

They had Valentine's Day cupcake paper cups, so I got a pack of those.

So time to read the instructions on the box...

First, make the crust.
Add butter & sugar.
No problem there.

Next, make the mixture.
Add milk & use a hand-held mixer.
Hmmmm... I don't have a hand-held mixer.

So I tried mixing by hand at first... but there were still clumps in the mix. Then I thought about mixing the stuff in the Magic Bullet. And it came out really smooth! Yay, another use for the Magic Bullet!

Flattening the crust into the paper cups was no problem. I just used a back of a spoon & it flattened out okay. Although I had a lot of crust leftover. I put them in a Ziplock baggie & put it in the freezer. Maybe I'll make my own cheesecake mixture out of cream cheese & stuff next time (need to look it up, though).

Now for the cheesecake mixture. It's awfully clumpy, so I don't know how it'll flatten in the paper cups. Maybe it'll settle after a while...


Um... no, it didn't.

Oh well.
They're still edible, though.

Maybe it would have helped if they were inside a cupcake mold, so it wouldn't spread out like that. Maybe next time...

Friday, January 30, 2009

Orange-Yellow... But Still a PVC Pipe

I went to pick up my inhaler at the pharmacy today.

I opened it up, and it was orange-yellow.
I guess it's kinda cute.

So I read the instructions, and inhaled two puffs worth. The instructions tell you to hold your breath... but it's kinda hard with your mouth wide open from the inhaler tube. Maybe you're supposed to pull away after inhaling the puffs.

I'm not sure if I'm breathing better or not yet.
My throat is still making a wheezing noise, but that could be from the foam that's building up in the back of my throat.

But the good thing. My throat isn't hurting as much & I don't cough as violently... so something sure is working.

For now, you can point fingers at me & laugh as I use my awesome orange-yellow inhaler.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Inhaler

So my doctor calls me up to check up on me.
See if I've stopped coughing, if I'm breathing right.

I told him I get a lump in my throat sometimes & I run out of breath walking up the stairs. (Sat said it's cuz I'm out of shape)

So he suggested getting me an inhaler.

Oh no!
I'm going to be one of those kids with an inhaler!
I'm going to be soooo uncool!

じゅるる suggested I get a designer inhaler.
Maybe they sell a replacement case with polka dots on them. Nooo!

Anyhoo, the nurse assured me that I'll be able to breathe normally using it. Wow, that sounds like a miracle drug. Oh and the lovely thing... they had a coupon for a free trial, so I won't have to pay for the inhaler. Yay!

I'll go pick it up & be a nerdy kid tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

New Box in the House

Sat's been waiting all day for the UPS man.

Around noon, there was a knock on our gate.
Sat ran to the door, but it was Dee. (He came by to help me go to storage)

Then I came back from storage around 2pm to take Zyrtec before going to Prince K's house.Sat thought it was the UPS guy. I thought he had already come by.

Then I came back around 5pm. Sat was once again disappointed that it wasn't the UPS guy.

But he still came. Around 6:30pm or so. I guess it was a busy day.

And what did he deliver?
Um... a game console I thought we'd never own. I have no idea why she got it... but to play Left 4 Dead? Please friend her on XBox Live (or whatever you do).

Monday, January 26, 2009

Allergy Diagnosys

So I went to the doctor's today.
My coughing got so bad the previous night that I had to sleep propped up with my back against the headboard w/ cushion.

Anyhoo, when I got there... the doctor's assistant told me that the doc had an injured back. So I was shuffled into the check up room to be weighed, temperatured and blood pressured... then to his office so he can hear what symptoms I had... then back into the room to wear a piece of cloth... only to have him say he wasn't gonna Xray me because my breathing was clear.

So I'm going to be on a 4-drug cocktail until my coughing goes away.
And I was told to go back in one month.

Let's hope everything gets better before the 30 days comes up.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Made a Dr. Appointment for Cough

I decided that I've been coughing too long, so I made an appointment to see a doctor. Plus I should fix myself before my insurance runs out, right?

I encountered Kurosaki again tonight. Took Zyrtec (generic) today, and it was probably working better... but my throat is already really messed up & so the coughing continued. Even cough drops aren't helping anymore.

I hope I don't get a hairline fracture on my rib like Ards did.
Or was that a myth?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

No More Pacifico's

I went to dinner w/ Dee tonight, since he was craving calamari.

But when we drove over to Pacifico's in downtown Culver City, it was closed!
Closed as in out of business.
The place was empty.
Gone!

Oh, Dee was soo depressed.

We ended up going to Dee's next favorite deep fried food joint, Smitty's. But they don't have calamari. Awww.

I suggested he just go to Anthony's (the San Diego one) whenever he craved calamari, but he said it was too far.

Okay, how about Fisherman's Warf (San Francisco)...?

PS. We watched LOST afterwards.
Man, it's a crappy show. The dialogue is so bad! And the music too.
I got to hear the reenactment of Steebu & Dennis' reactions during the commercial break. Teehee.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Renewed Flickr

I guess Flickr no longer offers free Pro accounts for SBC Yahoo (AT&T?) customers. Boo!

So my account was expiring at the end of this month, so I renewed for a year.
That's $24.95 of money I'm not earning!

But I wanted to make sure people can see cute Koge photos, so I renewed.
稼がないと...

PS. Obama fever: I watched the live broadcast on NBC at home.
Although I was coughing all morning from 6am, so I collapsed during the speech. And skipped out on a meeting today.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Holiday?

You lose track of the days of the week when you're unemployed & at home all the time.

And same goes for holidays.
I went to Torrance to take care of a few things, not realizing today was a holiday. I was wondering why it wasn't that traffic-y on the 405.

I only realized it was a holiday when I got home & watched the news online.

Google Calendar needs to tell me when national holidays are coming up.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Coughing Too Hard

I went over to Prince K's place, and was attacked by Kurosaki allergens again.
I was coughing all evening even though I took Claritin. I think it's time to get Zyrtec now, cuz Claritin sure isn't working.

Anyhoo, my coughing got so bad... I was sent home early (if you call 11pm early).

And probably the cold air outside didn't help, b/c my coughing got worse when I got in the car. And I coughed too hard that I puked up all the water I drank to clear my throat all night long.

Oh, what to do when you puke while driving...
Good thing I had Tupperware and a plastic bottle in the car.

One. Two. Three.
EWWWW!

Well, it's probably better than having to swallow... which I had to do a long time ago (okay, that warrants another EWWW!).

I puked about four times in the car.
I wobbled into my house, went straight for the bathroom and puked out real food into the toilet. After 2-3 times, I felt much better.

Gosh, it sucks to cough so hard.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

All Cleared Out

Dennis, Dee & I went to the office one last time to clear everything out. Only things left are some metal shelf thingies that I'll take home tomorrow.

Allen called around noon to see if we wanted any Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch. I haven't had those all year! See, I didn't get to eat any the last time I went to San Jose (late Dec) or the last-last time I went to San Jose (event F). I really miss those $2.50 sandwiches...

I asked for chicken, which was really yummy.
Dee & Allen ate one and a half sandwich each. That's waaaay too much food, boys.

Allen had bought another sandwich for dinner, but he gave it to me to give to Sat. We can share one for dinner ^__^

PS. Dee has a "邪魔 box" and a "Ards box."
And a few XL t-shirts b/c one of the staffers didn't take the box home.

PPS. Dennis & Allen mentioned that Steebu will have a female guest over at their place this weekend. Friend? No. Someone in the industry? No. Hmm... scary! They thought Steebu should watch "The Audition" once again.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Spaghetti from My Throat

I went over to Prince K's apartment yesterday to take care of some accounting stuff. I wasn't planning on going that day, so I didn't take Claritin.

Sure enough, my throat was itchy as soon as I stepped in.
And it was sore all night long.

This morning, I woke up coughing & went to the bathroom to cough out the phlegm.

A long spaghetti-like piece came out of my throat.
Ewww!

No photos.
Too bad.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Yard Sale II

We had another yard sale today.

Dennis joined in the fun this time around. He brought Dave's old bike and couple of DVD racks, and sold 100% of the items he brought. Wow!

Dee's mom joined in later too & took a small corner of the yard.

I also took some clothes from じゅるる. Well, the folks who came last time did ask for men's clothes. I'm still eye-ing Mike's clothes to sell next time.

I forgot to wear sunblock again, so my face is hot. Bleah.

It would be nice to sleep in tomorrow, but I have another non-work work. Boo!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Still Busy...

I'm awfully busy for someone who's unemployed.
I've been doing all sorts of tasks the last 4 days straight, and it looks non-stop for another 4 days.

I guess going around employment opportunities are what the unemployed do, but I was hoping for a few days off after 9 years of being a workaholic. But I guess that's what workaholics do. Keep themselves busy.

I've also been eating out the last 2 nights & will be eating out again tomorrow night... I was planning on eating less after all that eating during New Year's, but it'll have to start next week yo.

And can I please get more than 5 hours of sleep a day?
I'd probably get an additional hour if I stopped blogging... but I'm a blogaholic too!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Still Allergic to Prince K's Cat

I went over to Prince K's apartment to do some work.

I made sure I took some Claritin before I went over, and my throat was a bit itchy but no tears. Whew... but when we got back from a meeting off-site, I started coughing a lot. Hmmm...

Well, it could have been the heated air during the meeting.

But I think it's Kurosaki's fault.

BTW, she's gotten a lot bigger than the last time I saw her.

She's still a spoiled brat who walks all over the computer equipment & bites the cables. I wanted her to stop walking around the computers, so I put packing tape on her head & she went crazy. Tee hee! She didn't know how to take it off... what a dumb cat. Even Koge knows how to take the tape off.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Yard Sale This Weekend

I'm having another yard sale this coming weekend.
I sent an Evite to those who live in the LA area to join me & clean out their house.

But we have a lot of stuff from B office, so we'll probably have another yard sale in February. Just in case you miss the one this Saturday.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Busy Errand Day

My friend Nori-chan asked me to send some things to her client, so I decided to make today an errand running day.

I set up a WaMu account a while back, but I haven't activated my ATM card yet. Plus I had a lot of checks to deposit, so I thought I'll finally try depositing money by using an ATM. Yes, I'm from the Middle Ages where there weren't fees to go to a teller to deposit money.

Result?
I was able to deposit money! Horray!

The WaMu branch in downtown Culver City has 4 ATMs, but only two of them accept deposits. I didn't know that, and I just went to the first ATM that opened up. Thank goodness it was a deposit accepting ATM. But the guy next to me was checking the PIN w/ his wife over the phone & I was going really slow... so there was a woman behind us waiting patiently for good 5 minutes. I promise I'll be faster next time!

Then I headed over to the office to pick up boxes, shipping labels & whatnot.

And went over to the post office to mail out some envelopes for work B. There was a huge line by the windows, so I decided to try the automated machine they have. We never had to use these b/c all of our packages were metered... but we didn't have internet access for the last couple of days, so I had to get all the envelopes weighed.

So I held up the line again, sending out 20 packages.
Though I'm such a chicken, I hate forcing people to line up behind me. This was the third time in a week, after the recycling center, WaMu ATM and now the post office machine. I hope they make more automated machines so people don't have to wait.

And then I headed over to Target to buy cat litter & hopefully find some cat costumes for Koge. They were sold out of the reindeer costume, but I found a penguin one & an elf one. They were a little too big, but she looked mighty cute in the elf costume. We'll have to take a picture for next year's Christmas card.

Oh, there was a huge line at Target too.
I got in line a bit early, but by the time I got to the cashier, the line was really really long. I must have some line-making spirit on me. Shoo!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

And the Geeky Party Continues...

After the countdown, we played We Cheer to show Panda & Dennis.
Dee still refused to play, but Panda & Dennis were good sports & played. Panda even passed one of the songs. Yay! (I didn't get to see Ards play, but apparently she was really bad)

And we also played Samba de Amigo, where Dee played until 3am.
Panda & Dennis were dozing off on the chaise. Sat has pictures, so go to her Flickr.

I finally went to sleep around 5:00am, then Ards (who had slept over) woke us up at 8:00am to watch the Rose Parade. I was watching half way through... then fell asleep. I think they were watching bits of Narnia & Hellboy II afterwards.

Dave came over & we all ate teppanyaki.
Then I headed over to the office w/ Ards, so she can pick up some of her stuff & bookshelves. We forced Dee out of his house to help too. Meanwhile, Sat & Dave tried to go see Gran Turino, but the theater was full & they had to come back.

Sat & Dave ate nabe since we had a ton of crab & fish leftover. I wasn't getting hungry at all, so I ate a little bit of おしるこ.

A long day and a half of eating... but there's still a lot of food left, so we'll be eating all weekend long.

PS. Happy New Year