I am now back my happy slacking self. In the past two weeks I've been avoiding work and other responsibilities as much as possible. I've also been to a concert, a waterpark, hiking, laying by the pool, and I even went Bouldering today! Thanks to all of you who kept encouraging and motivating me at my darkest times. Rawr.
Random thought: I just found out Amy Winehouse is 25 years old! I thought she was in her late thirties. Comparatively, I'm looking damn good.
I wanted to make a note of a recent conversation I had with one of my newest acquaintances, which for now must remain anonymous, but we'll call him (and yes it is a him) Timmy. Timmy, like so many of us, is looking for his better half. Now Timmy is a nice guy, he's really smart, making decent money, fun, his looks are not too shabby and more importantly, he is straight! And why am I not dating this guy?
Anyhow Timmy and I were talking about what we are looking for in our significant other. I didn't bring much to the table, nothing unexpected that is, I'd like to meet somebody smart, fun, interesting, not-too-shabby looking and somebody who has goals, I really admire people that continually challenge themselves in life. Timmy agreed with much of that but he told me about his "score sheet". Yes, my friend grades the women he meets. As the night progresses he keeps some sort of mental checklist that will lead him to decide whether this woman is worth his time. A few examples of the items on his score sheet follow (split into categories):
Conversation:
Can she handle multiple topics?
Are we equally involved/participating in the conversation?
Is the tone flirtatious?
Intellect/Culture
Does she read?
Does she enjoy music/ movies/ theater/ art?
Does anything intellectual excite her?
Does she speak other languages?
Career:
What does she do?
Does she have goals?
Are the goals realistic?
Attractiveness:
Nice face?
Body type?
Is she active or athletic?
Personality:
Do I feel charmed?
Is she humble/ nice/ kind/ happy?
Why isn't this guy dating me? I totally ACED his test.
And that is all my memory serves me, but pretty fascinating no? It made me wonder if we all have a checklist like that, only we're not aware of it. Most of us certainly don't verbalize it the way Timmy did. I can't judge him for it, at least he knows exactly what he's looking for. But yeah, maybe you should start thinking about your own score sheet. As for me, I'm going out to the bar tonight, putting on my beer goggles, and looking for the love of my-next-10-minutes. Monogamy is so hard as it is, specially at my age! Wish me luck ;-)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Shoot Shoot Shoot
July has been hell. Working long hours trying to get my system to work. Must submit digest for conference next year. I must... what? just one more week.
P. S. Check out the line up for San Francisco's Outside Lands Music Festival. It is AWESOME. If you (or a friend) decide to buy a ticket, please buy it by clicking through my banner on the right, help a sister out!
P. S. Check out the line up for San Francisco's Outside Lands Music Festival. It is AWESOME. If you (or a friend) decide to buy a ticket, please buy it by clicking through my banner on the right, help a sister out!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Terror's Advocate
Can't wait to see this....
Courtesy of the Dirty Daily, unbiased news and political events from our generation to yours.
Courtesy of the Dirty Daily, unbiased news and political events from our generation to yours.
This is a test
But to make it not an entirely worthless test, enjoy Iron & Wine's "boy with a coin" video. kisses!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A Taste of Caracas
I went to Boulder reservoir yesterday and sat in the sun for about.... 4 hours, I applied sunscreen about 4 or 5 times, and still I got sunburned!! I look like a lobster and everything hurts... a LOT :-( specially my butt, I look like the Coppertone girl, only red instead of tan.
So I was officially disabled both yesterday and today. I went to work but I left around noon because it was simply too uncomfortable. So I bought some Aloe Gelly and layed around naked in my room all afternoon watching movies and applying aloe every hour. I still sit down and stand up pretty awkwardly.... but we'll just have to give it a few days.
In any case, what I really wanted to share with you guys in this post was a recipe for Tequeños!!! Which are these really really tasty cheese sticks type thing wrapped in dough and fried. My friend Alvaro from high school gave me the recipe and they turned out WAAAAY better than I expected. So here it goes:
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of all-purpose flour (about 4.5 cups)
- 250 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature (about 1 cup = 2 sticks)
- 1/2 Tablespoon of salt (this sounds like a lot, but it was ok)
- 1 egg
- Luke warm water
- Cotija or Oaxaca cheese cut into 1/2 inch strips (these are mexican cheeses that you can find at most grocerioes stores these days, they come in a block) you can also use Farmer's cheese
Preparation:
Ok, first of all you must be patient and do this slowly. Mix the butter and flower in a bowl and when it is all even, add the egg. At this point you got a pretty crumbly dough, and so you need to add water very slowly, maybe a few tablespoons at a time. The amount of water varies with the humidity of your location. Here in Boulder it is really dry, and I used about a cup of water. You will stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together and it is malleable and flexible.
Then I cut the entire thing in half and rolled it really thin (I'm talking 3 millimeters thin) with a rolling pin. The dough was more yellow than it looks in the picture above, I think it was just the lighting in my kitchen.
Then you cut into strips and wrap the cheese sticks in it! You have to make sure that everything is sealed pretty tightly, you don't want the cheese oozing out. So I also rolled it in my hands and used my fingers to make sure there were no gaps. Next you get some oil in a pan and make sure it is really hot before frying, but not quite smoking, that is too hot. Fry until golden brown and drain on a paper towel.
They are usually served as an appetizer. Serve hot with some ketchup or my personal favorite "pink sauce" (salsa rosada), on the side. Pink sauce is just a mix of ketchup, mayonnaise and ground pepper, in whatever proportions you prefer. You can also add Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or whatever you please. If it looks pink in the end, you got pink sauce :-)
I didn't have any mayo, so I enjoyed them with a little ketchup. They turned out delicious! and now I know I can enjoy a little taste oh home anytime I want!!!
I had 12 ounces of cotija cheese and about 30 tequeños turned out, but I only used half of the dough. I wrapped the rest in plastic stuck it in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it'll keep, so I plan on buying more cheese tomorrow. Yuuuummmmmm!
So I was officially disabled both yesterday and today. I went to work but I left around noon because it was simply too uncomfortable. So I bought some Aloe Gelly and layed around naked in my room all afternoon watching movies and applying aloe every hour. I still sit down and stand up pretty awkwardly.... but we'll just have to give it a few days.
In any case, what I really wanted to share with you guys in this post was a recipe for Tequeños!!! Which are these really really tasty cheese sticks type thing wrapped in dough and fried. My friend Alvaro from high school gave me the recipe and they turned out WAAAAY better than I expected. So here it goes:
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of all-purpose flour (about 4.5 cups)
- 250 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature (about 1 cup = 2 sticks)
- 1/2 Tablespoon of salt (this sounds like a lot, but it was ok)
- 1 egg
- Luke warm water
- Cotija or Oaxaca cheese cut into 1/2 inch strips (these are mexican cheeses that you can find at most grocerioes stores these days, they come in a block) you can also use Farmer's cheese
Preparation:
Ok, first of all you must be patient and do this slowly. Mix the butter and flower in a bowl and when it is all even, add the egg. At this point you got a pretty crumbly dough, and so you need to add water very slowly, maybe a few tablespoons at a time. The amount of water varies with the humidity of your location. Here in Boulder it is really dry, and I used about a cup of water. You will stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together and it is malleable and flexible.
Then I cut the entire thing in half and rolled it really thin (I'm talking 3 millimeters thin) with a rolling pin. The dough was more yellow than it looks in the picture above, I think it was just the lighting in my kitchen.
Then you cut into strips and wrap the cheese sticks in it! You have to make sure that everything is sealed pretty tightly, you don't want the cheese oozing out. So I also rolled it in my hands and used my fingers to make sure there were no gaps. Next you get some oil in a pan and make sure it is really hot before frying, but not quite smoking, that is too hot. Fry until golden brown and drain on a paper towel.
They are usually served as an appetizer. Serve hot with some ketchup or my personal favorite "pink sauce" (salsa rosada), on the side. Pink sauce is just a mix of ketchup, mayonnaise and ground pepper, in whatever proportions you prefer. You can also add Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or whatever you please. If it looks pink in the end, you got pink sauce :-)
I didn't have any mayo, so I enjoyed them with a little ketchup. They turned out delicious! and now I know I can enjoy a little taste oh home anytime I want!!!
I had 12 ounces of cotija cheese and about 30 tequeños turned out, but I only used half of the dough. I wrapped the rest in plastic stuck it in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it'll keep, so I plan on buying more cheese tomorrow. Yuuuummmmmm!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Back on track
Things are finally looking up again. Losing my bike was a horrific and tragic experience and I will miss it and remember her fondly for the rest of my life... but that's over now, a new chapter in my life has begun, one where I ride a shitty old steel-frame road bike that I put together myself with parts from all over the place. I have to mention community cycles here, a local non-profit where I was able to volunteer my time in order to Earn-A-Bike. The bike is not nearly as nice as Betty and I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing some cross-state traveling on it, so I'm going to have to cross that off the list of awesome summer things to do.
Speaking of summer, I have set one single goal for myself and that is to get outside and enjoy Colorado. I spent so much time in the lab this semester that I feel like I need endless sun and fresh air to recover. I'm talking about doing something outdoorsy and healthy EVERY WEEKEND. That could be hiking, climbing, biking, backpacking, running, swimming, etc. I spent my first summery weekend working on my new old-bike, so let's not even go there. I do want to mention that the peeps at community cycles are extremely cool, and they know a lot about bikes and tools and maintenance. I plan on going back multiple times to take advantage of those very things in the future. I want to do a little more work on my bike and paint it, I'll post a picture of it when it's ready....
This last memorial day weekend I went hiking up to the first flat iron with Brendan. Twas not very hard and the views were supa-fantastik. I also enjoyed the hippies, music, free organic milk and nutrition bars at the Boulder Creek Festival on Sunday. I don't have words to describe how happy and healthy this town is, and how contagious it is!
On Monday I ran the famous BolderBOULDER 10K road race, which was my first ever. The race was beyond fun, way better than I could have ever envisioned. You get to run through the city and neighborhoods and people sit outside cheering you on. Also there were like four live bands/artists/performers per mile or so, so you never get bored! And it was just cool to run along the side of 50,000 other people. At the end of the race I got a goody bag with beer, water and some healthy snacks. For my $50 registration fee I also got to keep this sweeeeeet Adidas clima-cool fancy-techy-type running shirt, all and all a great time and I look forward to doing it again next year if I'm still around. Oh! the results:
Overall place: 25,416 out of 48,387
Women's place: 11,136 out of 26,287
They give you an RFID tag that you attach to your shoe in order to accurately measure your time every mile (how cool is that?!). My times:
Speaking of summer, I have set one single goal for myself and that is to get outside and enjoy Colorado. I spent so much time in the lab this semester that I feel like I need endless sun and fresh air to recover. I'm talking about doing something outdoorsy and healthy EVERY WEEKEND. That could be hiking, climbing, biking, backpacking, running, swimming, etc. I spent my first summery weekend working on my new old-bike, so let's not even go there. I do want to mention that the peeps at community cycles are extremely cool, and they know a lot about bikes and tools and maintenance. I plan on going back multiple times to take advantage of those very things in the future. I want to do a little more work on my bike and paint it, I'll post a picture of it when it's ready....
This last memorial day weekend I went hiking up to the first flat iron with Brendan. Twas not very hard and the views were supa-fantastik. I also enjoyed the hippies, music, free organic milk and nutrition bars at the Boulder Creek Festival on Sunday. I don't have words to describe how happy and healthy this town is, and how contagious it is!
On Monday I ran the famous BolderBOULDER 10K road race, which was my first ever. The race was beyond fun, way better than I could have ever envisioned. You get to run through the city and neighborhoods and people sit outside cheering you on. Also there were like four live bands/artists/performers per mile or so, so you never get bored! And it was just cool to run along the side of 50,000 other people. At the end of the race I got a goody bag with beer, water and some healthy snacks. For my $50 registration fee I also got to keep this sweeeeeet Adidas clima-cool fancy-techy-type running shirt, all and all a great time and I look forward to doing it again next year if I'm still around. Oh! the results:
Overall place: 25,416 out of 48,387
Women's place: 11,136 out of 26,287
They give you an RFID tag that you attach to your shoe in order to accurately measure your time every mile (how cool is that?!). My times:
- mile 1: 0:10:06.90
- mile 2: 0:09:49.82
- mile 3: 0:12:46.61 (I walked a little part of this one)
- mile 4: 0:10:05.74
- mile 5: 0:14:34.31 (and I walked most of this one)
- mile 6: 0:10:11.69
- net time: 1:09:51.40
- pace: 11:15 (based on net time)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Bad things happen to good people
Yesterday I had an awesome and happy post in mind where I would rant about school being over and summer goodness. But today, oh unhappy day, you get this:
Things I have gotten stolen this year:
Winter coat ($200)
Winter hat ($25)
Cell phone ($100)
Blue Betty... sniff, sniff... ($650)
:'-(
Things I have gotten stolen this year:
Winter coat ($200)
Winter hat ($25)
Cell phone ($100)
Blue Betty... sniff, sniff... ($650)
:'-(
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bongo-Bong Poetry Slam
Could I get people that post their comments, to please make a poem out of them?
To Anthony
by me
I spent spring break in Urbana,
I had a lot of fun.
Got to see all of my friends,
but one friend really shun.
Thanks Anthony for hosting me,
but now I gotta run.
A Leonor
by Amado Nervo
Tu cabellera es negra como el ala
del misterio; tan negra como un lóbrego
jamás, como un adiós, como un «¡quién sabe!»
Pero hay algo más negro aún: ¡tus ojos!
Tus ojos son dos magos pensativos,
dos esfinges que duermen en la sombra,
dos enigmas muy bellos... Pero hay algo,
pero hay algo más bello aún: tu boca.
Tu boca, ¡oh sí!; tu boca, hecha divinamente
para el amor, para la cálida
comunión del amor, tu boca joven;
pero hay algo mejor aún: ¡tu alma!
Tu alma recogida, silenciosa,
de piedades tan hondas como el piélago,
de ternuras tan hondas...
Pero hay algo,
pero hay algo más hondo aún: ¡tu ensueño!
A Mockingbird Remix
by Rives
To Anthony
by me
I spent spring break in Urbana,
I had a lot of fun.
Got to see all of my friends,
but one friend really shun.
Thanks Anthony for hosting me,
but now I gotta run.
A Leonor
by Amado Nervo
Tu cabellera es negra como el ala
del misterio; tan negra como un lóbrego
jamás, como un adiós, como un «¡quién sabe!»
Pero hay algo más negro aún: ¡tus ojos!
Tus ojos son dos magos pensativos,
dos esfinges que duermen en la sombra,
dos enigmas muy bellos... Pero hay algo,
pero hay algo más bello aún: tu boca.
Tu boca, ¡oh sí!; tu boca, hecha divinamente
para el amor, para la cálida
comunión del amor, tu boca joven;
pero hay algo mejor aún: ¡tu alma!
Tu alma recogida, silenciosa,
de piedades tan hondas como el piélago,
de ternuras tan hondas...
Pero hay algo,
pero hay algo más hondo aún: ¡tu ensueño!
A Mockingbird Remix
by Rives
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I got the *smarts*
I learned recently that my research project on distributed MPPT for solar panels is going to be involved with Xcel Energy's Smart Grid City project. I feel luckier than ever to have ended up in Boulder now, I feel like what I do is relevant. Most importantly, I feel relevant, it is like the opportunity to impact today's society is now palpable.
The information on the Xcel Energy link above doesn't really get into the specifics. Here's a white paper, which also isn't very helpful. Mostly because Xcel probably isn't sure how they are going to do this, all they know is that they want to :-) and so do I. So yeah, sorry about that, I'll give you more information as it comes along, for now enjoy the wavering green bars in the video.
I'm on spring break right now, but I'll probably be going to the lab everyday this week. School has been keeping me really busy and I just had the week from hell. But being busy also comes with this notion that you are getting things done, and that is a wonderful feeling. My summer plans have finally concretized too (can I say that? is that grammatically correct?). I am going to stay in Boulder instead of going to California. I still plan on going to visit Salt & Pepper for a long weekend sometime in May though, so get ready for total anarchy. I am also planning on going home for a little while to attend a friend's wedding, and see the parents... the usual, I <3 going home.
The main reason I am staying here over the summer is because we want to build a small array of solar panels and use our converters. Then test the full system so that we can submit a paper for a conference next year *trumpets and horns*. I really am happy that I get to stay here, summers in Boulder simply can't go wrong. California would have been really awesome, mostly because I'd get to hang out with with all the people I know there, all my brilliant, successful, beautiful friends. But I am a bit relieved that I don't have to work with "real" engineers. Grown-ups intimidate me, specially the professional kind.
I'm going to leave you with some music from my friend Armando's band, Gaêlica, celtic music madness.
The information on the Xcel Energy link above doesn't really get into the specifics. Here's a white paper, which also isn't very helpful. Mostly because Xcel probably isn't sure how they are going to do this, all they know is that they want to :-) and so do I. So yeah, sorry about that, I'll give you more information as it comes along, for now enjoy the wavering green bars in the video.
I'm on spring break right now, but I'll probably be going to the lab everyday this week. School has been keeping me really busy and I just had the week from hell. But being busy also comes with this notion that you are getting things done, and that is a wonderful feeling. My summer plans have finally concretized too (can I say that? is that grammatically correct?). I am going to stay in Boulder instead of going to California. I still plan on going to visit Salt & Pepper for a long weekend sometime in May though, so get ready for total anarchy. I am also planning on going home for a little while to attend a friend's wedding, and see the parents... the usual, I <3 going home.
The main reason I am staying here over the summer is because we want to build a small array of solar panels and use our converters. Then test the full system so that we can submit a paper for a conference next year *trumpets and horns*. I really am happy that I get to stay here, summers in Boulder simply can't go wrong. California would have been really awesome, mostly because I'd get to hang out with with all the people I know there, all my brilliant, successful, beautiful friends. But I am a bit relieved that I don't have to work with "real" engineers. Grown-ups intimidate me, specially the professional kind.
I'm going to leave you with some music from my friend Armando's band, Gaêlica, celtic music madness.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Obama Vs. Hillary
As much as I would like to see a woman president, I am convinced Hillary Clinton is not the one for me. I can't vote in this country, so I'll admit to not really following politics very closely (if at all). Anyways my friend Weissman sent this out, it was pretty interesting and a good summary:
Here's a blog entry comparing the bills the two senators have proposed, which ones have passed, etc. It seems more revealing than comparing their voting records, which are extremely similar.
Here's a blog entry comparing the bills the two senators have proposed, which ones have passed, etc. It seems more revealing than comparing their voting records, which are extremely similar.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633
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