January 28, 2016

As I am typing this, I am eating a spam sandwich...a cold one. The spam wasn't even fried or heated. I had to run out this morning. I didn't get a chance to eat my Raisin Bran cereal either. My love affair with spam has made a comeback. Paul added diced spam to last night's pasta. The best way to eat them is to cut them up in thick slices and fry them with no oil. They will crisp on the outside and remain soft in the middle. Eat the fried spam slices with white rice. My mom used to prepare spam like this when she didn't want to cook. The only problem with eating spam is that you'll end up drinking water all day long due to the high salt content. It's super high in sodium and cholesterol. I will eat it in moderation. Last night's gym session was brutal. We all dragged our feet. There was no group class or anything... just individual goals to accomplish. I made cookies while Paul made the pasta. Tess made a list for herself. In the middle of baking a chocolate cake, I realized I ran out of cooking oil. Luckily, Taylor was home with a jug of vegetable oil. She gave me all of her oil and will call on me if she needs some. Speaking of cakes, I am not looking forward to decorating old school. However, I've gotten great baking tips from the first class. I am supposed to bake 14 cakes in the next 7 weeks. Plus, I need to have 4 lbs of buttercream frosting prepared for each week. Let's not forget the long list of baking supplies I need to get. Let's see how the class plays out.

January 26, 2016

I'm still wearing the same work shoes that Loan got for me 1.5 years ago. She and Hoa came up for my birthday. Chang and Carrie also came up. I forgot why everyone came up at the same time. Chang and Carrie were getting married the following year so I think there was some dress shopping or veil shopping going on. As for Hoa and Loan, I think we felt it was long overdue for a reunion. We watched "The Lion King". It was their first time and my second time. The show was still pretty dramatic and spectacular. Hugo stressed Hoa throughout the whole trip. She even wanted me to talk to him and I refused to get in the middle of their madness. Luckily I stayed out of it. Where are they now? Not together. I'm not surprised one bit. We also went shopping for TD's dancer. We found him on my actual birthday night. I think the girls felt a bit uncomfortable, but we accomplished our task by finding a performer for TD's last fling before the ring. Last night was devoted to Walmart and sending out lixi. It took up most of my night. The remainder of the night was dedicated to Domino's. I still don't know why pizza crossed my mind. Totino's was not enough for Paul so we stepped it up a notch. Blain declined because he had to wake up early. Tess gladly accepted the challenge. Love the new hair! I'll find your presence out here on the interweb...for sure.

January 24, 2016

Happy Birthday, Loan!

January 22, 2016

Happy Birthday, Tess! Make it an awesome day! To my folks in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, brace yourself for the first major winter storm of the season. I like how the forecasters get us all hyped up only to be disappointed in the end. My Saturday mornings, or should I say mid-mornings, are now dedicated to Aubrey. She's the new "Heather". She gives me clear instructions on what she wants and allows us to modify if needed. There's always room for modifications because we practice at our own pace. No matter how late we stay out tonight, I must man up and continue with the Saturday morning practice. I like how the package does not expire until two decades from now. Soul will still be here two decades from now. Aubrey may still teach or retire to India. Who really knows...speaking of which, I'm super excited for you TD and Alexis! Just another month and you guys are off to your Asia adventure. Sheryl, don't worry...she will return to you. I can't say the same about me though. They asked me if I miss New York. I think about it every now and then but I like the new conveniences such as driving myself around and doing laundry in my place whenever I want. Also, it only takes no more than 10 minutes to get from point A to point B. Traffic is non-existent since I rarely use the freeways. Everyone is pretty much off the roads by 7PM. It's a nice quiet town, but there's always something to do. I need to try new places instead of frequenting the same ones. When the weather gets warmer, I plan on walking to work.

January 19, 2016

Yesterday was my first time working on MLK day in years. I always forget that most employers don't let their employees out that day. We don't even have off on President's Day. I miss those endless holidays at NYU, especially the long winter break. The break always included 7 business days. Add on another 3 of your own vacation days and I get myself two weeks off. The thing that's different here is we have Good Friday off. I wanted to check out the MLK Day Parade in front of my office but I didn't get to leave the building. My afternoon meeting took all afternoon and didn't end until after 5PM. It's good to know the wine shop downstairs doesn't close until 9PM. That's considered late around this area.

January 14, 2016

Three winners won the big jackpot. I actually gave up this last round. I didn't even go out and get tickets. I also declined the pool that was going around at the office. The three winners get to split the big jackpot. I guess they won't be coming into work today. If I win the lottery, I will take some time off from work and rethink what to do with the money. I will definitely take the lump sum option and invest a big portion of the money. I will likely quit working as well. One can only dream and keep dreaming. They say your chances to win get slimmer as more people play the bigger jackpot. The key is to keep hope alive and anticipate that you are the lucky one(s) with the winning numbers. Last night's walk to the arena was perfect. It was just under 13 minutes. Walking pass the new Devon building was a plus too. A new building is going up right next to the Devon building. The parking lot was full at the Civic Center. I'm thinking there was a show last night. The basketball game was quite dramatic with a big fight in the first half. We stayed for the halftime show. It involved a guy and a girl playing with the hoola hoop and a cube. We ran into Don and Candi at the game. I am looking forward to the long weekend at the end of the month. Tess, don't give up hope. Keep at it. I am proud of you for continuing on even after my cancellation. Let's hope the long bench is waiting for us tonight at the Rink. Happy Birthday Taylor!

January 13, 2016

One of my biggest pet peeves is to walk into a smelly restaurant and leaving the restaurant smelling like the restaurant. Pho Lien Hoa smells like fish sauce. I walk out of the Garage smelling like the days when I used to work at Wendy's behind the burger grill. Chelino's smells like Mexican food. The Olive Garden smells like parmesan cheese. I find that most American restaurants do not smell. Although American places sell burgers on their menu, they don't smell. You walk out of the restaurant with no odor attached to your hair and clothes. Plus, there's no layer of "food air" stuck to your exposed skin. These places invest in legitimate air ventilation systems for their kitchen. It makes a huge difference in the restaurant experience. I am really starting to hate smelly restaurants. It's like walking into a bar and smelling like smoke because apparently you can still smoke inside Oklahoma bars. When will the state pass legislation to ban indoor smoking? It's simply disgusting! While you're at it, require all restaurants to have neutral smelling indoor air.

January 10, 2016

"Making a Murderer" makes me sick. It's up there with "Going Clear".

January 6, 2016

Tulsa has a Saks but OKC doesn't? They even have a Restoration Hardware. Tulsa has this boutique shopping center filled with high end stores. It reminds me of Highland Park Village in Dallas, Texas. The only thing close to what we have in OKC is Classen Curve. There you will find West Elm, Anthropologie, Whole Foods, and some unknown "high end" stores. We need to catch up with Tulsa. Seriously!

January 3, 2016

It's nice having two 4-day weekends back to back. Next year will throw us off because it's a leap year. I have no upcoming flights on the United app. My platinum status will now be silver. It's pretty depressing. I now need to line up with other Group 2 folks. Group 1 was sweet. I pretty much bypassed 95% of the passengers. I now have a baggage allowance of 1 bag up to 50 pounds. This past year, I was allowed 3 bags up to 70 pounds each. The allowance came in handy on my one way flight from EWR to OKC.

January 2, 2016

My goals for this year are to eat out less, step into the gym at least four times a week, and eat less fried food.