Anyhoo, I fashioned a homemade finger brace out of a Trident package and masking tape. And then I realized what I'd done. Here's a pic. You can laugh but it works super awesome!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Oh yes, this is the kind of stuff I do at home.
I wrenched the proximal interphalangeal joint of the middle finger of my right hand after my pharmacology exam this afternoon. How did I do this? It's snowing today and my joints must be acting up. That's a fun thing to happen at 25 years of age.
Anyhoo, I fashioned a homemade finger brace out of a Trident package and masking tape. And then I realized what I'd done. Here's a pic. You can laugh but it works super awesome!
Anyhoo, I fashioned a homemade finger brace out of a Trident package and masking tape. And then I realized what I'd done. Here's a pic. You can laugh but it works super awesome!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
These aren't the droids you're looking for...
Being a nurse means having to maneuver yourself around many people, each with different interests and priorities. It's a lot of reading moods, figuring out personalities, probing emotions and gentle nudging. It would be draining if I didn't thrive on such delicate interactions. My clinical teacher said that I was manipulative, which sounds bad if you take it at face value. But consider what I've been learning in class for the past year and a half about eliciting information that you want, figuring out people's wants and needs, urging them to see things in a different light (your way) to get them to do what you want. Officially, these techniques are supposed to be for clients, but why not for all the other people you have to work with? Nurses, technicians, clerks, doctors, orderlies, housekeeping staff, client's families, volunteers...the list goes on and on.
If I can manipulate a student doctor into seeing a client's family immediately, is that wrong? If I can get a resident to change a prescription right now so that it's easier for the client to take his medication, is that so bad? Or am I simply Alec Guiness guiding a doofusy-haired kid and two droids through a checkpoint? No one thinks he's a conniving schemer.
So until I somehow grow some damn midichlorians in my blood (or simply learn The Force, according to purists), I will be refining my techniques of "manipulation". After all, you can be sure that I won't use it for evil. Right?
Right?
Excellent.
If I can manipulate a student doctor into seeing a client's family immediately, is that wrong? If I can get a resident to change a prescription right now so that it's easier for the client to take his medication, is that so bad? Or am I simply Alec Guiness guiding a doofusy-haired kid and two droids through a checkpoint? No one thinks he's a conniving schemer.
So until I somehow grow some damn midichlorians in my blood (or simply learn The Force, according to purists), I will be refining my techniques of "manipulation". After all, you can be sure that I won't use it for evil. Right?
Right?
Excellent.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Cooking Attempts #26~28: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭), Seaweed salad (미역조림), Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I made these dishes back in June, but didn't post them for one reason or another. They're simple recipes, so I just combined them all into one post. Mmm~
6월에 만든 요리인데, 시간이 없어서 못 올렸습니다. 간단한 음식들이니까 한꺼번에 쓰기로 했어요!
Edit: I'm adding a Korean version at Dasol's request. I'm an awesome pants sister, that's what.
다솔이를 위해서 한글로 썼습니다. 저같은 누나가 어디 있나요?
Cooking Attempt #26: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭)
You can have this delivered in Korea. Actually, you can order anything in Korea to be delivered. I've heard stories of people going fishing on the tiniest islands and getting bowls of black bean noodles delivered to them by boat. Sometimes, the boats can't even dock on the islands, so they have to throw their packages to the customer. Really, it's insane over there. But good food service. Anyhoo, where was I?
한국에서 배달많이 하는 음식이죠. 여름에 어디서 들었는데 한국에선 모든게 배달된데요. 어떤 한적한 섬에서 낚시를 하는 사람들도 먹고 싶으면 짜장면을 배로 갖다준데요. 정말 놀랐어요. 서비스는 한국사람들이 최고라네요.
Yes, spicy fried chicken. Now there's a chain of sorts in Toronto doing pickups and deliveries, but it feels so expensive when you're used to Korean prices. Plus, I'm here in Montreal, where the food just isn't quite up to Toronto standards, so I must make my own. Plus, I'm really starting to love this cooking from scratch thing.
아~ 양념통닭. 토론토에서 체인점이 있긴 한데, 한국에 비하면 너무 비싸지 않아요? 그리고 여기 몬트리얼은 식당들이 별로에요. (아~ 토론토 스시 먹고 싶어라~) 계다가 요즘 요리에 재미가 붙어서... ㅎㅎ
I bought some chicken drumsticks, coated them in flour and whipped egg and stuck them in the oven for about 20 minutes. You could fry it, but this is healthier, I think.
닭다리를 달걀과 밀가루를 묻혀서 오븐에 20분동안 넣습니다. 튀길 수도 있지만, 이게 더 건강하죠.
While that was cooking, I made the spicy sauce in a skillet:
3 cloves of smushed garlic
1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp of raspberry jam
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
When the chicken was ready, I put it in the sauce and mixed it around and cooked it until the sauce was nice and thick and the chicken was done.
닭고기가 다 됐을때, 양념에 넣고 비벼요. 소스가 찐득찐득해집니다.
Then you sprinkle some sesame seeds and DEEEEELISH! In Korea, it usually comes with a small dish of sweet and sour radish (not really daikon), but I'm not sure how to make that and I don't really want to buy a whole radish just to make it. But it's really refreshing and crunchy next to the spicy chicken.
깨 좀 뿌리고 바로 드세요. 한국에선 무랑 같이 배달되죠? 무도 사기 싫고 어떻게 만드는 지도 몰라서 그건 생략했어요.
Cooking Attempt #27: Seaweed salad (미역조림)
I had some leftover seaweed when I made some seaweed soup. It's different from nori. It comes freeze dried, so you take a tiny bit and let it soak in some cold water. It expands quite a bit. Then you wash it and drain it. Then you mix it up with some chili paste, vinegar and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Chill it in the refrigerator and slorp it up!
미역국을 만들때, 좀 남아서 만들어봤어요. 그렇게 많이 부푸는지 몰랐어요. 고추장, 식초, 깨랑 비비고 나서 냉장고에 좀 나뒀다가 먹었어요.
Cooking Attempt #28: Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I found a Korean grocery store just minutes away from the Montreal Children's hospital where I have my clinical course. They had fresh plain rice cakes. Proper rice cakes, not those crispy rice thingies that Westerners call rice cakes. And I thought, "Hmmm...I've got fish cakes at home!"
제가 다니는 병원근처에 한국식품이 있더라구요. 한번 가봤는데 떡이 있어서 사봤어요. 집에 있는 어묵이랑 같이 떡볶이!
Spicy rice cakes are a favourite snack food in Korea. It's cheap, so kids usually go to snack bars and buy big platefuls of the stuff and gobble it down after school. They don't have to be spicy (without chili paste), but I'm used to the spicy version (from the south, baby!).
떡볶이는 모두 좋아하는 간식이죠. 인터넷을 검색해보니까 안 매운 떡볶이도 있다는데 (고추장 없이 간장만), 남쪽 사람이 그러면 되겠어요?
Cut the rice cake into 5cm long pieces and fish cake into bite-size pieces. Fish cake should be dipped in hot water and then drained. Cook these in a skillet with a bit of sesame oil and then set aside. It doesn't take a long time.
떡과 어묵을 한입 크기로 자르세요. 어묵은 먼저 뜨거운 물에 담궜다가 잘 빼구요. 참기름에 잠깐 볶았다가 옆에 놔둡니다.
The sauce is kinda like the one used for the spicy chicken:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of mushed garlic
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
Make the sauce, add the rice cake and fish cake and mix mix mix! Eat and reminisce about childhood! Ahhhhhhhhh~
양념은 양념치킨이랑 비슷해요. 만들고 나서 떡과 어묵을 넣고 비벼요! 먹으면서 어린시절을 생각합니다~
6월에 만든 요리인데, 시간이 없어서 못 올렸습니다. 간단한 음식들이니까 한꺼번에 쓰기로 했어요!
Edit: I'm adding a Korean version at Dasol's request. I'm an awesome pants sister, that's what.
다솔이를 위해서 한글로 썼습니다. 저같은 누나가 어디 있나요?
Cooking Attempt #26: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭)
You can have this delivered in Korea. Actually, you can order anything in Korea to be delivered. I've heard stories of people going fishing on the tiniest islands and getting bowls of black bean noodles delivered to them by boat. Sometimes, the boats can't even dock on the islands, so they have to throw their packages to the customer. Really, it's insane over there. But good food service. Anyhoo, where was I?
한국에서 배달많이 하는 음식이죠. 여름에 어디서 들었는데 한국에선 모든게 배달된데요. 어떤 한적한 섬에서 낚시를 하는 사람들도 먹고 싶으면 짜장면을 배로 갖다준데요. 정말 놀랐어요. 서비스는 한국사람들이 최고라네요.
Yes, spicy fried chicken. Now there's a chain of sorts in Toronto doing pickups and deliveries, but it feels so expensive when you're used to Korean prices. Plus, I'm here in Montreal, where the food just isn't quite up to Toronto standards, so I must make my own. Plus, I'm really starting to love this cooking from scratch thing.
아~ 양념통닭. 토론토에서 체인점이 있긴 한데, 한국에 비하면 너무 비싸지 않아요? 그리고 여기 몬트리얼은 식당들이 별로에요. (아~ 토론토 스시 먹고 싶어라~) 계다가 요즘 요리에 재미가 붙어서... ㅎㅎ
I bought some chicken drumsticks, coated them in flour and whipped egg and stuck them in the oven for about 20 minutes. You could fry it, but this is healthier, I think.
닭다리를 달걀과 밀가루를 묻혀서 오븐에 20분동안 넣습니다. 튀길 수도 있지만, 이게 더 건강하죠.
While that was cooking, I made the spicy sauce in a skillet:
3 cloves of smushed garlic
1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp of raspberry jam
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
When the chicken was ready, I put it in the sauce and mixed it around and cooked it until the sauce was nice and thick and the chicken was done.
닭고기가 다 됐을때, 양념에 넣고 비벼요. 소스가 찐득찐득해집니다.
Then you sprinkle some sesame seeds and DEEEEELISH! In Korea, it usually comes with a small dish of sweet and sour radish (not really daikon), but I'm not sure how to make that and I don't really want to buy a whole radish just to make it. But it's really refreshing and crunchy next to the spicy chicken.
깨 좀 뿌리고 바로 드세요. 한국에선 무랑 같이 배달되죠? 무도 사기 싫고 어떻게 만드는 지도 몰라서 그건 생략했어요.
Cooking Attempt #27: Seaweed salad (미역조림)
I had some leftover seaweed when I made some seaweed soup. It's different from nori. It comes freeze dried, so you take a tiny bit and let it soak in some cold water. It expands quite a bit. Then you wash it and drain it. Then you mix it up with some chili paste, vinegar and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Chill it in the refrigerator and slorp it up!
미역국을 만들때, 좀 남아서 만들어봤어요. 그렇게 많이 부푸는지 몰랐어요. 고추장, 식초, 깨랑 비비고 나서 냉장고에 좀 나뒀다가 먹었어요.
Cooking Attempt #28: Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I found a Korean grocery store just minutes away from the Montreal Children's hospital where I have my clinical course. They had fresh plain rice cakes. Proper rice cakes, not those crispy rice thingies that Westerners call rice cakes. And I thought, "Hmmm...I've got fish cakes at home!"
제가 다니는 병원근처에 한국식품이 있더라구요. 한번 가봤는데 떡이 있어서 사봤어요. 집에 있는 어묵이랑 같이 떡볶이!
Spicy rice cakes are a favourite snack food in Korea. It's cheap, so kids usually go to snack bars and buy big platefuls of the stuff and gobble it down after school. They don't have to be spicy (without chili paste), but I'm used to the spicy version (from the south, baby!).
떡볶이는 모두 좋아하는 간식이죠. 인터넷을 검색해보니까 안 매운 떡볶이도 있다는데 (고추장 없이 간장만), 남쪽 사람이 그러면 되겠어요?
Cut the rice cake into 5cm long pieces and fish cake into bite-size pieces. Fish cake should be dipped in hot water and then drained. Cook these in a skillet with a bit of sesame oil and then set aside. It doesn't take a long time.
떡과 어묵을 한입 크기로 자르세요. 어묵은 먼저 뜨거운 물에 담궜다가 잘 빼구요. 참기름에 잠깐 볶았다가 옆에 놔둡니다.
The sauce is kinda like the one used for the spicy chicken:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of mushed garlic
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
Make the sauce, add the rice cake and fish cake and mix mix mix! Eat and reminisce about childhood! Ahhhhhhhhh~
양념은 양념치킨이랑 비슷해요. 만들고 나서 떡과 어묵을 넣고 비벼요! 먹으면서 어린시절을 생각합니다~
Cooking Attempt #25: Korean rice roll (김밥)
Korean rice rolls are like sushi in that they have rice and nori, but no raw fish. Instead we use cooked ingredients, so that we can take it to picnics. It's like the standard snackables for any outdoor gathering and every family in Korea has bamboo rolls at home.
I had to guesstimate how much of each ingredient to prepare, because it's difficult to match it with how much rice there is. I made about 3 ricebowls worth of sticky rice and the following:
1 carrot
3 small hotdog sausages
1 bunch of spinach
2 eggs
daikon - I found ones that were already cut into long thin slices
8 sheets of plain, unroasted nori
These are standard ingredients. They're all colourful, so that it looks pretty. Some people use Korean barbeque or canned tuna with mayo, but those are hard to work with. I would have used some artificial crabmeat, but I like my rice rolls to be thin. If you use too much in each roll, then they become unwieldy and burst easily.
So, first I cut the carrot into long thin chopstick-like pieces and the sausages lengthwise into 4 pieces. Then I put the skillet on medium heat with some sesame oil. While that was heating up, I whipped up the eggs. I cooked the eggs like the time I made the egg blanket for omuraisu and then folded it in half when it was half cooked so that it was thick enough. Then I removed it from the skillet and cooked the carrot and sausage. Those were also removed and then the spinach was cooked until it was soft and stringy.
The rice should be removed from the cooker as soon as it's done and transferred to a bowl with a spoonful of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. This should be stirred so that it's coated evenly and left to cool. The rice should be lukewarm when you start to spread it on the nori. If it's too hot, then the nori will rip because it's too moist.
Spread rice thinly on the bottom 2/3 of nori using a rice spatula. A few grains should be stuck to the top edge to help the whole thing stick when it's rolled up. Take each slice of ingredient and pile it up neatly on top of one another 2cm from the bottom edge.
The rolling takes a bit of practice. You have to hold the ingredients as you fold the bottom edge over so that it meets the rice on the other side of the ingredient pile. Then press down to make sure that it's stuck and keep rolling firmly. Once it's been rolled, roll it again using the bamboo roll squeezing evenly with both hands.
Once the rolls have cooled down some more, take a clean dry knife and start cutting using long back and forth motions. The knife will start to get sticky from the rice residue, so have some hot water handy and a paper towel to wipe it off.
I made 8 rolls. That's about 3 servings. ^_^ It was soooooo yummy! This picture shows about 3 rolls' worth.
I'm taking some for lunch tomorrow. I put some saran wrap between each layer in the tupperware container so that it doesn't dry out. Mm mmmm~
I had to guesstimate how much of each ingredient to prepare, because it's difficult to match it with how much rice there is. I made about 3 ricebowls worth of sticky rice and the following:
1 carrot
3 small hotdog sausages
1 bunch of spinach
2 eggs
daikon - I found ones that were already cut into long thin slices
8 sheets of plain, unroasted nori
These are standard ingredients. They're all colourful, so that it looks pretty. Some people use Korean barbeque or canned tuna with mayo, but those are hard to work with. I would have used some artificial crabmeat, but I like my rice rolls to be thin. If you use too much in each roll, then they become unwieldy and burst easily.
So, first I cut the carrot into long thin chopstick-like pieces and the sausages lengthwise into 4 pieces. Then I put the skillet on medium heat with some sesame oil. While that was heating up, I whipped up the eggs. I cooked the eggs like the time I made the egg blanket for omuraisu and then folded it in half when it was half cooked so that it was thick enough. Then I removed it from the skillet and cooked the carrot and sausage. Those were also removed and then the spinach was cooked until it was soft and stringy.
The rice should be removed from the cooker as soon as it's done and transferred to a bowl with a spoonful of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. This should be stirred so that it's coated evenly and left to cool. The rice should be lukewarm when you start to spread it on the nori. If it's too hot, then the nori will rip because it's too moist.
Spread rice thinly on the bottom 2/3 of nori using a rice spatula. A few grains should be stuck to the top edge to help the whole thing stick when it's rolled up. Take each slice of ingredient and pile it up neatly on top of one another 2cm from the bottom edge.
The rolling takes a bit of practice. You have to hold the ingredients as you fold the bottom edge over so that it meets the rice on the other side of the ingredient pile. Then press down to make sure that it's stuck and keep rolling firmly. Once it's been rolled, roll it again using the bamboo roll squeezing evenly with both hands.
Once the rolls have cooled down some more, take a clean dry knife and start cutting using long back and forth motions. The knife will start to get sticky from the rice residue, so have some hot water handy and a paper towel to wipe it off.
I made 8 rolls. That's about 3 servings. ^_^ It was soooooo yummy! This picture shows about 3 rolls' worth.
I'm taking some for lunch tomorrow. I put some saran wrap between each layer in the tupperware container so that it doesn't dry out. Mm mmmm~
Cooking Attempt #24: Vegetable pad thai
Edit: I used this recipe. And I've tried it with firm tofu cubes and red pepper, which was REALLY good. Actually, better than this, but I forgot to take pictures.
I found flat egg noodles in the grocery store! This is the second time I've tried making pad thai and it was better, but I'm starting to dislike using broccoli in a stir fry. Maybe I should try cutting it up in smaller chunks? But anyway, the noodles turned out yummy, but I would have liked it a bit spicier.
I say that about a lot of the recipes. I made tandoori chicken last weekend and had to add so much more curry powder than what the recipe prescribed. From now on, I'll just assume that whatever spice they're adding is not enough and multiply it. By 4. Because my Korean tastebuds demand it!
Anyhoo, broccoli and carrot pad thai!
I found flat egg noodles in the grocery store! This is the second time I've tried making pad thai and it was better, but I'm starting to dislike using broccoli in a stir fry. Maybe I should try cutting it up in smaller chunks? But anyway, the noodles turned out yummy, but I would have liked it a bit spicier.
I say that about a lot of the recipes. I made tandoori chicken last weekend and had to add so much more curry powder than what the recipe prescribed. From now on, I'll just assume that whatever spice they're adding is not enough and multiply it. By 4. Because my Korean tastebuds demand it!
Anyhoo, broccoli and carrot pad thai!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Buh-whaaaa?
So I've been watching quite a bit of anime lately. I started watching the second season of Saiunkoku Monogatari again, which I abandoned for 2 months, because I became annoyed with a side story that did not involve any of the characters that I liked. More specifically,
1) The Hot Emperor
2) The Hot General
3) The Hot Bodyguard, who is actually the secret older brother of the Hot Emperor
4) The Hot Civil Affairs Minister
5) The Hot Kooky Genius, who is the younger brother of the Hot General
6) The Hot Deputy Governor, who is kind of like a Hot Robin Hood character
But I went back to it, because I was feeling kind of burned out after the midterms and thought that the elation of recognizing random Japanese words would be good for taking my mind off nursing stuff.
Then I came to this line:
Let me explain what the characters are talking about. Two minor characters who may or may not be nefarious are talking about the main character, who is the typical plucky do-gooder heroine (what I like to call the Anne of Green Gables syndrome). One of them says something about the main character reminding him of a peach and the other comes out with this gem.
First, who does that to a peach? One usually eats a peach, plays around with the pit for awhile and maybe boil it in some water to make a cyanide concoction if one happens to be a low-level assassin with no access to murder supplies. My point is that no normal person feels compelled to crush a perfectly good peach for no good reason just so that he can drop it into a massive (huge!) abyss. What if there is no 10000 foot abyss nearby?
Then I thought, well maybe it makes more sense in Japanese. Perhaps there's some particular idiom that's difficult to understand in English. Since Korean has a closer sensibility to Japanese, I translated it into Korean in my head and no, it doesn't make sense then either.
Perhaps I shouldn't be thinking so much about this, but I find that there's been a lack of crazy randomness in my life recently and I am due for a recharge. Like a sunflower out of the sun, I wilt and droop without the whirl of insanity around me. No one does crazy like the WSS. T_T *sniff sniff*
1) The Hot Emperor
2) The Hot General
3) The Hot Bodyguard, who is actually the secret older brother of the Hot Emperor
4) The Hot Civil Affairs Minister
5) The Hot Kooky Genius, who is the younger brother of the Hot General
6) The Hot Deputy Governor, who is kind of like a Hot Robin Hood character
But I went back to it, because I was feeling kind of burned out after the midterms and thought that the elation of recognizing random Japanese words would be good for taking my mind off nursing stuff.
Then I came to this line:
Let me explain what the characters are talking about. Two minor characters who may or may not be nefarious are talking about the main character, who is the typical plucky do-gooder heroine (what I like to call the Anne of Green Gables syndrome). One of them says something about the main character reminding him of a peach and the other comes out with this gem.
First, who does that to a peach? One usually eats a peach, plays around with the pit for awhile and maybe boil it in some water to make a cyanide concoction if one happens to be a low-level assassin with no access to murder supplies. My point is that no normal person feels compelled to crush a perfectly good peach for no good reason just so that he can drop it into a massive (huge!) abyss. What if there is no 10000 foot abyss nearby?
Then I thought, well maybe it makes more sense in Japanese. Perhaps there's some particular idiom that's difficult to understand in English. Since Korean has a closer sensibility to Japanese, I translated it into Korean in my head and no, it doesn't make sense then either.
Perhaps I shouldn't be thinking so much about this, but I find that there's been a lack of crazy randomness in my life recently and I am due for a recharge. Like a sunflower out of the sun, I wilt and droop without the whirl of insanity around me. No one does crazy like the WSS. T_T *sniff sniff*
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Cooking Attempt #23: Chicken chow mein
Today's recipe is a simplified version of this one.
Guess my excitement when I found Chinese egg noodles in the posh grocery store (from which I only buy tofu and watercress because everything else is so bloody expensive)! Oh yes, I said, I shall master chow mein and it shall be delicious.
Instead of the pepper, broccoli and bean sprouts suggested in the original recipe, I just bought bonsai bok choy (smaller than mini bok choy) and snow peas from Metro (on sale until tomorrow, huzzah huzzah).
I was thinking of the chicken chow mein that Linda so favoured at China Garden, a dinky Chinese restaurant that we used to frequent near U of T. I think the last time we went together, we were with Kevin and all of us wanted to get the chicken chow mein. I didn't see a problem with this, but Kevin and Linda thought it was embarrassing if we all ordered the same dish. Weirdos. Did we end up getting the chow mein anyway? I can't remember.
Anyhoo, their chicken chow mein *is* awesome and very simple. They use only bok choy and no other veggies, but I saw snow peas and thought that the green looked pretty.
I used fish sauce instead of oyster sauce, because it's what I had and I figure that they're pretty much the same thing, right? They're both salty fishy things. I think I added a touch too much of garlic and soy sauce. I also need to figure out how to make my chow mein crispy. And next time, I'm going to be halving this recipe, because my skillet (which I thought was ginormous enough to handle anything) could barely contain everything. There are bits of garlic all over the stove now. This is what I get for cleaning the kitchen before cooking. *grumble grumble*
It turned out yummy. I'm going to have enough to have for dinner tonight, to take to the hospital for lunch tomorrow and to eat for dinner tomorrow night. ^_^ I hope I don't get sick of it.
Guess my excitement when I found Chinese egg noodles in the posh grocery store (from which I only buy tofu and watercress because everything else is so bloody expensive)! Oh yes, I said, I shall master chow mein and it shall be delicious.
Instead of the pepper, broccoli and bean sprouts suggested in the original recipe, I just bought bonsai bok choy (smaller than mini bok choy) and snow peas from Metro (on sale until tomorrow, huzzah huzzah).
I was thinking of the chicken chow mein that Linda so favoured at China Garden, a dinky Chinese restaurant that we used to frequent near U of T. I think the last time we went together, we were with Kevin and all of us wanted to get the chicken chow mein. I didn't see a problem with this, but Kevin and Linda thought it was embarrassing if we all ordered the same dish. Weirdos. Did we end up getting the chow mein anyway? I can't remember.
Anyhoo, their chicken chow mein *is* awesome and very simple. They use only bok choy and no other veggies, but I saw snow peas and thought that the green looked pretty.
I used fish sauce instead of oyster sauce, because it's what I had and I figure that they're pretty much the same thing, right? They're both salty fishy things. I think I added a touch too much of garlic and soy sauce. I also need to figure out how to make my chow mein crispy. And next time, I'm going to be halving this recipe, because my skillet (which I thought was ginormous enough to handle anything) could barely contain everything. There are bits of garlic all over the stove now. This is what I get for cleaning the kitchen before cooking. *grumble grumble*
It turned out yummy. I'm going to have enough to have for dinner tonight, to take to the hospital for lunch tomorrow and to eat for dinner tomorrow night. ^_^ I hope I don't get sick of it.
Monday, October 13, 2008
What's the level of your pain on a scale of 0 to 10 after I've bonked you with my juicebox?
I'm sick to death of classes, conferences, discussions, case studies about pain management. Yes yes, it's a crucial component of health care, blah blah blah here's some morphine.
But are we going to be having conferences at every single clinical location and classes on it every term in one course or another? I'm not kidding.
First year:
Therapeutic relationship - class on pain
Health and physical assessment - assessment of pain (actually useful)
Geriatrics clinical - pain conference
Obstetrics clinical - pain conference
Second year:
Acute stress and coping - 5 insufferable classes on pain
Pediatrics clinical - pain conference
It's not like there's new information, people. Regurgitating the same drivel about why the OUCHER scale doesn't work as well as FACES is not going to help me pay attention. Tell me how to administer analgesics, then. Tell me how to deal with a child that's kicking and screaming, because he doesn't understand what the medication is for. Tell me something that I can use instead of telling me for the sixth bloody time that pain is the fifth bloody vital sign and should bloody be assessed whenever you bloody go talk to the bloody patient.
I was going to insert a joke in here somewhere about classes on pain giving ME pain, but I can't. And the word "bloody" is starting to look weird to me. Like it's spelled wrong but I know it isn't.
Look what you've done now! Are you happy, McGill?
But are we going to be having conferences at every single clinical location and classes on it every term in one course or another? I'm not kidding.
First year:
Therapeutic relationship - class on pain
Health and physical assessment - assessment of pain (actually useful)
Geriatrics clinical - pain conference
Obstetrics clinical - pain conference
Second year:
Acute stress and coping - 5 insufferable classes on pain
Pediatrics clinical - pain conference
It's not like there's new information, people. Regurgitating the same drivel about why the OUCHER scale doesn't work as well as FACES is not going to help me pay attention. Tell me how to administer analgesics, then. Tell me how to deal with a child that's kicking and screaming, because he doesn't understand what the medication is for. Tell me something that I can use instead of telling me for the sixth bloody time that pain is the fifth bloody vital sign and should bloody be assessed whenever you bloody go talk to the bloody patient.
I was going to insert a joke in here somewhere about classes on pain giving ME pain, but I can't. And the word "bloody" is starting to look weird to me. Like it's spelled wrong but I know it isn't.
Look what you've done now! Are you happy, McGill?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
An Open Letter: Help yourself and avoid the stompage of my boot on your face.
Dear Professor Bok-bok,
Would you mind not being so damn inconsistent in your notes? Listen, I know that each hospital and lab has various standards for blood counts and whatnot, but people working at those places have the luxury of having the normal ranges listed RIGHT NEXT to the results.
*claw face*
You can't list normal serum osmolarity as being 280~300mmol/L in a table of important values we should know and then turn around and list 275~295mmol/L in your lecture slides.
Just like how you listed normal arterial bicarbonate as 22~26mmol/L in your lecture slides and 20~30mmmol/L in your module. That's a BIG difference, lady. I don't have the time to sit here and dig out everything that's wrong with your notes, okay? I also can't go buy a whole thing of juice cartons to go on a Rampage of Sweet Righteousness. Throw me a fricking bone, as Dr. Evil would say.
I swear to all that is holy to an agnostic, if I calculate serum osmolarity in one of your questions and the value happens to be something like 277.5mmol/L, I will be writing the following as my answer:
"This client's osmolarity is WNL according to your lecture notes and below normal limits according to Appendix A.3. SUCK ON IT. If you deduct marks, I will throw such a fit that you will think it is the Second Coming of Shoshannah. My foot, your face. Depend on it."
Too much?
Would you mind not being so damn inconsistent in your notes? Listen, I know that each hospital and lab has various standards for blood counts and whatnot, but people working at those places have the luxury of having the normal ranges listed RIGHT NEXT to the results.
*claw face*
You can't list normal serum osmolarity as being 280~300mmol/L in a table of important values we should know and then turn around and list 275~295mmol/L in your lecture slides.
Just like how you listed normal arterial bicarbonate as 22~26mmol/L in your lecture slides and 20~30mmmol/L in your module. That's a BIG difference, lady. I don't have the time to sit here and dig out everything that's wrong with your notes, okay? I also can't go buy a whole thing of juice cartons to go on a Rampage of Sweet Righteousness. Throw me a fricking bone, as Dr. Evil would say.
I swear to all that is holy to an agnostic, if I calculate serum osmolarity in one of your questions and the value happens to be something like 277.5mmol/L, I will be writing the following as my answer:
"This client's osmolarity is WNL according to your lecture notes and below normal limits according to Appendix A.3. SUCK ON IT. If you deduct marks, I will throw such a fit that you will think it is the Second Coming of Shoshannah. My foot, your face. Depend on it."
Too much?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Cooking Attempt #21&22: Smoky Potato and Broccoli Soup and Tomato-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt
I got a handheld blender from the Bay this week, so I was all excited to use it. Heh!
Steps to making your very own smoky potato and broccoli soup (modified from this recipe):
1) Peel potatoes and cut up broccoli and onion.
2) Cut 2 slices of bacon into tiny chunks.
3) Pour 1 tbsp of canola oil into a pot and start cooking the bacon and onion.
4) Get taken aback by how fizzy the bacon is and turn down the heat.
5) Toss in 2 tbsp of flour and mix around.
6) Realize that you bought vegetable SOUP instead of vegetable STOCK and utter some impolite words in several languages.
7) Take the pot off the heat and run down to the grocery store.
8) Buy vegetable stock and almost run over someone in your haste.
9) Pour in some stock and pray that the flour hasn't utterly congealed onto the pan.
10) Huzzah! It seems to be working. Bring it up to a boil and toss in the veggies.
11) Cook for 10 minutes, adding in more stock from time to time.
12) Scream "SAVE ME, JEEBUS!" when the stove catches on fire from the bacon fat.
13) Get a giant pot lid and a box of baking soda to smother the flames just in case it happens again.
14) Ladle some of the hot broth into a measuring cup with milk.
15) Add salt and pepper to the milk-broth mixture.
16) Add the milk-broth mixture into the pot. Turn heat off when everything is cooked through.
17) Blend the hell out of the soup with your spanking new SmartStick blender.
18) Yomph it down with a ginormous hunk of crusty sourdough bread 2 hours after you started cooking.
It was yummy and worth the effort, I thought.
Steps to making your own tomato-raspberry frozen yogurt:
1) Get a tomato. Blend the hell out of it.
2) Get a handful of frozen raspberries. Blend the hell out them.
3) Add 4 giant spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt. Blend the hell out of everything.
I added a tomato, because it mellows out the tartness of the raspberries and the fibre from tomatoes are always nice and healthy.
Steps to making your very own smoky potato and broccoli soup (modified from this recipe):
1) Peel potatoes and cut up broccoli and onion.
2) Cut 2 slices of bacon into tiny chunks.
3) Pour 1 tbsp of canola oil into a pot and start cooking the bacon and onion.
4) Get taken aback by how fizzy the bacon is and turn down the heat.
5) Toss in 2 tbsp of flour and mix around.
6) Realize that you bought vegetable SOUP instead of vegetable STOCK and utter some impolite words in several languages.
7) Take the pot off the heat and run down to the grocery store.
8) Buy vegetable stock and almost run over someone in your haste.
9) Pour in some stock and pray that the flour hasn't utterly congealed onto the pan.
10) Huzzah! It seems to be working. Bring it up to a boil and toss in the veggies.
11) Cook for 10 minutes, adding in more stock from time to time.
12) Scream "SAVE ME, JEEBUS!" when the stove catches on fire from the bacon fat.
13) Get a giant pot lid and a box of baking soda to smother the flames just in case it happens again.
14) Ladle some of the hot broth into a measuring cup with milk.
15) Add salt and pepper to the milk-broth mixture.
16) Add the milk-broth mixture into the pot. Turn heat off when everything is cooked through.
17) Blend the hell out of the soup with your spanking new SmartStick blender.
18) Yomph it down with a ginormous hunk of crusty sourdough bread 2 hours after you started cooking.
It was yummy and worth the effort, I thought.
Steps to making your own tomato-raspberry frozen yogurt:
1) Get a tomato. Blend the hell out of it.
2) Get a handful of frozen raspberries. Blend the hell out them.
3) Add 4 giant spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt. Blend the hell out of everything.
I added a tomato, because it mellows out the tartness of the raspberries and the fibre from tomatoes are always nice and healthy.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Day 52 in Wiarton: Today's event - Shotputt
I let out a little shriek. I wasn't scared, no, but startled by the big toad blinking slowly next to the laundry room sink.
My dad ran in to ask what was going on. My brother fetched a broom and dustpan and I nudged the toad onto the dustpan.
Dad: Give it to me.
Me: Why, what are you going to do?
Dad: I won't kill it. Come on.
Me: I'm just going to let it go on our field.
Dad: There's an easier way.
He took the dustpan from my hands, leaned back and, as if he were hunting with an ancient sling, flung the toad into our back field. The poor toad, its legs akimbo, flew over our little fence and into the tall grass at least 30m away.
I was flabbergasted. I was pretty sure that the toad wasn't dead, but I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the absurdity of it all or not.
Dasol: You killed it!
Dad: It's not dead.
Dasol: What the heck was that? Poor toad!
Dad: What do you mean, poor toad! I bet it was the first toad ever to fly. Now it can tell all the other toads that it got to fly.
That was it for me. I laughed and laughed. Toad shotputt.
My dad ran in to ask what was going on. My brother fetched a broom and dustpan and I nudged the toad onto the dustpan.
Dad: Give it to me.
Me: Why, what are you going to do?
Dad: I won't kill it. Come on.
Me: I'm just going to let it go on our field.
Dad: There's an easier way.
He took the dustpan from my hands, leaned back and, as if he were hunting with an ancient sling, flung the toad into our back field. The poor toad, its legs akimbo, flew over our little fence and into the tall grass at least 30m away.
I was flabbergasted. I was pretty sure that the toad wasn't dead, but I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the absurdity of it all or not.
Dasol: You killed it!
Dad: It's not dead.
Dasol: What the heck was that? Poor toad!
Dad: What do you mean, poor toad! I bet it was the first toad ever to fly. Now it can tell all the other toads that it got to fly.
That was it for me. I laughed and laughed. Toad shotputt.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
A Public Service Announcement: Towels
It is troubling that people still have so much trouble determining the proper use of towels in this day and age. A towel is the most "massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have", but this does not mean that we can abuse its many functions to make up for our laziness or even lack of common sense. The following is a list of what towels are NOT.
A) A towel is NOT a napkin.
I know it can be tempting to use the closest thing at hand when your fingers are dripping with orange-red barbeque sauce, but a napkin (cloth or paper) works perfectly well! In fact, that's what napkins are for! Next time you have something dribbling from your food-inhaling face, try washing it before wiping it off with a towel. Your washing machine will thank you for it!
B) A towel is NOT a carwash rag.
It is frighteningly rude to use a pristine white bath towel (normally reserved for drying off human bodies) to wash your bug-splattered vehicle. Do you use bath towels at home to wash your car? If so, how long before your wife decides that she's had enough and tries to smother you with the towels you've ruined with the soapy remains of deceased insects? Towels are for bodies, rags are for two-tonne modes of transportation.
C) A towel is NOT a doormat.
Doormats are made of tough materials that allow you to scrape off excess dirt from your shoes before you enter a house or a building. Towels - amazing as they are - are sadly inadequate for this task and cannot withstand the rough motions you make with your sand-filled shoes. And what are you doing with shoes on in the house anyway? Oh, you silly Westerners!
D) A towel is NOT a makeup remover pad.
A towel is handy for wiping off excess moisture after swimming or a shower. The tiny loops in the terrycloth provide pleasant abrasion for your skin as you dry off, but this should not be the only method of removing layers of caked-on makeup that you applied for some reason when you decided to go to the beach this morning. For an effective makeup removal, use a good quality makeup remover solution along with a disposable quilted cotton pad. This should prevent the housekeeper of your favourite inn from having a nervous breakdown and soaking your next change of towels in undiluted chlorine bleach. No one wants a chemical burn!
Next, we will review the proper use of a towel.
Step 1: Place self in bathtub/shower stall/waterfall/body of clean water.
Step 2: Wash self. All dirt should be removed from body.
Step 3: Dry self using a towel.
Step 4: If there are dirt smudges on towel, repeat from Step 1.
Unless you are completely inept at washing yourself, you should have nothing on your towel except for water and the occasional hair. If you DO have dirt on your towel even after the most thorough washing, then you have my sympathy, as you've obviously fallen into a tar pit recently. Good luck with that.
Remember everyone! Towels are our friends.
This message was brought to you by the Society of Keep the Towels Clean Unless You Want Me to Stomp on Your Face Like the Cast of Riverdance.
A) A towel is NOT a napkin.
I know it can be tempting to use the closest thing at hand when your fingers are dripping with orange-red barbeque sauce, but a napkin (cloth or paper) works perfectly well! In fact, that's what napkins are for! Next time you have something dribbling from your food-inhaling face, try washing it before wiping it off with a towel. Your washing machine will thank you for it!
B) A towel is NOT a carwash rag.
It is frighteningly rude to use a pristine white bath towel (normally reserved for drying off human bodies) to wash your bug-splattered vehicle. Do you use bath towels at home to wash your car? If so, how long before your wife decides that she's had enough and tries to smother you with the towels you've ruined with the soapy remains of deceased insects? Towels are for bodies, rags are for two-tonne modes of transportation.
C) A towel is NOT a doormat.
Doormats are made of tough materials that allow you to scrape off excess dirt from your shoes before you enter a house or a building. Towels - amazing as they are - are sadly inadequate for this task and cannot withstand the rough motions you make with your sand-filled shoes. And what are you doing with shoes on in the house anyway? Oh, you silly Westerners!
D) A towel is NOT a makeup remover pad.
A towel is handy for wiping off excess moisture after swimming or a shower. The tiny loops in the terrycloth provide pleasant abrasion for your skin as you dry off, but this should not be the only method of removing layers of caked-on makeup that you applied for some reason when you decided to go to the beach this morning. For an effective makeup removal, use a good quality makeup remover solution along with a disposable quilted cotton pad. This should prevent the housekeeper of your favourite inn from having a nervous breakdown and soaking your next change of towels in undiluted chlorine bleach. No one wants a chemical burn!
Next, we will review the proper use of a towel.
Step 1: Place self in bathtub/shower stall/waterfall/body of clean water.
Step 2: Wash self. All dirt should be removed from body.
Step 3: Dry self using a towel.
Step 4: If there are dirt smudges on towel, repeat from Step 1.
Unless you are completely inept at washing yourself, you should have nothing on your towel except for water and the occasional hair. If you DO have dirt on your towel even after the most thorough washing, then you have my sympathy, as you've obviously fallen into a tar pit recently. Good luck with that.
Remember everyone! Towels are our friends.
This message was brought to you by the Society of Keep the Towels Clean Unless You Want Me to Stomp on Your Face Like the Cast of Riverdance.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A laundry room conversation on Day 30 in Wiarton
Dasol: This is a ton of laundry we have to fold.
Judy: Excuse me, I'm trying to get VOMIT stains out of these bedsheets without burning the skin off my fingers, so please, shut your hole and keep folding.
Dasol: Why did he vomit?
Judy: I'm no CSI, but from the overwhelming smell of stale booze in the room and a bunch of empty beer bottles, I'd say he had a bit too much last night.
Dasol: That's weak.
Judy: Not everyone can drink a lot, you know.
Dasol: You should know when to stop.
Judy: On the bright side, it's a good thing that he didn't die from alcohol poisoning in the bed.
Dasol: We wouldn't have to clean it up, you know.
Judy: Right, because THAT's what I'm worried about when a person dies in one of our rooms.
Judy: Excuse me, I'm trying to get VOMIT stains out of these bedsheets without burning the skin off my fingers, so please, shut your hole and keep folding.
Dasol: Why did he vomit?
Judy: I'm no CSI, but from the overwhelming smell of stale booze in the room and a bunch of empty beer bottles, I'd say he had a bit too much last night.
Dasol: That's weak.
Judy: Not everyone can drink a lot, you know.
Dasol: You should know when to stop.
Judy: On the bright side, it's a good thing that he didn't die from alcohol poisoning in the bed.
Dasol: We wouldn't have to clean it up, you know.
Judy: Right, because THAT's what I'm worried about when a person dies in one of our rooms.
Monday, July 21, 2008
I ache everywhere.
My brother's really good at fitness training and he used to train some of his friends in martial arts calisthenics. He's slacked off a bit lately though and I find that the best way of convincing him to work out is to ask him to train with me, which is a bit of a sacrifice on my part, because I hate exercise.
But Dasol says it should be a piece of cake for someone who is naturally flexible like me. Uh, sure. *shifty eyes* My legs move, at best, 140 degrees apart and when he tried to push it further, I burst into tears.
So I've been learning basic boxing moves and taekwondo kicks, because I could use better self defense techniques than the ones we learned back in grade 9 gym.
Self defense expert: For you to use this move, your attacker must be sitting on your stomach with his hands around your neck.
Us: Shouldn't we also learn how to prevent ourselves from getting into that position?
Self defense expert: ...
It's much more fun than crunches, pushups and leg raises, that's for sure. One day, I'll be able to smack someone silly with my right hook.
Today was the first time we did dodging exercises to become faster at movement. I was supposed to dodge my brother's hand from side to side. He bonked my face so much that I eventually had to take off my glasses. T_T
Then we started the different punches and combinations. I put so much force into a right cross that I wrenched something in my hip. Or at least, I think so. My brother kept insisting that it was normal to feel knives jabbing into my hip bone everytime I move my leg. Jerk. We tried doing crunches and back raises, but it hurt so much that we had to stop. Instead, I taught my brother some yoga moves and he had to admit that it was more difficult than he thought. Then I went for a swim.
I don't know what it is about Wiarton that's making me so intent on working out. My dad suggested that it might be the fresh air. I think that it's simply Wiarton and there is just nothing else to do. I mean, I can't watch the Food network all day, right? Even though I love the cake challenges and the Quebecois dude who cooks for his "friends". I should really finish up the book, however. On the other hand, there isn't much left to do, except for the cover, for which I definitely need other people's opinions. And French. I should work on that too.
It's been 31 days in Wiarton already. I'm on my way back to being somewhat fit, so for the next month, I will also work on:
1) THE Book
2) French
3) Reading in general
But Dasol says it should be a piece of cake for someone who is naturally flexible like me. Uh, sure. *shifty eyes* My legs move, at best, 140 degrees apart and when he tried to push it further, I burst into tears.
So I've been learning basic boxing moves and taekwondo kicks, because I could use better self defense techniques than the ones we learned back in grade 9 gym.
Self defense expert: For you to use this move, your attacker must be sitting on your stomach with his hands around your neck.
Us: Shouldn't we also learn how to prevent ourselves from getting into that position?
Self defense expert: ...
It's much more fun than crunches, pushups and leg raises, that's for sure. One day, I'll be able to smack someone silly with my right hook.
Today was the first time we did dodging exercises to become faster at movement. I was supposed to dodge my brother's hand from side to side. He bonked my face so much that I eventually had to take off my glasses. T_T
Then we started the different punches and combinations. I put so much force into a right cross that I wrenched something in my hip. Or at least, I think so. My brother kept insisting that it was normal to feel knives jabbing into my hip bone everytime I move my leg. Jerk. We tried doing crunches and back raises, but it hurt so much that we had to stop. Instead, I taught my brother some yoga moves and he had to admit that it was more difficult than he thought. Then I went for a swim.
I don't know what it is about Wiarton that's making me so intent on working out. My dad suggested that it might be the fresh air. I think that it's simply Wiarton and there is just nothing else to do. I mean, I can't watch the Food network all day, right? Even though I love the cake challenges and the Quebecois dude who cooks for his "friends". I should really finish up the book, however. On the other hand, there isn't much left to do, except for the cover, for which I definitely need other people's opinions. And French. I should work on that too.
It's been 31 days in Wiarton already. I'm on my way back to being somewhat fit, so for the next month, I will also work on:
1) THE Book
2) French
3) Reading in general
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
I have tan lines on my butt.
Yes, that's right. Tan lines on my butt.
I've been swimming everyday in my outdoor pool in Wiarton and apparently, for a person who normally shrinks away from sunlight like a vampire, it means that your butt becomes two-toned. Like vanilla ice cream with mocha swirls.
I just compared my butt to ice cream. This post is getting more uncomfortable by the minute. I'll stop right here and make myself some macaroni.
Dasol, my pseudo-trainer, assures me that the five-pound weight gain is from building muscle mass. Muscle? Me? Judy of the Bendy Fingers? O_O
I've been swimming everyday in my outdoor pool in Wiarton and apparently, for a person who normally shrinks away from sunlight like a vampire, it means that your butt becomes two-toned. Like vanilla ice cream with mocha swirls.
I just compared my butt to ice cream. This post is getting more uncomfortable by the minute. I'll stop right here and make myself some macaroni.
Dasol, my pseudo-trainer, assures me that the five-pound weight gain is from building muscle mass. Muscle? Me? Judy of the Bendy Fingers? O_O
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wiarton: Day 2 of...oh, who knows?
Working in Wiarton is - and I must stress this - not all that bad. That the setting of my summer adventures is boring is undeniable. People come up here to fish, for heaven's sake, and that's the most boring thing ever in my mind. However, the sun shines, the air is fresh, the groundhogs are in their condo and it's quiet. Maybe I'll finally finish THE book, because it seems that no one in the WSS will rest until I make some progress on it. There are worse places one could be. No, the thing I dreaded the most in coming to Wiarton is the crazies.
A sample rant from my first summer in Wiarton:
"To the guest with the cigars and candles (both prohibited) in room #15: If you ever smoke cigars in our room again, I will destroy you. I can do it, you know. I know your phone number, I know where you work and I have your credit card number. Do it again. And if the ozone machine should happen to appear in your room while you sleep at night, who's to say that I wasn't just deodorizing your filthy stench?"
I'm much more mellow than I was back then. No, I really am!
Fine, don't believe me.
But there are bound to be some crazy people. And I don't mean such enchantingly silly individuals like you and me. I mean Cuh-RAZY! I dread it. I dread it so much that I was thinking of ways to resolve such clashes without having to release toxins into somebody's room in a murderous mood. What if I acted even more erratically than them to sort of throw them off their guard? Furiously transcribing everything they say onto a sheet of paper while muttering maledictions? Smiling maniacally at unreasonable customers, for instance, while I stir my mug of tea in a manner that suggests some dreadful purpose?
Any suggestions?
A sample rant from my first summer in Wiarton:
"To the guest with the cigars and candles (both prohibited) in room #15: If you ever smoke cigars in our room again, I will destroy you. I can do it, you know. I know your phone number, I know where you work and I have your credit card number. Do it again. And if the ozone machine should happen to appear in your room while you sleep at night, who's to say that I wasn't just deodorizing your filthy stench?"
I'm much more mellow than I was back then. No, I really am!
Fine, don't believe me.
But there are bound to be some crazy people. And I don't mean such enchantingly silly individuals like you and me. I mean Cuh-RAZY! I dread it. I dread it so much that I was thinking of ways to resolve such clashes without having to release toxins into somebody's room in a murderous mood. What if I acted even more erratically than them to sort of throw them off their guard? Furiously transcribing everything they say onto a sheet of paper while muttering maledictions? Smiling maniacally at unreasonable customers, for instance, while I stir my mug of tea in a manner that suggests some dreadful purpose?
Any suggestions?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Wait, what? WHAT?
I have just finished watching The Rose of Versailles anime series, which I mentioned in this post.
I was very excited by it, as you well know. Lilian sent me a lovely Marie Antoinette wig to adorn my Webkinz panda (now known as Marie Pandoinette). Never mind that Oreo is actually a boy. He's comfortable in his own sexuality, darn it. I have also started the construction of my own Webkinz Versailles.
After having finished the anime, I am...torn. It was watchable enough and I did laugh at the streams of tears that sparkle like a million diamond fragments and the soap opera-like melodrama of it all. But is that not the point of shoujo? I even managed to overlook the portrayal of Duc d'Orléans as some mustache-twirling villain in a big black cape (well, without the mustache). That is not what bothers me.
The whole series is composed of 40 episodes and even though one starts to sense the unrest that leads to the French Revolution around episode 25, it takes quite awhile for it to move. I waited and waited and around episode 36, I started to get very antsy, because I knew exactly how much of the story is left and started to doubt if everything would be told satisfactorily in the remaining time.
I will now present a short summary of events that occur in the last few volumes of the manga:
Oscar (main character, female commander of the French Guards) decides to join the revolutionaries with her troops. Meanwhile, her best friend, André has been slowly going blind due to injuries that happened some years ago, but Oscar doesn't know about this. Oscar and André fall in love. Oscar takes her troops to support the citizens of Paris and André is wounded during battle. Oscar finds out that André is blind and he dies. The next day, Oscar leads the attack on Bastille and dies just as the prison falls into the hands of the revolutionaries. Then we shift focus to Marie Antoinette and everything that happened to her during the Revolution.
Oscar and André.
Even though they're both as pretty as daisies, you can tell André is the guy because he has a square jaw.
Now, here are MY feelings while watching the final 5 episodes of Rose of Versailles.
Episode 36:
Shouldn't this move along? Come on, there's a whole whack of stuff left to tell! Surely they're not thinking of ending the series right after Oscar's death!
Episode 37:
Wait, the battle's not even started yet and Oscar knows about André's eyes? That makes no sense! Aw, Oscar and André are together. Took them long enough, stoopid Oscar and her idiotic waffling. It's André! WHEE! ^O^
Episode 38: Oscar decides to join the revolutionaries with her troops.
"I resign as your commander. Because the man I love and trust won't fire at the people, just like all of you. I'll follow what he says. If he fights with the people, I'll fight with them. I've become André's wife. I'd like to walk the same path as my husband."
Wait. WHAT? That's your reason for joining the revolution? Because you're in love with André? Okay, I know André is hot. I've been screaming at you for the last 20 episodes to stop mooning after Fersen and get together with André already. But the Oscar *I* know joined the Revolution because she believed in it, not some pansy reason that her lover wants her to. Where was this subservient nature for the past 37 episodes? This is wrong. I'm totally not gonna cry when you die, you twit.
Episode 39:
Why are you taking André with you into battle? Have you gone insane? He's going BLIND, you idiot! At least the Oscar in the manga didn't KNOW André was blind before she decided to let him handle a freaking rifle on a horse!
Oh great, he's dead now. Are you happy? You killed him with your stupidity, dumbass! Yes, cry. Like crying is going to make up for getting him killed. I have no sympathy! Poor André. He deserved better than the blonde idiot who snubbed him for 36 episodes. T_T *sniff, sniff*
Great. Now Oscar's dead and it was completely anticlimactic.
Episode 40: Finale
It takes 10 minutes for Oscar's death and the montage of illustrations. There's no denying that the portraits of Oscar and André are beautiful, but how are they going to tell Marie Antoinette's story in 10 minutes?
Oh I can't believe this. It's minor characters meeting 5 years later to discuss the events of the French Revolution, because one of them's writing a book about it. How serendipitous. -_-;;
It's a goddamn clip show. They made a clip show of the attack on Versailles, the escape to Varennes, Louis XVI's trial, Louis Charles' abduction, Marie Antoinette's imprisonment in the Conciergerie and her execution.
Rosalie: [holding a white paper rose] Her Majesty gave me this on the morning of her last day. She made it with cosmetic papers in the cell, remembering Lady Oscar.
[Ah, so she indulged in origami during her imprisonment, did she? How elegant!]
Rosalie: And she said, "Rosalie, please colour this rose. The colour that Oscar liked." Then I suddenly realized I never asked Lady Oscar what colour rose she liked.
[That would be because it's not a common conversation topic. I don't care how bored people were in the 18th century. And I never knew Oscar to be an avid gardener, being so busy with soldiering and whatnot.]
Alain: I don't know about Oscar, but André would probably say he likes white.
Rosalie: Then I should keep it as it is.
Alain: Yeah, that's better.
And...that was it. Fersen's fate was described in two sentences by the narrator and that's how it ended. Le sigh. I shall stick to the originals from now on. They can't dissapoint me. *cough*Gankutsuou!*cough*
Oscar and Marie Antoinette as I would like to remember them.
I was very excited by it, as you well know. Lilian sent me a lovely Marie Antoinette wig to adorn my Webkinz panda (now known as Marie Pandoinette). Never mind that Oreo is actually a boy. He's comfortable in his own sexuality, darn it. I have also started the construction of my own Webkinz Versailles.
After having finished the anime, I am...torn. It was watchable enough and I did laugh at the streams of tears that sparkle like a million diamond fragments and the soap opera-like melodrama of it all. But is that not the point of shoujo? I even managed to overlook the portrayal of Duc d'Orléans as some mustache-twirling villain in a big black cape (well, without the mustache). That is not what bothers me.
The whole series is composed of 40 episodes and even though one starts to sense the unrest that leads to the French Revolution around episode 25, it takes quite awhile for it to move. I waited and waited and around episode 36, I started to get very antsy, because I knew exactly how much of the story is left and started to doubt if everything would be told satisfactorily in the remaining time.
I will now present a short summary of events that occur in the last few volumes of the manga:
Oscar (main character, female commander of the French Guards) decides to join the revolutionaries with her troops. Meanwhile, her best friend, André has been slowly going blind due to injuries that happened some years ago, but Oscar doesn't know about this. Oscar and André fall in love. Oscar takes her troops to support the citizens of Paris and André is wounded during battle. Oscar finds out that André is blind and he dies. The next day, Oscar leads the attack on Bastille and dies just as the prison falls into the hands of the revolutionaries. Then we shift focus to Marie Antoinette and everything that happened to her during the Revolution.
Oscar and André.Even though they're both as pretty as daisies, you can tell André is the guy because he has a square jaw.
Now, here are MY feelings while watching the final 5 episodes of Rose of Versailles.
Episode 36:
Shouldn't this move along? Come on, there's a whole whack of stuff left to tell! Surely they're not thinking of ending the series right after Oscar's death!
Episode 37:
Wait, the battle's not even started yet and Oscar knows about André's eyes? That makes no sense! Aw, Oscar and André are together. Took them long enough, stoopid Oscar and her idiotic waffling. It's André! WHEE! ^O^
Episode 38: Oscar decides to join the revolutionaries with her troops.
"I resign as your commander. Because the man I love and trust won't fire at the people, just like all of you. I'll follow what he says. If he fights with the people, I'll fight with them. I've become André's wife. I'd like to walk the same path as my husband."
Wait. WHAT? That's your reason for joining the revolution? Because you're in love with André? Okay, I know André is hot. I've been screaming at you for the last 20 episodes to stop mooning after Fersen and get together with André already. But the Oscar *I* know joined the Revolution because she believed in it, not some pansy reason that her lover wants her to. Where was this subservient nature for the past 37 episodes? This is wrong. I'm totally not gonna cry when you die, you twit.
Episode 39:
Why are you taking André with you into battle? Have you gone insane? He's going BLIND, you idiot! At least the Oscar in the manga didn't KNOW André was blind before she decided to let him handle a freaking rifle on a horse!
Oh great, he's dead now. Are you happy? You killed him with your stupidity, dumbass! Yes, cry. Like crying is going to make up for getting him killed. I have no sympathy! Poor André. He deserved better than the blonde idiot who snubbed him for 36 episodes. T_T *sniff, sniff*
Great. Now Oscar's dead and it was completely anticlimactic.
Episode 40: Finale
It takes 10 minutes for Oscar's death and the montage of illustrations. There's no denying that the portraits of Oscar and André are beautiful, but how are they going to tell Marie Antoinette's story in 10 minutes?
Oh I can't believe this. It's minor characters meeting 5 years later to discuss the events of the French Revolution, because one of them's writing a book about it. How serendipitous. -_-;;
It's a goddamn clip show. They made a clip show of the attack on Versailles, the escape to Varennes, Louis XVI's trial, Louis Charles' abduction, Marie Antoinette's imprisonment in the Conciergerie and her execution.
Rosalie: [holding a white paper rose] Her Majesty gave me this on the morning of her last day. She made it with cosmetic papers in the cell, remembering Lady Oscar.
[Ah, so she indulged in origami during her imprisonment, did she? How elegant!]
Rosalie: And she said, "Rosalie, please colour this rose. The colour that Oscar liked." Then I suddenly realized I never asked Lady Oscar what colour rose she liked.
[That would be because it's not a common conversation topic. I don't care how bored people were in the 18th century. And I never knew Oscar to be an avid gardener, being so busy with soldiering and whatnot.]
Alain: I don't know about Oscar, but André would probably say he likes white.
Rosalie: Then I should keep it as it is.
Alain: Yeah, that's better.
And...that was it. Fersen's fate was described in two sentences by the narrator and that's how it ended. Le sigh. I shall stick to the originals from now on. They can't dissapoint me. *cough*Gankutsuou!*cough*
Oscar and Marie Antoinette as I would like to remember them.Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I'm mere minutes away from sitting in my chair with drool running down my face.
When I first started this blog, I thought I would be writing a lot about my experiences as a student nurse, making her way into the exciting world of healing people and kicking ass, which oddly makes me sound like a strange video game character who goes around alternatively healing people in a benevolent Mother-Theresa-with-a-health-professional-degree fashion and stomping people's faces into the dirt while cackling with glee.
Like a ninja nurse.
O_O!!!
Ninja nurse! That's even better than Judero Hirabayashi, a former voice actress from Japan who became tragically addicted to cough syrup and was forced to make her way to Toronto in order to tear herself away from the terrible memories of her past life. Will we ever do an actual enactment of Untitled?
Anyway, back to my nursing adventures. They're not so much adventures as they are, shall we say, episodes that occur as I happen to pass by. It's not so much the confidentiality issue that stops me from writing about them. Goodness knows that I talk about my clinicals all the time and I'm always careful not to reveal any identifying features. "So my client was a man with green hair and lazy eye with one rainbow-coloured toe sock hanging off his left ear..."
My mind is too full of details, most of which I probably won't forget for the rest of my life. If you were to ask me about the very first client I ever had in the postpartum unit 30 years from now, I'd probably remember. I don't really feel the need to record every single thing that happens as I did during all those years in Westmount. If you begged me to write a Crazy E-mail now, then I couldn't, because those e-mails were for all of us. The funny things that happened when we formed our own TAG group in the third floor stairwell are important to me as they were to you, which is why I tried to record them as faithfully as I did all those years ago. One day, THE book will be finished when most of you will have forgotten what we did together. And hopefully you'll read it and all the memories will come whooshing back. And hopefully I'll finish it before we're all sitting in a WSS retirement community someplace. I picture a nice cul-de-sac with all of our houses arranged in a row. That is the dream, neh?
I don't know where I'm going with this, really. The nap in the evening really doesn't help with coherent thought process.
NINJA NURSE!
Like a ninja nurse.
O_O!!!
Ninja nurse! That's even better than Judero Hirabayashi, a former voice actress from Japan who became tragically addicted to cough syrup and was forced to make her way to Toronto in order to tear herself away from the terrible memories of her past life. Will we ever do an actual enactment of Untitled?
Anyway, back to my nursing adventures. They're not so much adventures as they are, shall we say, episodes that occur as I happen to pass by. It's not so much the confidentiality issue that stops me from writing about them. Goodness knows that I talk about my clinicals all the time and I'm always careful not to reveal any identifying features. "So my client was a man with green hair and lazy eye with one rainbow-coloured toe sock hanging off his left ear..."
My mind is too full of details, most of which I probably won't forget for the rest of my life. If you were to ask me about the very first client I ever had in the postpartum unit 30 years from now, I'd probably remember. I don't really feel the need to record every single thing that happens as I did during all those years in Westmount. If you begged me to write a Crazy E-mail now, then I couldn't, because those e-mails were for all of us. The funny things that happened when we formed our own TAG group in the third floor stairwell are important to me as they were to you, which is why I tried to record them as faithfully as I did all those years ago. One day, THE book will be finished when most of you will have forgotten what we did together. And hopefully you'll read it and all the memories will come whooshing back. And hopefully I'll finish it before we're all sitting in a WSS retirement community someplace. I picture a nice cul-de-sac with all of our houses arranged in a row. That is the dream, neh?
I don't know where I'm going with this, really. The nap in the evening really doesn't help with coherent thought process.
NINJA NURSE!
Friday, May 16, 2008
OH. MY. GOD!!!
I'm squealing with delight. Literally squealing with my fists wiggling at cheek level.
I just found online videos of the anime series "Rose of Versailles", which is my favourite manga of ALL TIME.
Rose of Versailles is a Japanese manga about Lady Oscar de Jarjayes, a fictional character in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who is another prominent character along with her lover, Axel von Fersen. And you know how much I obsess over Marie Antoinette. I have scoured all the libraries in York Region and North York for biographies about her and read them all. I borrowed the Jane Seymour movie about her from the Westmount library and cursed Sophia What's-her-face for focusing more on shoes than character growth in her movie with Kirsten Dunst. I did projects on Marie Antoinette. I translated the first volume of the manga from Korean to English. I had my mother lug back a brand new set of the manga from Korea.
You cannot believe how excited I am. I'm probably not going to get any work done today.
I just found online videos of the anime series "Rose of Versailles", which is my favourite manga of ALL TIME.
Rose of Versailles is a Japanese manga about Lady Oscar de Jarjayes, a fictional character in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who is another prominent character along with her lover, Axel von Fersen. And you know how much I obsess over Marie Antoinette. I have scoured all the libraries in York Region and North York for biographies about her and read them all. I borrowed the Jane Seymour movie about her from the Westmount library and cursed Sophia What's-her-face for focusing more on shoes than character growth in her movie with Kirsten Dunst. I did projects on Marie Antoinette. I translated the first volume of the manga from Korean to English. I had my mother lug back a brand new set of the manga from Korea.
You cannot believe how excited I am. I'm probably not going to get any work done today.
I was brushing my hair...
...and everything looked normal. Then I brushed my hair back to find out that all of the hair on my head was actually attached to the posterior half of my scalp! I actually had a huge but convincing combover! I screamed so long and loud that my dad came into my room to ask what was wrong. I showed him my hideous half bald, half long haired head and he looked at it like nothing was wrong and said he would get me some Propecia. Somehow, that comforted me a lot. I did my combover again and went about my day.
I woke up sometime later. It was a scary dream. Scary!
I woke up sometime later. It was a scary dream. Scary!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
French vocab exercise 008
Exsultate, jubilate,
O vos animae beatae
exsultate, jubilate,
dulcia cantica canendo;
cantui vestro
psallant aethera cum me.
Rejoice, for exams are over!
I had my one and a half day of leisure, which was spent inevitably on cleaning the apartment, which I hadn't been doing for 2 weeks. I still want to scrub down the fridge and it's gnawing away at my brain, but I'll have time enough tomorrow to get that done.
I have to work harder at my French now, because I don't have classes anymore where I can use it. There's a good chance that I might get Francophone clients when clinicals start next week. I hope they're understanding of the fact that I don't really know many medical terms. ^_^;;
About the vocab exercise today, I like to think of it as part of the story between le Dr Maillat and Madame Pompadou. Just a hint of what happened between them before the very first exercise where he left her. I know. I'm goofy and nonsensical.
-accabler: to overwhelm, to overcome
accabler qqn de: to overwhelm someone with
accablant: oppressive, damning, exhausting
accablement: dejection, despondency
-accalmie: lull, temporary improvement
-accaparer: to monopolize, to carry off
accaparant: demanding
accaparement: monopolization
-accéder: to accede to, to give rise to, to reach
accédant à la propriété: a new homeowner
-accélérer: to accelerate, to increase
s'accélérer: to beat faster
accélérateur: accelerating, accelerator
accélération: acceleration
accéléré: fast
De plus en plus, la vitesse de sa parole accélérait et ses pensées sont devenues plus désorganisées. Il n'y avait pas d'accalmie de l'aboiement. Il ne pouvait plus tolérer la tempête de sa mauvaise humeur et il est sorti pour échapper à sa colère accablante. Dehors, ses émotions ont accédé à la décision la plus difficile de sa vie. Il ne pouvait pas permettre à lui de accaparer toute son énergie. Il devait partir.
Translation:
More and more, her speech accelerated and her thoughts became more disorganized. There was no respite from her ravings. He could not tolerate the storm of her temper any longer and he left to escape from her overwhelming anger. Outside, his emotions gave rise to the most difficult decision of his life. He could not allow her to monopolize all of his energy. He had to leave.
O vos animae beatae
exsultate, jubilate,
dulcia cantica canendo;
cantui vestro
psallant aethera cum me.
Rejoice, for exams are over!
I had my one and a half day of leisure, which was spent inevitably on cleaning the apartment, which I hadn't been doing for 2 weeks. I still want to scrub down the fridge and it's gnawing away at my brain, but I'll have time enough tomorrow to get that done.
I have to work harder at my French now, because I don't have classes anymore where I can use it. There's a good chance that I might get Francophone clients when clinicals start next week. I hope they're understanding of the fact that I don't really know many medical terms. ^_^;;
About the vocab exercise today, I like to think of it as part of the story between le Dr Maillat and Madame Pompadou. Just a hint of what happened between them before the very first exercise where he left her. I know. I'm goofy and nonsensical.
-accabler: to overwhelm, to overcome
accabler qqn de: to overwhelm someone with
accablant: oppressive, damning, exhausting
accablement: dejection, despondency
-accalmie: lull, temporary improvement
-accaparer: to monopolize, to carry off
accaparant: demanding
accaparement: monopolization
-accéder: to accede to, to give rise to, to reach
accédant à la propriété: a new homeowner
-accélérer: to accelerate, to increase
s'accélérer: to beat faster
accélérateur: accelerating, accelerator
accélération: acceleration
accéléré: fast
De plus en plus, la vitesse de sa parole accélérait et ses pensées sont devenues plus désorganisées. Il n'y avait pas d'accalmie de l'aboiement. Il ne pouvait plus tolérer la tempête de sa mauvaise humeur et il est sorti pour échapper à sa colère accablante. Dehors, ses émotions ont accédé à la décision la plus difficile de sa vie. Il ne pouvait pas permettre à lui de accaparer toute son énergie. Il devait partir.
Translation:
More and more, her speech accelerated and her thoughts became more disorganized. There was no respite from her ravings. He could not tolerate the storm of her temper any longer and he left to escape from her overwhelming anger. Outside, his emotions gave rise to the most difficult decision of his life. He could not allow her to monopolize all of his energy. He had to leave.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Brain is formatting...
Me tired. Must clear brain before last two exams. Drink tea. Wrap self up in baby blue blanky. Sneeze from spring allergies.
Talk like Tarzan with a drinking problem.
GUH.
Talk like Tarzan with a drinking problem.
GUH.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Why Judy must not, nay, cannot drink coffee
It starts so simply, each sip of the drink creating a new effect, just like poetry. First, a rush... heat... her heart flutters. Her tummy rumbles. Her head feels heavy. The room slowly spins. She does not understand why - is it the caffeine? No. What is it then, what is the reason? And soon it does not matter, soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the nausea itself. This is the nature of the coffee. She struggles against it, she fights to deny it, but it is of course pretense, it is a lie. Beneath her poised appearance, the truth is...she is completely out of control.
I cannot drink coffee. I must not. Not even decaf. It doesn't matter. There is something about coffee that makes me insane. I'll sit in a Pizza Hut, look around at the giant plastic vegetables on the wall and cry. At least the crying relieves the crazy somewhat. If there is no crying, there is only the curling up in the corner and whimpering softly while rocking back and forth.
Damn coffee.
Nausea before retching before emesis. The vomiting centre in my medulla oblongata better not be activated. *shake fist* Oh god. Maybe if I concentrate really hard, it will go away. And lots of water.
And yes, I stole that bit up there from Matrix: Reloaded. What of it?
I cannot drink coffee. I must not. Not even decaf. It doesn't matter. There is something about coffee that makes me insane. I'll sit in a Pizza Hut, look around at the giant plastic vegetables on the wall and cry. At least the crying relieves the crazy somewhat. If there is no crying, there is only the curling up in the corner and whimpering softly while rocking back and forth.
Damn coffee.
Nausea before retching before emesis. The vomiting centre in my medulla oblongata better not be activated. *shake fist* Oh god. Maybe if I concentrate really hard, it will go away. And lots of water.
And yes, I stole that bit up there from Matrix: Reloaded. What of it?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cooking Attempt #20: 부대찌개 (Army squad stew)
I suddenly had a craving for Budae jjigae yesterday, so I made a grocery list and found myself a recipe. It's called Army squad stew, because it was invented after the Korean War when meat was scarce and people traded with American soldiers for Spam, ham and sausages. Wikipedia tells me that it was also called Johnson soup after President Lyndon B. Johnson.
I was going to add cauliflower, but I forgot to get it at the store. Kimchi was also omitted, because I've run out of lettuce kimchi, so I had to improvise on the seasoning of the broth. Instead, I added the juice from the radish kimchi I had. It's much lighter than lettuce kimchi juice and more refreshing. I was originally going to add ramen noodles (without the powder), but then I realized that there was going to be just too much food. Some recipes call for cheese, but I am a purist and those fusion heathens that use cheese in Asian food can go to the devil!
This is the first time I've ever cooked with watercress. It was a lucky thing that I managed to buy some, because I don't know EXACTLY what they look like and all the signs in the grocery store were in French (give me a break, I'm like 1/20th of the way through the A section in my dictionary), so I took a guess and it was right! Des cressons, baby!
Ingredients:
Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Watercress - 1 cup
Shitake mushrooms - 1 cup chopped
Potato - 1 chopped into large chunks
Onion - 1 chopped into thin slices
Pork belly - how big is my fist?
Sausage - 1 cut into chunks
Seasoning:
Mashed garlic - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 tbsp chopped
Korean chili powder - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Radish kimchi juice - I added as much as I had, because I like it spicy.
First arrange the ingredients in a big flat skillet. You can add plain water or make some seaweed water like I did and pour it over the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers.
Mix the seasoning separately and slowly dissolve into the stew.
Cook it very slowly until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Eat with rice! I have some leftover stew. I'll probably add more sprouts and watercress tomorrow to finish it up. Mmmm~
I just got a craving for some spicy chicken, so I might be trying that soon. ^_^
I was going to add cauliflower, but I forgot to get it at the store. Kimchi was also omitted, because I've run out of lettuce kimchi, so I had to improvise on the seasoning of the broth. Instead, I added the juice from the radish kimchi I had. It's much lighter than lettuce kimchi juice and more refreshing. I was originally going to add ramen noodles (without the powder), but then I realized that there was going to be just too much food. Some recipes call for cheese, but I am a purist and those fusion heathens that use cheese in Asian food can go to the devil!
This is the first time I've ever cooked with watercress. It was a lucky thing that I managed to buy some, because I don't know EXACTLY what they look like and all the signs in the grocery store were in French (give me a break, I'm like 1/20th of the way through the A section in my dictionary), so I took a guess and it was right! Des cressons, baby!
Ingredients:
Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Watercress - 1 cup
Shitake mushrooms - 1 cup chopped
Potato - 1 chopped into large chunks
Onion - 1 chopped into thin slices
Pork belly - how big is my fist?
Sausage - 1 cut into chunks
Seasoning:
Mashed garlic - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 tbsp chopped
Korean chili powder - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Radish kimchi juice - I added as much as I had, because I like it spicy.
First arrange the ingredients in a big flat skillet. You can add plain water or make some seaweed water like I did and pour it over the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers.
Mix the seasoning separately and slowly dissolve into the stew.
Cook it very slowly until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Eat with rice! I have some leftover stew. I'll probably add more sprouts and watercress tomorrow to finish it up. Mmmm~
I just got a craving for some spicy chicken, so I might be trying that soon. ^_^
Thursday, April 17, 2008
French vocab exercise 007
Ooh~ look! It's French vocab exercise 007! This means, of course, that I have to write something James Bond-y. Luckily, the next 10 words seem to work out pretty well for this kind of thing.
-absurde: absurd, preposterous
absurdement: absurdly
absurdité: absurdity
-abuser: to deceive, to mislead
abuser de: to overuse
s'abuser de: to be mistaken
abus: abuse, indulgence, excess, misuse
abusif: excessive
abusivement: unfairly, wrongly
-abysse: abyss
-acabit: type
de cet acabit: of that type
du même acabit: two of a kind
-acacia: acacia
-académicien: academician, academic
académie: academy
académisme: academicism
-Acadie: Acadia
Acadien: Acadian
-acajou: mahogany
-acariâtre: sour, bad-tempered
-acarien: acarid (mite of the Acariae family)
Bond attendait son contact dans un café démodé et douillet sur une petite rue à Caire. En traçant le grain de l'accoudoir d'acajou usé, il s'est rappelé la rendez-vous avec M. Le vieil homme avait été particulièrement acariâtre ce jour pluvieux à Londres. "Quelques bêtises absurdes des arbres d'acacia et des acariens. J'imagine qu'il n'est rien du tout, mais la Station E a demandé que nous l'aidions à enquêter. Tu ferais mieux d'étudier le truc avant que tu partes."
Le Chef d'état-major avait envoyé un gros classeur des espèces importantes d'Acacia en Egypte, mais Bond l'avait rejeté pour réfléchir à l'importance de quelques arbres détruits dans le gros jeu de diplomatie mondiale et d'intrigue internationale.
Bond a été momentanément étonné quand un homme s'est assis à la table sans se présenter. Il avait été complètement discret malgré son habit d'un académicien du tweed léger dans le marché chaud et sec. Bond a décidé que le chef de Station E était un homme qu'on ne devrait pas sous-estimer.
"Pierre de Monts," a dit une voix douce avant d'appeler un garçon pour commander deux cafés turcs simples.
"Bond. James Bond." Il a examiné les yeux verts souriants qui contrastaient le reste de son visage impassible. Bond a essayé de se souvenir des détails dans le dossier de De Monts. Il était né à Cole Harbour, une petite village près de Dartmouth, en face du port de Halifax. Qu'est-ce qui a incité cet Acadien à traverser à l'autre côté du monde et devenir le premier homme pour le Service Secret en Egypte ?
"Alors, êtes-vous au courant de l'acacia, M. Bond ?"
"Si je ne m'abuse pas, les Égyptiens anciens ont cru que l'acacia de Saosis était l'arbre de vie."
"Ah oui, l'arbre dans lequel la vie et la mort sont entourées. Mais je parle des aspects pratiques plutôt que la plante mythologique qui retient les morts de l'abysse."
"Je sais que la gomme arabe vient de l'acacia."
"De deux acabits, en fait : Acacia sénégal et Acacia seyal. La gomme arabe est utilisé dans tout des sodas aux feux d'artifice. Jusqu'à 1990, le Soudan a produit 80% de la gomme arabe du monde, mais il est récemment tombé à moins de 50%. Quand même, ils sont le plus grand producteur et je crois qu'ils veulent maintenir leur contrôle n'importe quoi."
Translation:
Bond waited for his contact to arrive in the old-fashioned, but cozy café on a side street in Cairo. Tracing the grain of the worn mahogany armrest, he thought back to the meeting with M. The old man had been particularly sour on that rainy day in London. "Some bloody nonsense about acacia trees and mites. I daresay it's nothing at all, but Station E has requested that we help investigate. You'd better read up on the stuff before you leave."
The Chief of Staff had sent a thick folder about the major species of Acacia in Egypt, but Bond had tossed it aside to mull over the significance of a few destroyed trees in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.
Bond was momentarily taken aback when a man sat down at the table without introducing himself. He had been completely inconspicuous in spite of his academic's garb of light tweed in the hot, dry market. Bond decided that the head of Station E was a man who should not be underestimated.
"Pierre de Monts," said a mild-mannered voice before calling a waiter over to order two plain Turkish coffees.
"Bond. James Bond." He looked into the smiling green eyes that contradicted the rest of his impassive face. Bond tried to remember the details of de Monts's dossier. He had been born in Cole Harbour, a small town near Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax. What has prompted this Acadian to move halfway across the world and become the lead man for the Secret Service in Egypt?
"So what do you know about the Acacia, Mr. Bond?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the ancient Egyptians believed that the acacia tree of Saosis was the tree of life."
"Ah yes, the tree in which life and death are enclosed. But I'm talking about the practical aspects rather than the mythological plant that pulls the dead back from the abyss."
"I know that the gum arabic comes from the Acacia tree."
"From two types, in fact: Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The gum arabic is used in everything from soft drinks to fireworks. Until 1990, the Sudan produced 80% of the world's gum arabic, but it has recently dropped to less than 50%. Even so, they are
the largest single producer of the stuff and I believe they mean to maintain their control no matter what."
Notes:
1) I write what I can with those words and this was what came to my mind, so don't blame me if it doesn't make a lick of sense, okay? I had to research the genus Acacia and Egyptian mythology for this thing on top of trying to write a Bond intro in French!
2) There's a line stolen straight from Seinfeld in there. Guess where it is!
3) Bond's contacts are usually people who seem to blend into the environment and stand out at the same time. I had to mention an Acadian in there, so why not describe someone I already know? ^_^ Pierre de Monts was the Governor of Acadia, who established the first French settlement in North America. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
4) Many thanks to Josh for describing the location of Cole Harbour so succinctly.
5) Bond loves Turkish coffee.
6) All that arabic gum stuff is from some quick research on Wikipedia.
-absurde: absurd, preposterous
absurdement: absurdly
absurdité: absurdity
-abuser: to deceive, to mislead
abuser de: to overuse
s'abuser de: to be mistaken
abus: abuse, indulgence, excess, misuse
abusif: excessive
abusivement: unfairly, wrongly
-abysse: abyss
-acabit: type
de cet acabit: of that type
du même acabit: two of a kind
-acacia: acacia
-académicien: academician, academic
académie: academy
académisme: academicism
-Acadie: Acadia
Acadien: Acadian
-acajou: mahogany
-acariâtre: sour, bad-tempered
-acarien: acarid (mite of the Acariae family)
Bond attendait son contact dans un café démodé et douillet sur une petite rue à Caire. En traçant le grain de l'accoudoir d'acajou usé, il s'est rappelé la rendez-vous avec M. Le vieil homme avait été particulièrement acariâtre ce jour pluvieux à Londres. "Quelques bêtises absurdes des arbres d'acacia et des acariens. J'imagine qu'il n'est rien du tout, mais la Station E a demandé que nous l'aidions à enquêter. Tu ferais mieux d'étudier le truc avant que tu partes."
Le Chef d'état-major avait envoyé un gros classeur des espèces importantes d'Acacia en Egypte, mais Bond l'avait rejeté pour réfléchir à l'importance de quelques arbres détruits dans le gros jeu de diplomatie mondiale et d'intrigue internationale.
Bond a été momentanément étonné quand un homme s'est assis à la table sans se présenter. Il avait été complètement discret malgré son habit d'un académicien du tweed léger dans le marché chaud et sec. Bond a décidé que le chef de Station E était un homme qu'on ne devrait pas sous-estimer.
"Pierre de Monts," a dit une voix douce avant d'appeler un garçon pour commander deux cafés turcs simples.
"Bond. James Bond." Il a examiné les yeux verts souriants qui contrastaient le reste de son visage impassible. Bond a essayé de se souvenir des détails dans le dossier de De Monts. Il était né à Cole Harbour, une petite village près de Dartmouth, en face du port de Halifax. Qu'est-ce qui a incité cet Acadien à traverser à l'autre côté du monde et devenir le premier homme pour le Service Secret en Egypte ?
"Alors, êtes-vous au courant de l'acacia, M. Bond ?"
"Si je ne m'abuse pas, les Égyptiens anciens ont cru que l'acacia de Saosis était l'arbre de vie."
"Ah oui, l'arbre dans lequel la vie et la mort sont entourées. Mais je parle des aspects pratiques plutôt que la plante mythologique qui retient les morts de l'abysse."
"Je sais que la gomme arabe vient de l'acacia."
"De deux acabits, en fait : Acacia sénégal et Acacia seyal. La gomme arabe est utilisé dans tout des sodas aux feux d'artifice. Jusqu'à 1990, le Soudan a produit 80% de la gomme arabe du monde, mais il est récemment tombé à moins de 50%. Quand même, ils sont le plus grand producteur et je crois qu'ils veulent maintenir leur contrôle n'importe quoi."
Translation:
Bond waited for his contact to arrive in the old-fashioned, but cozy café on a side street in Cairo. Tracing the grain of the worn mahogany armrest, he thought back to the meeting with M. The old man had been particularly sour on that rainy day in London. "Some bloody nonsense about acacia trees and mites. I daresay it's nothing at all, but Station E has requested that we help investigate. You'd better read up on the stuff before you leave."
The Chief of Staff had sent a thick folder about the major species of Acacia in Egypt, but Bond had tossed it aside to mull over the significance of a few destroyed trees in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.
Bond was momentarily taken aback when a man sat down at the table without introducing himself. He had been completely inconspicuous in spite of his academic's garb of light tweed in the hot, dry market. Bond decided that the head of Station E was a man who should not be underestimated.
"Pierre de Monts," said a mild-mannered voice before calling a waiter over to order two plain Turkish coffees.
"Bond. James Bond." He looked into the smiling green eyes that contradicted the rest of his impassive face. Bond tried to remember the details of de Monts's dossier. He had been born in Cole Harbour, a small town near Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax. What has prompted this Acadian to move halfway across the world and become the lead man for the Secret Service in Egypt?
"So what do you know about the Acacia, Mr. Bond?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the ancient Egyptians believed that the acacia tree of Saosis was the tree of life."
"Ah yes, the tree in which life and death are enclosed. But I'm talking about the practical aspects rather than the mythological plant that pulls the dead back from the abyss."
"I know that the gum arabic comes from the Acacia tree."
"From two types, in fact: Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The gum arabic is used in everything from soft drinks to fireworks. Until 1990, the Sudan produced 80% of the world's gum arabic, but it has recently dropped to less than 50%. Even so, they are
the largest single producer of the stuff and I believe they mean to maintain their control no matter what."
Notes:
1) I write what I can with those words and this was what came to my mind, so don't blame me if it doesn't make a lick of sense, okay? I had to research the genus Acacia and Egyptian mythology for this thing on top of trying to write a Bond intro in French!
2) There's a line stolen straight from Seinfeld in there. Guess where it is!
3) Bond's contacts are usually people who seem to blend into the environment and stand out at the same time. I had to mention an Acadian in there, so why not describe someone I already know? ^_^ Pierre de Monts was the Governor of Acadia, who established the first French settlement in North America. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
4) Many thanks to Josh for describing the location of Cole Harbour so succinctly.
5) Bond loves Turkish coffee.
6) All that arabic gum stuff is from some quick research on Wikipedia.
Cooking Attempt #19: Carrot cake
I've been putting off trying this recipe, because it seems like such a hassle to grate carrots. I cut my finger on the grater, which is always a nice cooking deterrent. Awesome!
But in the end, it turned out very nicely, except that the recipe told me to bake it for 50 minutes, which is too long. At first I thought it was my oven, but I've tried recipes (like the banana bread) from other websites which turn out just fine. So in the future, I must remember to subtract 20 minutes from the baking time on the Metro Grocery recipes.
Also, the recipe told me to ice the cake using 1.5 cups of icing sugar and 500g of cream cheese. O_O Does that seem like a lot of icing to anyone? Well maybe it isn't and I'm just balking at the amount of sugar that they recommend you put in. So instead, I spread some light cream cheese on top, which was very nice.
But in the end, it turned out very nicely, except that the recipe told me to bake it for 50 minutes, which is too long. At first I thought it was my oven, but I've tried recipes (like the banana bread) from other websites which turn out just fine. So in the future, I must remember to subtract 20 minutes from the baking time on the Metro Grocery recipes.
Also, the recipe told me to ice the cake using 1.5 cups of icing sugar and 500g of cream cheese. O_O Does that seem like a lot of icing to anyone? Well maybe it isn't and I'm just balking at the amount of sugar that they recommend you put in. So instead, I spread some light cream cheese on top, which was very nice.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
French vocab exercise 006
Two vocab exercises in one day? Gasp!
I just can't seem to study French without getting bored, so I figure this is a distraction that still contributes to my learning.
This composition is a continuation of the first exercise with a dash of the second thrown in. It's very soap opera, but one does what one can with five words.
-absolu: complete
absolument: entirely
-absorber: to soak up, to blot
absorption: swallowing, taking, apsorption, assimilation
-absoudre: to absolve
absolution: absolution
-s'abstenir: to abstain, to refrain
abstinence: abstinence
-abstraire: to abstract
s'abstraire: to cut oneself off
abstraction: abstraction
faire abstracton de: to take no account of, to ignore, to disregard
abstrait: abstract
abstraitement: abstractly
Le Docteur Maillat était absolument absorbé par ses pensées quand l'abbot l'a trouvé dans la chambre d'audience. "J'ai entendu que vous vouliez me voir, mais je ne vous connais pas, Monsieur."
Le Docteur l'a interrompu, "Pardonnez-moi pour avoir venu sans introduction, mais j'ai découvert que vous étiez présent quand Madame Pompadou était mourante."
"Abstenez-vous de continuer votre histoire, Monsieur. Je ne peux pas tromper la confiance d'un âme au supplice, mais je vous offre l'absolution pour vos actions."
Le pauvre homme s'est mis à genoux pour l'implorer, mais l'abbot a fait abstraction de son douleur et est sorti sans un autre mot.
Après quelques minutes de silence, le Dr Maillat a pris contrôle de ses émotions, s'est levé lentement et est sorti de la chambre.
Translation:
Dr. Maillat was completely absorbed in his thoughts when the abbot found him in the audience chamber. "I heard that you wanted to see me, but I do not know you, sir."
The doctor interrupted, "Excuse me for having come without an introduction, but I found out that you were present when Madame Pompadou was dying."
"Refrain from continuing, sir. I cannot betray the confidence of a soul in torment, but I offer you absolution for your actions."
The poor man dropped to his knees to beg, but the abbot ignored his pain and left without another word.
After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Maillat controlled his emotions, stood up slowly and left the room.
Ah, where do I get such stuff? All of a sudden, I want to read Count of Monte Cristo again.
I just can't seem to study French without getting bored, so I figure this is a distraction that still contributes to my learning.
This composition is a continuation of the first exercise with a dash of the second thrown in. It's very soap opera, but one does what one can with five words.
-absolu: complete
absolument: entirely
-absorber: to soak up, to blot
absorption: swallowing, taking, apsorption, assimilation
-absoudre: to absolve
absolution: absolution
-s'abstenir: to abstain, to refrain
abstinence: abstinence
-abstraire: to abstract
s'abstraire: to cut oneself off
abstraction: abstraction
faire abstracton de: to take no account of, to ignore, to disregard
abstrait: abstract
abstraitement: abstractly
Le Docteur Maillat était absolument absorbé par ses pensées quand l'abbot l'a trouvé dans la chambre d'audience. "J'ai entendu que vous vouliez me voir, mais je ne vous connais pas, Monsieur."
Le Docteur l'a interrompu, "Pardonnez-moi pour avoir venu sans introduction, mais j'ai découvert que vous étiez présent quand Madame Pompadou était mourante."
"Abstenez-vous de continuer votre histoire, Monsieur. Je ne peux pas tromper la confiance d'un âme au supplice, mais je vous offre l'absolution pour vos actions."
Le pauvre homme s'est mis à genoux pour l'implorer, mais l'abbot a fait abstraction de son douleur et est sorti sans un autre mot.
Après quelques minutes de silence, le Dr Maillat a pris contrôle de ses émotions, s'est levé lentement et est sorti de la chambre.
Translation:
Dr. Maillat was completely absorbed in his thoughts when the abbot found him in the audience chamber. "I heard that you wanted to see me, but I do not know you, sir."
The doctor interrupted, "Excuse me for having come without an introduction, but I found out that you were present when Madame Pompadou was dying."
"Refrain from continuing, sir. I cannot betray the confidence of a soul in torment, but I offer you absolution for your actions."
The poor man dropped to his knees to beg, but the abbot ignored his pain and left without another word.
After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Maillat controlled his emotions, stood up slowly and left the room.
Ah, where do I get such stuff? All of a sudden, I want to read Count of Monte Cristo again.
French vocab exercise 005
Health and Physical Assessment exam went pretty well, although I think I could have studied the chapter on breasts a bit better. Ah wellity wellity...
The next exam is French Grammar on Friday, so I think this is a pretty good way to study. Next 10 words from the dictionary!
-abricot: apricot
abricotier: apricot tree
-abriter: to shelter, to house, to shade
abrité: sheltered
abrivent: windbreak
abri: shelter, refuge
à l'abri: in a safe place
à l'abri de: sheltered/hidden from
Abribus: bus shelter
-abroger: to repeal, to rescind, to abrogate
abrogation: repeal
-abrupt: steep, abrupt, sheer
abruptement: abruptly, brusquely, curtly
-abrutir: to turn into an idiot, to stupefy
s'abrutir: to turn into an idiot
abruti: idiot
abrutissant: mindnumbing
abrutissement: mindless state
-abscisse: abscissa - x-coordinate of a point
-abscons: abstruse
-absenter: to be absent
absence: absence
absent: absent or absentee
-abside: apse
absidiole: apsidiole
-absinthe: absinthe
J'ai tombé sur l'abruti abrité sous un abricotier. Il était mort ivre à l'absinthe. Je l'ai secoué par les épaules et il s'est réveillé abruptement. Le pauvre rustre serrait un papier jauni par le temps dans ses mains tremblants. Il a dit, "Ont-ils abrogé la loi contre des pirates? Monsieur? Aidez-moi." J'ai pris le papier, qui était une carte d'un église. Une abside était marqué d'une croix rouge à côté de laquelle quelqu'un avait gribouillé, "Mais où est l'abscisse?" J'ai rendu le papier à l'homme qui marmonnait tout seul. J'ai cueilli un abricot de l'arbre en prenant une petite bouteille de ma poche. J'ai tapoté quelques gouttes de la liquide qui sentait l'amande sur le fruit que j'ai donné au fou. Il l'a englouti à toute vitesse. Peu après, j'étais tout seul sous l'abricotier dans le champ jaune.
Wow. I really don't mean for these things to be so bloody bleak. It started off like a pale imitation of Alphonse Daudet, with the rustic atmosphere and such. A better imitation would be, you know, better written and probably in passé simple, which I don't know how to use quite yet. Ah well. Perhaps another time.
Translation:
I came across the fool, sheltered under an apricot tree. He was dead drunk from absinthe. I shook him by the shoulders and he awoke abruptly. The poor brute held a piece of yellowing paper in his trembling hands. He said, "Have they repealed the law against pirates? Sir? Help me." I took the paper, which was a map of a church. An apse was marked by a red X next to which someone had scribbled, "But where is the x-coordinate?" I handed the paper back to the man who was now muttering to himself. I plucked an apricot from the tree while taking a small bottle from my pocket. I tapped a few drops of the almond-smelling liquid on the fruit and gave it to the madman. He gobbled it up quickly. It was not long before I was all alone under the apricot tree in the yellow field.
The next exam is French Grammar on Friday, so I think this is a pretty good way to study. Next 10 words from the dictionary!
-abricot: apricot
abricotier: apricot tree
-abriter: to shelter, to house, to shade
abrité: sheltered
abrivent: windbreak
abri: shelter, refuge
à l'abri: in a safe place
à l'abri de: sheltered/hidden from
Abribus: bus shelter
-abroger: to repeal, to rescind, to abrogate
abrogation: repeal
-abrupt: steep, abrupt, sheer
abruptement: abruptly, brusquely, curtly
-abrutir: to turn into an idiot, to stupefy
s'abrutir: to turn into an idiot
abruti: idiot
abrutissant: mindnumbing
abrutissement: mindless state
-abscisse: abscissa - x-coordinate of a point
-abscons: abstruse
-absenter: to be absent
absence: absence
absent: absent or absentee
-abside: apse
absidiole: apsidiole
-absinthe: absinthe
J'ai tombé sur l'abruti abrité sous un abricotier. Il était mort ivre à l'absinthe. Je l'ai secoué par les épaules et il s'est réveillé abruptement. Le pauvre rustre serrait un papier jauni par le temps dans ses mains tremblants. Il a dit, "Ont-ils abrogé la loi contre des pirates? Monsieur? Aidez-moi." J'ai pris le papier, qui était une carte d'un église. Une abside était marqué d'une croix rouge à côté de laquelle quelqu'un avait gribouillé, "Mais où est l'abscisse?" J'ai rendu le papier à l'homme qui marmonnait tout seul. J'ai cueilli un abricot de l'arbre en prenant une petite bouteille de ma poche. J'ai tapoté quelques gouttes de la liquide qui sentait l'amande sur le fruit que j'ai donné au fou. Il l'a englouti à toute vitesse. Peu après, j'étais tout seul sous l'abricotier dans le champ jaune.
Wow. I really don't mean for these things to be so bloody bleak. It started off like a pale imitation of Alphonse Daudet, with the rustic atmosphere and such. A better imitation would be, you know, better written and probably in passé simple, which I don't know how to use quite yet. Ah well. Perhaps another time.
Translation:
I came across the fool, sheltered under an apricot tree. He was dead drunk from absinthe. I shook him by the shoulders and he awoke abruptly. The poor brute held a piece of yellowing paper in his trembling hands. He said, "Have they repealed the law against pirates? Sir? Help me." I took the paper, which was a map of a church. An apse was marked by a red X next to which someone had scribbled, "But where is the x-coordinate?" I handed the paper back to the man who was now muttering to himself. I plucked an apricot from the tree while taking a small bottle from my pocket. I tapped a few drops of the almond-smelling liquid on the fruit and gave it to the madman. He gobbled it up quickly. It was not long before I was all alone under the apricot tree in the yellow field.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
How to Study like Jutea in 20 Easy Steps!
Step 1: Mark down the location, time and worth of all your exams on the calendar hanging in the kitchen with bright coloured markers.
Step 2: Complain about the dates. If they're all squished together, complain that you don't have enough time to study. If they're far apart, complain that the exam period is ridiculously long.
Step 3: Compile all lecture slides, reading notes and whatever study aid you've got for each course and put them together using bright coloured clips. Just because your heart is filled with black despair (or at least some slushy grey annoyance), it doesn't mean that everything else in this process has to be just as bleak.
Step 4: Highlight to your heart's content, like there's no tomorrow, until kingdom come! Screw the physiology prof who said that highlighting doesn't help you study! At this point, he can shove his endocrinologist superiority right up his-
Step 5: Read everything over.
Step 6: Try to calculate what mark you should get on each exam to maintain your 3.81 GPA.
Step 7: Curse physiology to damnation.
Step 8: Get back to studying for the first exam. Poke at various parts of your body, hoping that the resulting bruises will help you remember the landmarks for Health and Physical Assessment.
Step 9: Start thinking that you can condense the lecture slides even more if you could just pick out the info that you're iffy on. Waffle back and forth until you throw up your hands in frustration and condense the info by hand into 8 pages.
Step 10: Proclaim yourself awesome.
Step 11: Put on some music. Something upbeat and easy to whistle along to.
Step 12: Whistle along to John Williams music while studying.
Step 13: Make fries from scratch. Carbs are good for the brain!
Step 14: Whistle along to James Bond theme songs while eating fries and studying.
Step 15: Start wondering what assessing Sean Connery's respiratory system might be like.
Step 16: Feel proud that you remembered to moisten his chest hair so that it wouldn't rustle against the diaphragm of your stethoscope in your oddball clinical fantasy.
Step 17: Make a pointless to-do list. "Study. Eat. Study. Sleep. Eat. Study. EXAM!!! Study. Eat. Study..."
Step 18: Wonder what you should eat for dinner.
Step 19: Procrastinate by writing a blog entry on how to study like self.
Step 20: GET BACK TO STUDYING!
Step 2: Complain about the dates. If they're all squished together, complain that you don't have enough time to study. If they're far apart, complain that the exam period is ridiculously long.
Step 3: Compile all lecture slides, reading notes and whatever study aid you've got for each course and put them together using bright coloured clips. Just because your heart is filled with black despair (or at least some slushy grey annoyance), it doesn't mean that everything else in this process has to be just as bleak.
Step 4: Highlight to your heart's content, like there's no tomorrow, until kingdom come! Screw the physiology prof who said that highlighting doesn't help you study! At this point, he can shove his endocrinologist superiority right up his-
Step 5: Read everything over.
Step 6: Try to calculate what mark you should get on each exam to maintain your 3.81 GPA.
Step 7: Curse physiology to damnation.
Step 8: Get back to studying for the first exam. Poke at various parts of your body, hoping that the resulting bruises will help you remember the landmarks for Health and Physical Assessment.
Step 9: Start thinking that you can condense the lecture slides even more if you could just pick out the info that you're iffy on. Waffle back and forth until you throw up your hands in frustration and condense the info by hand into 8 pages.
Step 10: Proclaim yourself awesome.
Step 11: Put on some music. Something upbeat and easy to whistle along to.
Step 12: Whistle along to John Williams music while studying.
Step 13: Make fries from scratch. Carbs are good for the brain!
Step 14: Whistle along to James Bond theme songs while eating fries and studying.
Step 15: Start wondering what assessing Sean Connery's respiratory system might be like.
Step 16: Feel proud that you remembered to moisten his chest hair so that it wouldn't rustle against the diaphragm of your stethoscope in your oddball clinical fantasy.
Step 17: Make a pointless to-do list. "Study. Eat. Study. Sleep. Eat. Study. EXAM!!! Study. Eat. Study..."
Step 18: Wonder what you should eat for dinner.
Step 19: Procrastinate by writing a blog entry on how to study like self.
Step 20: GET BACK TO STUDYING!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
French vocab exercise 004
On continue avec les 10 mots qui suivent dans la dictionnaire. Je remercie Lilian pour l'expression "de jour en jour". ^_^;;
-aboucher: to butt, to join up
s'aboucher avec: to get in touch with...
-abouler: to hand, to give over
s'abouler: to come along
-aboulie: aboulia - a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition
-aboutir: to succeed
aboutir à: to end at/in, to lead to, to result in
abouti: successful
aboutissement: outcome, result
-aboyer: to bark
aboyer après/contre: to yell at
-abracadabrant: bewildering
-abrasion: abrasion, wearing off
abrasif: abrasive
-abréger: to curtail, to cut short, to shorten
abréger les souffrances de qqn: to put an end to someone's suffering
abrégé: summary, abstract, epitome
-abreuver: to water
abreuver qqn (d'insultes, d'éloges) : to shower someone (with abuse, with praise)
abreuvoir: drinking trough, watering place
-abréviation: abbreviation
Un rapport par une infirmière dépourvu de tact:
La cliente souffre de la démence sérieuse qui s'aggrave de jour en jour. Une de ses symptomes est l'aboulie, à cause de laquelle une infirmière doit être présente pour tous les repas et l'aider à manger. La disposition de la cliente peut changer dans un instant et son comportement peut devenir tout à coup abrasif. Il y avait plusieurs occasions où elle a abreuvé l'infirmière d'une collection abracadabrante d'insultes. Son humeur empire chaque fois qu'elle s'abouche avec sa famille. Une abréviation de la dernière rencontre entre eux est comprise dans sa courbe. L'infirmière a dû abréger la visite, parce que son fils a dérangeait tout le monde dans l'institution. Après que sa famille est partie, l'infirmière en chef a parlé à la cliente au sujet de réduire la nombre de leur visite. La cliente a aboyé contre l'infirmière en chef, mais on a finalement abouti à la convaincre de s'abouler.
A report by a tactless nurse:
The client suffers from severe dementia which worsens day by day. One of her symptoms is aboulia, due to which a nurse must be present for all meals and help her to eat. The mood of the client can change in an instant and her behaviour can become abrasive suddenly. There have been many occasions when she has showered the nurse with a bewildering array of insults. Her mood worsens every time she comes into contact with her family. An abstract of their last encounter is included in her chart. The nurse had to cut the visit short, because her son was disturbing everyone in the institution. After her family left, the head nurse talked to the client about reducing the number of visits. The client yelled at the head nurse, but we finally succeeded in convincing her to come along.
You just know there's an incidence report somewhere that's written like this and it's very sad.
-aboucher: to butt, to join up
s'aboucher avec: to get in touch with...
-abouler: to hand, to give over
s'abouler: to come along
-aboulie: aboulia - a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition
-aboutir: to succeed
aboutir à: to end at/in, to lead to, to result in
abouti: successful
aboutissement: outcome, result
-aboyer: to bark
aboyer après/contre: to yell at
-abracadabrant: bewildering
-abrasion: abrasion, wearing off
abrasif: abrasive
-abréger: to curtail, to cut short, to shorten
abréger les souffrances de qqn: to put an end to someone's suffering
abrégé: summary, abstract, epitome
-abreuver: to water
abreuver qqn (d'insultes, d'éloges) : to shower someone (with abuse, with praise)
abreuvoir: drinking trough, watering place
-abréviation: abbreviation
Un rapport par une infirmière dépourvu de tact:
La cliente souffre de la démence sérieuse qui s'aggrave de jour en jour. Une de ses symptomes est l'aboulie, à cause de laquelle une infirmière doit être présente pour tous les repas et l'aider à manger. La disposition de la cliente peut changer dans un instant et son comportement peut devenir tout à coup abrasif. Il y avait plusieurs occasions où elle a abreuvé l'infirmière d'une collection abracadabrante d'insultes. Son humeur empire chaque fois qu'elle s'abouche avec sa famille. Une abréviation de la dernière rencontre entre eux est comprise dans sa courbe. L'infirmière a dû abréger la visite, parce que son fils a dérangeait tout le monde dans l'institution. Après que sa famille est partie, l'infirmière en chef a parlé à la cliente au sujet de réduire la nombre de leur visite. La cliente a aboyé contre l'infirmière en chef, mais on a finalement abouti à la convaincre de s'abouler.
A report by a tactless nurse:
The client suffers from severe dementia which worsens day by day. One of her symptoms is aboulia, due to which a nurse must be present for all meals and help her to eat. The mood of the client can change in an instant and her behaviour can become abrasive suddenly. There have been many occasions when she has showered the nurse with a bewildering array of insults. Her mood worsens every time she comes into contact with her family. An abstract of their last encounter is included in her chart. The nurse had to cut the visit short, because her son was disturbing everyone in the institution. After her family left, the head nurse talked to the client about reducing the number of visits. The client yelled at the head nurse, but we finally succeeded in convincing her to come along.
You just know there's an incidence report somewhere that's written like this and it's very sad.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
French vocab exercise 003
Wow, these compositions are bleak, aren't they? This is what you get when all your words start with the Latin prefix of "a" or "ab". Go go Latin and Greek in Scientific Terminology! (U of T CLA 201 for those of you who are interested. Professor Traill is an awesome man.)
On utilise 15 nouveaux mots aujourd'hui.
-abhorrer: to loathe, to abhor
-abîmer: to spoil, to damage
abîme: chasm, abyss
s'abîmer la santé: to ruin one's health
s'abîmer dans (ses pensées, le désespoir): to be lost in thought, to be plunged in despair
-abjection: utter humiliation, vileness
-abjurer: to recant
-ablation: removal, ablation
ablette: bleak
-ablution: ablution
-abnégation: self-denial
avec abnégation: selflessly
-aboiement: bark, ranting, raving
-abolir: to abolish
-abominable: abominable
-abonder: to be plentiful
abondant: abundant
-abonner: to subscribe
abonné: subscriber
-aborder: to accost, to walk up to
abord: manner
abordable: reasonable, affordable
abordage: boarding
-aborigène: aboriginal
-abortif: abortive
Si le personnage Jackie Chiles était français:
"J'abhorre ce qu'on fait aujourd'hui dans ce tribunal! Mon client, un humble aborigène, est accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il a été soumis à l'abjection! Il s'est abîmé dans le désespoir! C'est abominable que l'accusateur a abordé mon client, un sûr abonné du journal, dans un bibliothèque où il se délectait de l'abondance des livres! Mon client a été soumis à l'aboiement de l'accusateur, qui est atrocement libre! Il n'est pas accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il n'affronte pas une période d'abnégation ablette pendant que mon client est au bord d'un abîme! L'ablation de mon client du domaine public montre que notre société a désespérément besoin d'une ablution. Nous devons abolir cette soi-disant justice, qui est difforme, abortive, prématurée, absurde! L'accusateur doit abjurer, renoncer et abroger! Nous devons punir le vrai criminel! Merci."
Translation - A speech of Jackie Chiles (from Seinfeld) in court:
"I abhor what we are doing today in this court! My client, a humble aboriginal man, has been accused of public disturbance! He has been put through utter humiliation! He has been thrown into the depths of despair! It is abominable that the accuser would accost my client, a faithful newspaper subscriber, in a library where he was reveling in the abundance of books! My client has been subjected to the raving of the accuser, who shockingly stands free! He has not been accused of public disturbance! He does not face a period of bleak self-denial while my client stands on the edge of an abyss! My client's removal from a public domain shows that our society is in desperate need of an ablution. We must abolish this so-called justice, which is malformed, abortive, premature, preposterous! The accuser must recant, abnegate and abrogate! We must punish the real criminal! Thank you."
This was really hard, because I had to make the writing as flamboyant as possible while using all these negative words I happen to be blessed with today. The thesaurus came in very handy and Josh helped me word the sentences properly so that it's as close as possible to the real thing. I bolded and italicized certain words so that you could get a sense of how the character talks. Yay, it's done! Whee!!!
On utilise 15 nouveaux mots aujourd'hui.
-abhorrer: to loathe, to abhor
-abîmer: to spoil, to damage
abîme: chasm, abyss
s'abîmer la santé: to ruin one's health
s'abîmer dans (ses pensées, le désespoir): to be lost in thought, to be plunged in despair
-abjection: utter humiliation, vileness
-abjurer: to recant
-ablation: removal, ablation
ablette: bleak
-ablution: ablution
-abnégation: self-denial
avec abnégation: selflessly
-aboiement: bark, ranting, raving
-abolir: to abolish
-abominable: abominable
-abonder: to be plentiful
abondant: abundant
-abonner: to subscribe
abonné: subscriber
-aborder: to accost, to walk up to
abord: manner
abordable: reasonable, affordable
abordage: boarding
-aborigène: aboriginal
-abortif: abortive
Si le personnage Jackie Chiles était français:
"J'abhorre ce qu'on fait aujourd'hui dans ce tribunal! Mon client, un humble aborigène, est accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il a été soumis à l'abjection! Il s'est abîmé dans le désespoir! C'est abominable que l'accusateur a abordé mon client, un sûr abonné du journal, dans un bibliothèque où il se délectait de l'abondance des livres! Mon client a été soumis à l'aboiement de l'accusateur, qui est atrocement libre! Il n'est pas accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il n'affronte pas une période d'abnégation ablette pendant que mon client est au bord d'un abîme! L'ablation de mon client du domaine public montre que notre société a désespérément besoin d'une ablution. Nous devons abolir cette soi-disant justice, qui est difforme, abortive, prématurée, absurde! L'accusateur doit abjurer, renoncer et abroger! Nous devons punir le vrai criminel! Merci."
Translation - A speech of Jackie Chiles (from Seinfeld) in court:
"I abhor what we are doing today in this court! My client, a humble aboriginal man, has been accused of public disturbance! He has been put through utter humiliation! He has been thrown into the depths of despair! It is abominable that the accuser would accost my client, a faithful newspaper subscriber, in a library where he was reveling in the abundance of books! My client has been subjected to the raving of the accuser, who shockingly stands free! He has not been accused of public disturbance! He does not face a period of bleak self-denial while my client stands on the edge of an abyss! My client's removal from a public domain shows that our society is in desperate need of an ablution. We must abolish this so-called justice, which is malformed, abortive, premature, preposterous! The accuser must recant, abnegate and abrogate! We must punish the real criminal! Thank you."
This was really hard, because I had to make the writing as flamboyant as possible while using all these negative words I happen to be blessed with today. The thesaurus came in very handy and Josh helped me word the sentences properly so that it's as close as possible to the real thing. I bolded and italicized certain words so that you could get a sense of how the character talks. Yay, it's done! Whee!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
French vocab exercise 002
I'm a bad person. I skipped French today, because it was windy and cold and I didn't fancy going all the way there just to roll my eyes while other students ask endless questions about points of grammar that aren't all that complicated. Am I conceited? Well yes. But plusque parfait isn't the most difficult of conjugations, okay? Just sayin'.
As a penance (skipping right ahead before someone beats me over the head for my insolence), I'm going to use 10 words instead of 5 today.
-abat-jour: lampshade
-abattre: to cut down, to knock down
abatis: (Québec term) land being deforested for cultivation
abattage: slaughtering, felling
abats: offal, giblets
s'abattre: to collapse
-abbaye: abbey
abbé: abbot
abbesse: abbess
-abcès: abscess
crever/ouvrir/vider l'abcès: to make a clean breast of things
-abdiquer: to abdicate, to surrender
-abdomen: abdomen
abdos: abs, stomach exercises
-abécédaire: primer, alphabet book
-abeille: bee
-aberrant: deviant, ridiculous, absurd
aberration: aberration
-abêtir: to dull the mind of
s'abêtir: to become mindless or half-witted
L'abbé regardait l'abeille qui bourdonnait doucement sur l'abat-jour. En ce moment-là, il enviait l'abeille, qui ne s'inquiétait pas de la guerre et l'abattage dans le pays. Le roi avait refusé d'abdiquer il y a trois jours, et les rébelles avaient abattu le palais en représailles. Ils ont capturé le dauphin, un petit enfant qui étudiait l'abécédaire encore, et l'a poignardé dans l'abdomen pendant que sa mère regardait. La reine s'est abêtie de l'épreuve. En ce moment même, les rébelles brûlaient le roi en effigie et l'appellait un abcès du pays. L'abbot a été écoeuré par leur prétention. C'était un aberration dans l'ordre des choses. Il s'est levé de la chaise et a écrasé l'abeille entre ses doigts.
Translation:
The abbot stared at the bee which buzzed softly on the lampshade. For a moment, he envied the bee, which was unconcerned by the war and slaughter in the country. Three days before, the king had refused to abdicate and the rebels had torn down the palace in retaliation. They captured the crown prince, a small child still learning his primer, and stabbed him in the stomach while his mother watched. The queen had gone insane from the ordeal. Even now, the rebels burned effigies of the king and called him an abscess of the country. The abbot was disgusted by their claims. It was an aberration in the natural order. He rose out the chair and crushed the bee between his fingers.
I guess I was inspired by the "A Game of Thrones" series. ^_^
As a penance (skipping right ahead before someone beats me over the head for my insolence), I'm going to use 10 words instead of 5 today.
-abat-jour: lampshade
-abattre: to cut down, to knock down
abatis: (Québec term) land being deforested for cultivation
abattage: slaughtering, felling
abats: offal, giblets
s'abattre: to collapse
-abbaye: abbey
abbé: abbot
abbesse: abbess
-abcès: abscess
crever/ouvrir/vider l'abcès: to make a clean breast of things
-abdiquer: to abdicate, to surrender
-abdomen: abdomen
abdos: abs, stomach exercises
-abécédaire: primer, alphabet book
-abeille: bee
-aberrant: deviant, ridiculous, absurd
aberration: aberration
-abêtir: to dull the mind of
s'abêtir: to become mindless or half-witted
L'abbé regardait l'abeille qui bourdonnait doucement sur l'abat-jour. En ce moment-là, il enviait l'abeille, qui ne s'inquiétait pas de la guerre et l'abattage dans le pays. Le roi avait refusé d'abdiquer il y a trois jours, et les rébelles avaient abattu le palais en représailles. Ils ont capturé le dauphin, un petit enfant qui étudiait l'abécédaire encore, et l'a poignardé dans l'abdomen pendant que sa mère regardait. La reine s'est abêtie de l'épreuve. En ce moment même, les rébelles brûlaient le roi en effigie et l'appellait un abcès du pays. L'abbot a été écoeuré par leur prétention. C'était un aberration dans l'ordre des choses. Il s'est levé de la chaise et a écrasé l'abeille entre ses doigts.
Translation:
The abbot stared at the bee which buzzed softly on the lampshade. For a moment, he envied the bee, which was unconcerned by the war and slaughter in the country. Three days before, the king had refused to abdicate and the rebels had torn down the palace in retaliation. They captured the crown prince, a small child still learning his primer, and stabbed him in the stomach while his mother watched. The queen had gone insane from the ordeal. Even now, the rebels burned effigies of the king and called him an abscess of the country. The abbot was disgusted by their claims. It was an aberration in the natural order. He rose out the chair and crushed the bee between his fingers.
I guess I was inspired by the "A Game of Thrones" series. ^_^
A Seinfeldian Dream
It's getting to be that time again, when I get just a bit more insane with the pressures of school. Usually, my dreams are full of battles and blood, but this time, it was a strange mix of reality and fiction.
The dream started off with my parents coming to visit me in Montreal. They had brought a bunch of stuff for me, which included a hideous desk lamp. There were a dozen stainless steel arms of varying size, each with a different sized lightbulb under a bright red shade. This isn't important at all. It just stood out, because of its sheer unadulterated ugliness.
Then my parents decide to go out and get more groceries for me and I stay at home. I get a phone call from a made-up friend, who does not really exist and were I to describe him, he would be a less interesting version of Aaron Tsang. He tells me that he met my parents at the grocery store and he pretended that he was my boyfriend[1]. He seems to think that he did a good job and hints that he would like to me buy him dinner for fooling them so well[2]. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the sushi chef works at a counter which opens out into the street (sushi chef at a Chinese restaurant?). The imaginary friend talks to the sushi chef, even though we're not really inside the restaurant.
While we're standing on the street, two of my real-life nursing friends (Rachel and Stephanie) walk by and it becomes very awkward, because Rachel used to go out with my imaginary friend. The imaginary friend says that he's leaving, but before he does, he tells me that he loves me. I feel bad, but I tell him that I don't feel the same way. For some reason, I have the key to the restaurant register, so I open it up and take out $108 (5 $20 bills, 1 $5 bill and 3 loonies). I give the money to the imaginary friend and ask him to go away[3]. He does and Rachel says, "Oh, it's a good thing you guys are together." and I say, "No, we're really not!" The restaurant owner comes over to me and yells at me for stealing from the cash register. He puts my name down on the list of people who are banned from the restaurant[4], but when I look at it, the scribbles don't look anything like my name. I get kicked out of the restaurant and my friends and I start walking home.
I start to feel bad for rejecting my imaginary friend, so I decide to bake something for him and all of a sudden, I'm in a cooking competition with a bunch of my nursing friends and a prof as the host. She says that we have a short amount of time to make a dessert and points to a table with ready-made ingredients. I start off with three tiny pieces of dough. Two small squares the size of ravioli and one thin rectangle. I decide to put the two squares together with the rectangle, using melted butter. I start off by using a small paintbrush to rub the butter on the dough and then all of a sudden, it's like a videogame[5] and I'm using a mouse to brush butter on dough pieces onscreen. For some reason, I just can't stop buttering the dough and just before the time's up, I manage to plop it down on this thing that looks like a pie with a really round top crust. The prof/host says that we're out of time, so we can put our desserts away in our lockers and bake them next week.
I got home and started to e-mail my friends about something or other and Rachel says to me, "It's good that you know how to use the school e-mail system."
Then I woke up and I was really hungee.
So it's not as horrific as the leeches under the skin or assassins trying to kill me in hospital elevators or trying to stab dinosaurs in the eye with arrows, but it's somehow less coherent in some way. I think they're actually getting mellower!
[1] Seinfeld episode "The Beard" - Elaine pretends to be the girlfriend of a gay guy to fool his conservative boss.
[2] Seinfeld character Kenny Banya - He's constantly badgering Jerry to take him out to dinner.
[3] Seinfeld episode "The Strongbox" - Elaine starts dating a poor guy and tries to break up with him by paying him off.
[4] Seinfeld episode "The Race" - Elaine gets blacklisted from a Chinese restaurant.
[5] Cooking Mama - Cooking video game. Can't remember if I ever had to butter dough in it, though.
The dream started off with my parents coming to visit me in Montreal. They had brought a bunch of stuff for me, which included a hideous desk lamp. There were a dozen stainless steel arms of varying size, each with a different sized lightbulb under a bright red shade. This isn't important at all. It just stood out, because of its sheer unadulterated ugliness.
Then my parents decide to go out and get more groceries for me and I stay at home. I get a phone call from a made-up friend, who does not really exist and were I to describe him, he would be a less interesting version of Aaron Tsang. He tells me that he met my parents at the grocery store and he pretended that he was my boyfriend[1]. He seems to think that he did a good job and hints that he would like to me buy him dinner for fooling them so well[2]. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the sushi chef works at a counter which opens out into the street (sushi chef at a Chinese restaurant?). The imaginary friend talks to the sushi chef, even though we're not really inside the restaurant.
While we're standing on the street, two of my real-life nursing friends (Rachel and Stephanie) walk by and it becomes very awkward, because Rachel used to go out with my imaginary friend. The imaginary friend says that he's leaving, but before he does, he tells me that he loves me. I feel bad, but I tell him that I don't feel the same way. For some reason, I have the key to the restaurant register, so I open it up and take out $108 (5 $20 bills, 1 $5 bill and 3 loonies). I give the money to the imaginary friend and ask him to go away[3]. He does and Rachel says, "Oh, it's a good thing you guys are together." and I say, "No, we're really not!" The restaurant owner comes over to me and yells at me for stealing from the cash register. He puts my name down on the list of people who are banned from the restaurant[4], but when I look at it, the scribbles don't look anything like my name. I get kicked out of the restaurant and my friends and I start walking home.
I start to feel bad for rejecting my imaginary friend, so I decide to bake something for him and all of a sudden, I'm in a cooking competition with a bunch of my nursing friends and a prof as the host. She says that we have a short amount of time to make a dessert and points to a table with ready-made ingredients. I start off with three tiny pieces of dough. Two small squares the size of ravioli and one thin rectangle. I decide to put the two squares together with the rectangle, using melted butter. I start off by using a small paintbrush to rub the butter on the dough and then all of a sudden, it's like a videogame[5] and I'm using a mouse to brush butter on dough pieces onscreen. For some reason, I just can't stop buttering the dough and just before the time's up, I manage to plop it down on this thing that looks like a pie with a really round top crust. The prof/host says that we're out of time, so we can put our desserts away in our lockers and bake them next week.
I got home and started to e-mail my friends about something or other and Rachel says to me, "It's good that you know how to use the school e-mail system."
Then I woke up and I was really hungee.
So it's not as horrific as the leeches under the skin or assassins trying to kill me in hospital elevators or trying to stab dinosaurs in the eye with arrows, but it's somehow less coherent in some way. I think they're actually getting mellower!
[1] Seinfeld episode "The Beard" - Elaine pretends to be the girlfriend of a gay guy to fool his conservative boss.
[2] Seinfeld character Kenny Banya - He's constantly badgering Jerry to take him out to dinner.
[3] Seinfeld episode "The Strongbox" - Elaine starts dating a poor guy and tries to break up with him by paying him off.
[4] Seinfeld episode "The Race" - Elaine gets blacklisted from a Chinese restaurant.
[5] Cooking Mama - Cooking video game. Can't remember if I ever had to butter dough in it, though.
French vocab exercise 001
Alright, I need to work on my vocabulary a lot and right now, I'm not getting a chance to learn more of it. So I must rely on the old-fashioned elementary school spelling homework exercises. I'm going through my brand spanking new Larousse and writing a brief paragraph using 5 new roots every day. I'll try my best to be entertaining (when am I *NOT*, I dare you to tell me).
Here are the first 5:
-abaisser: to lower, pull down, let down
abaisse: piece of rolled-out pastry
abaisse-langue: tongue depressor
-abandonner: to abandon
s'abandonner: to let someone go, to open one's heart
-abaque: abacus
-abasourdir: to stun
-abâtardir: to cause to degenerate
La dame a laissé tomber son abaque avec incrédulité. Elle a été abasourdie quand le Dr Maillat l'a abandonnée. Il l'avait charmée avec son gentil emploi de l'abaisse-langue et elle s'était abandonnée librement. La trahison a abâtardi sa santé et elle est morte, en maudirant son nom.
Translation:
The lady dropped her abacus in disbelief. She was stunned when Dr. Maillait abandoned her. He had charmed her with the gentle use of his tongue depressor and she had opened her heart freely. The betrayal caused her health to degenerate and she died, cursing his name.
Not bad, huh?
Here are the first 5:
-abaisser: to lower, pull down, let down
abaisse: piece of rolled-out pastry
abaisse-langue: tongue depressor
-abandonner: to abandon
s'abandonner: to let someone go, to open one's heart
-abaque: abacus
-abasourdir: to stun
-abâtardir: to cause to degenerate
La dame a laissé tomber son abaque avec incrédulité. Elle a été abasourdie quand le Dr Maillat l'a abandonnée. Il l'avait charmée avec son gentil emploi de l'abaisse-langue et elle s'était abandonnée librement. La trahison a abâtardi sa santé et elle est morte, en maudirant son nom.
Translation:
The lady dropped her abacus in disbelief. She was stunned when Dr. Maillait abandoned her. He had charmed her with the gentle use of his tongue depressor and she had opened her heart freely. The betrayal caused her health to degenerate and she died, cursing his name.
Not bad, huh?
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Cooking Attempt #18: Miso soup (된장국)
I haven't written an entry in French for awhile, I know. Isn't it ironic that as soon as I finally learn how to use certain conjugations properly, I can't muster up the energy to do it in real life? Blame it on the French composition homework. That will drain anybody. I like writing, just not for school. Unless I can make up really wild stuff (like a kid named Gerald Purplefork who starts having shortness of breath because his cleaning lady got fired for stealing and his house is now full of dust bunnies, hiYAH!), that is.
Anyhoo, here's the miso soup recipe I've been procrastinating on. I have to put it up, so that I can show my mom that the anchovies and soybean paste she gave me have not been wasted.
This is a Korean recipe, which uses dried anchovies and a special kind of dried seaweed which is thicker than nori (the stuff used to make sushi) to make the broth. You can use anything for the broth. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, whatever. You can also add whatever you want in the soup. I'm starting to think that Koreans aren't very particular at all about their recipes. Anyway, here's what I used.
Water - 8 cups
Dried anchovies - 10 (more if you're using teeny ones)
Dried seaweed - a piece maybe 5cmx5cm big
Tofu - 1 package (usually 250g)
Potato - 1, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Soybean paste - 3~4 tbsp
This is probably the simplest recipe for miso soup. You can add spinach, long strips of cabbage, seaweed (the still-wet kind), meat, fish, etc etc. I'm thinking of adding kimchi pieces in it next time, to give it an extra kick.
Where was I?
Oh yeah.
So I added the anchovies and seaweed when the water started boiling and let it boil for 15~20 minutes. Then I fished them out, using chopsticks. You CAN leave the anchovies in, but you don't eat them and they start to slowly disintegrate, which is a turn off. The seaweed must be taken out or the soup will smell fishy.
Then you add the onion and potatoes and keep boiling.
When the potatoes are almost done cooking, you add the soybean paste and tofu. My mom likes to get really firm tofu and cut it up before adding it in. I like using softer tofu and let it break up on its own while I'm stirring the soup around. Add the soybean paste slowly so that it dissolves into the soup. But if the water's boiling anyway, it should do that without a problem.
Koreans always have a bowl of rice as their main meal and soup is never eaten on its own. Add portions of rice into the soup, mix it thoroughly and eat! Nyum.
Tomorrow, I make chicken teriyaki with noodles, based on Josh's stir fry recipe!
생각해 보니까 불어로 써본지 오래됐네요. 요즘 불어숙제가 많아서 쓰려고 해도 머리가 아파서 못 하겠어요. 여름에 불어 실력도 좀 더 낳아지면 그때 다시 시작할께요.
된장국은 몇주 전에 만든 건데, 바빠서 오늘 생각난 거에요. 멸치와 다시마로 국물을 냈는데, 다른 걸로도 할 수 있죠? 쇠고기나 닭고기도. 제 친구는 vegan인데, 야채로도 국물을 낼 수 있다고 하네요.
제가 만든 조리법은 아주 간단해요.
물 - 8컵
멸치 - 10개
다시마 - 1조각
두부 - 250g
감자 - 1개
양파 - 1개
된장 - 3~4숫갈
다음에 만들 때는 시금치나 김치를 넣어볼까 해요. 미역도 있으면 좋겠는데 어디서 구해야 할지 모르겠네요.
물이 끓기 시작할 때, 멸치와 다시마를 넣었어요. 15~20분 후에 건져냈어요. 엄마가 다시마는 비린내 난다고 하시네요. 멸치는 그냥 둬도 괜찮은데, 먹을 때 불편하니까 꺼냈어요. 감자와 양파를 넣고 계속 팔팔 끓이다가 거의 다 익었다 싶을때 된장을 천천히 풀었어요. 엄마는 찌개용 두부를 좋아하시는데, 저는 좀 더 말랑말랑한 두부를 썼어요. (세일을 해서... ㅋㅋ)
이틀쯤 계속 먹은 거 같아요. 역시 한국요리처럼 시원한 건 없더라구요.
내일은 치킨 테리야키 국수를 만들어 봅니다!
Anyhoo, here's the miso soup recipe I've been procrastinating on. I have to put it up, so that I can show my mom that the anchovies and soybean paste she gave me have not been wasted.
This is a Korean recipe, which uses dried anchovies and a special kind of dried seaweed which is thicker than nori (the stuff used to make sushi) to make the broth. You can use anything for the broth. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, whatever. You can also add whatever you want in the soup. I'm starting to think that Koreans aren't very particular at all about their recipes. Anyway, here's what I used.
Water - 8 cups
Dried anchovies - 10 (more if you're using teeny ones)
Dried seaweed - a piece maybe 5cmx5cm big
Tofu - 1 package (usually 250g)
Potato - 1, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Soybean paste - 3~4 tbsp
This is probably the simplest recipe for miso soup. You can add spinach, long strips of cabbage, seaweed (the still-wet kind), meat, fish, etc etc. I'm thinking of adding kimchi pieces in it next time, to give it an extra kick.
Where was I?
Oh yeah.
So I added the anchovies and seaweed when the water started boiling and let it boil for 15~20 minutes. Then I fished them out, using chopsticks. You CAN leave the anchovies in, but you don't eat them and they start to slowly disintegrate, which is a turn off. The seaweed must be taken out or the soup will smell fishy.
Then you add the onion and potatoes and keep boiling.
When the potatoes are almost done cooking, you add the soybean paste and tofu. My mom likes to get really firm tofu and cut it up before adding it in. I like using softer tofu and let it break up on its own while I'm stirring the soup around. Add the soybean paste slowly so that it dissolves into the soup. But if the water's boiling anyway, it should do that without a problem.
Koreans always have a bowl of rice as their main meal and soup is never eaten on its own. Add portions of rice into the soup, mix it thoroughly and eat! Nyum.
Tomorrow, I make chicken teriyaki with noodles, based on Josh's stir fry recipe!
생각해 보니까 불어로 써본지 오래됐네요. 요즘 불어숙제가 많아서 쓰려고 해도 머리가 아파서 못 하겠어요. 여름에 불어 실력도 좀 더 낳아지면 그때 다시 시작할께요.
된장국은 몇주 전에 만든 건데, 바빠서 오늘 생각난 거에요. 멸치와 다시마로 국물을 냈는데, 다른 걸로도 할 수 있죠? 쇠고기나 닭고기도. 제 친구는 vegan인데, 야채로도 국물을 낼 수 있다고 하네요.
제가 만든 조리법은 아주 간단해요.
물 - 8컵
멸치 - 10개
다시마 - 1조각
두부 - 250g
감자 - 1개
양파 - 1개
된장 - 3~4숫갈
다음에 만들 때는 시금치나 김치를 넣어볼까 해요. 미역도 있으면 좋겠는데 어디서 구해야 할지 모르겠네요.
물이 끓기 시작할 때, 멸치와 다시마를 넣었어요. 15~20분 후에 건져냈어요. 엄마가 다시마는 비린내 난다고 하시네요. 멸치는 그냥 둬도 괜찮은데, 먹을 때 불편하니까 꺼냈어요. 감자와 양파를 넣고 계속 팔팔 끓이다가 거의 다 익었다 싶을때 된장을 천천히 풀었어요. 엄마는 찌개용 두부를 좋아하시는데, 저는 좀 더 말랑말랑한 두부를 썼어요. (세일을 해서... ㅋㅋ)
이틀쯤 계속 먹은 거 같아요. 역시 한국요리처럼 시원한 건 없더라구요.
내일은 치킨 테리야키 국수를 만들어 봅니다!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
"Is it...gonorrhea?"
The thing that excited me the most about going into the nursing program was the standardized patients. I'm not gonna lie. You know what a big Seinfeld geek I am and one of my favourite episodes is "The Burning" where Kramer and his friend, Mickey, are standardized patients acting out symptoms for med students to diagnose.
Of course, as a nurse, I can't diagnose anything, but the main thing was to do a physical assessment and get enough information to recommend further action, like a triage nurse.
Anyhoo, I got a tip-off before my turn that I would be doing a cardiovascular assessment. I felt ready. I had all my questions prepped and a mental schedule and everything.
The Plan
0:00 - Introduction of self; ask for client's name and age; questions about chief concern (PQRSTUIA)
0:04 - Past health history (surgeries, hospitalizations, injuries, allergies, meds); Social history; Health maintenance activities (sleep, diet, exercise, stress reduction)
0:06 - vital signs
0:09 - cardio assessment
0:15 - end of session
Now, to be quite honest, I thought that it would be sufficient to get far enough into the assessment by the end of the 15 minutes. After all, it was only practice and if you want to be a nurse who follows the McGill model of health, you want to be holistic, man! That means asking a whole ton of questions that, believe you me, my family doctor has NEVER asked me. I can only assume he has either a magic crystal ball or a private investigator at his disposal.
So there I was, being all professional and interested in what he had to say and good grief, how much he did have to say! It turns out that my standardized patient was actually a cardiologist on his day off who had made up an intricate and compelling background story to his character and was determined to say all of it, damn you and everything else.
It was like that episode of Frasier when they were trying to do the radio play.
Frasier: A gun! A gun is what he's got. When the lights came back
up, a smoking gun lay on the table. The maid lay dead,
unable to name her killer. Nigel Fairservice lay mortally
wounded.
Gil: I'm dying!
Frasier: Poor man was gone.
Gil: Never again to visit the scene of my boyhood in Surrey,
romping with my school chums in the fens and spinneys...
Frasier: Just then the lights went out again. [gun sound] Nigel
Fairservice was shot again.
Gil: Only grazed me. When the twilight bathed the hedgerows like
a lambent...
Frasier: [creates another shot] The final bullet, blew his head clean
off his shoulders. All right people, let's try to keep calm
although it's hard when the killer is among us.
Gil: [walks over and makes the door sound effect] Hi-ho, I'm
Nigel's brother Cedric, who I haven't seen since my boyhood...
Frasier: [creates yet another shot] And so died the last surviving
member of the Fairservice family.
[In Frasier's apartment, Martin and Daphne are still listening in
disbelief.]
Martin: Boy, I sure didn't see that one coming!
Gil: [radio:] Hello, I'm the ice cream man. Years ago I went to
school with Nigel Fairservice. We used to romp in the fens
and spinnies... [gun shot]
Not that I blame the cardiologist. I myself have a tendency to create intricate storylines for trivial roleplaying and lab reports (the journalist who went to Russia for 6 months and caught tuberculosis while dallying with a consumptive hooker, hello?). What if his secret passion was acting and the only way he could let it out was to volunteer himself for these sessions with student nurses and doctors lest he die of never being able to fulfill his dreams? Oh the tragedy!
See what I did there? It's like I can't stop.
I came out of this revery when the voice came over the PA system telling me that I had FIVE minutes left and the standardized patient had JUST finished answering all my questions. So I washed my hands, did the vital signs as quickly as I could and started palpating the precordium (5 landmarks of the chest used for the assessment). The final obstacle, which just made me want to laugh and cry at the same time, was that the man was too muscular. I couldn't feel the intercostal spaces! So I just imagined in my head where they would be and palpated the chest anyway. Like I could feel anything through at least 4cm of pectoral muscles, really.
It was awkward, feeling this man's chest without saying anything, so...
Judy: You're very muscular.
Client: Oh really? I've been reading the Men's Health magazine [indicates one sitting on the table next to him] and I look nothing like those guys.
Judy: Well, they probably spend 4 to 6 hours working out everyday.
Client: The women in it are extremely buff.
PA System: END OF SESSION. BEGIN DEBRIEFING.
The comments I got were that I was very methodical and thorough in my questioning, but that I needed to be more aware of the time. I was very good with taking the vital signs, but that if they were normal, I could reassure the client with the results instead of just moving onto the next procedure.
In brief, I listen a little too well, it seems, which makes me an awesome McGill nurse, but it's not very practical in the real world. Hmm. Do you know what I say to that? If you're going to teach me to be a holistic nurse, give me more than 15 minutes to do an assessment. 5 more minutes would have been a huge help, in my case. Anyway, I learned a lot from my first standardized patient encounter and definitely have some things to work on, but I'm getting more confident day by day.
Oh yeah, I should be getting my scrubs in a few weeks. They're not as ugly as I thought they would be, which is a comfort. I must get back to work on a family interview report that rivals Alexandre Dumas novels in their intricacy and drama!
Of course, as a nurse, I can't diagnose anything, but the main thing was to do a physical assessment and get enough information to recommend further action, like a triage nurse.
Anyhoo, I got a tip-off before my turn that I would be doing a cardiovascular assessment. I felt ready. I had all my questions prepped and a mental schedule and everything.
The Plan
0:00 - Introduction of self; ask for client's name and age; questions about chief concern (PQRSTUIA)
0:04 - Past health history (surgeries, hospitalizations, injuries, allergies, meds); Social history; Health maintenance activities (sleep, diet, exercise, stress reduction)
0:06 - vital signs
0:09 - cardio assessment
0:15 - end of session
Now, to be quite honest, I thought that it would be sufficient to get far enough into the assessment by the end of the 15 minutes. After all, it was only practice and if you want to be a nurse who follows the McGill model of health, you want to be holistic, man! That means asking a whole ton of questions that, believe you me, my family doctor has NEVER asked me. I can only assume he has either a magic crystal ball or a private investigator at his disposal.
So there I was, being all professional and interested in what he had to say and good grief, how much he did have to say! It turns out that my standardized patient was actually a cardiologist on his day off who had made up an intricate and compelling background story to his character and was determined to say all of it, damn you and everything else.
It was like that episode of Frasier when they were trying to do the radio play.
Frasier: A gun! A gun is what he's got. When the lights came back
up, a smoking gun lay on the table. The maid lay dead,
unable to name her killer. Nigel Fairservice lay mortally
wounded.
Gil: I'm dying!
Frasier: Poor man was gone.
Gil: Never again to visit the scene of my boyhood in Surrey,
romping with my school chums in the fens and spinneys...
Frasier: Just then the lights went out again. [gun sound] Nigel
Fairservice was shot again.
Gil: Only grazed me. When the twilight bathed the hedgerows like
a lambent...
Frasier: [creates another shot] The final bullet, blew his head clean
off his shoulders. All right people, let's try to keep calm
although it's hard when the killer is among us.
Gil: [walks over and makes the door sound effect] Hi-ho, I'm
Nigel's brother Cedric, who I haven't seen since my boyhood...
Frasier: [creates yet another shot] And so died the last surviving
member of the Fairservice family.
[In Frasier's apartment, Martin and Daphne are still listening in
disbelief.]
Martin: Boy, I sure didn't see that one coming!
Gil: [radio:] Hello, I'm the ice cream man. Years ago I went to
school with Nigel Fairservice. We used to romp in the fens
and spinnies... [gun shot]
Not that I blame the cardiologist. I myself have a tendency to create intricate storylines for trivial roleplaying and lab reports (the journalist who went to Russia for 6 months and caught tuberculosis while dallying with a consumptive hooker, hello?). What if his secret passion was acting and the only way he could let it out was to volunteer himself for these sessions with student nurses and doctors lest he die of never being able to fulfill his dreams? Oh the tragedy!
See what I did there? It's like I can't stop.
I came out of this revery when the voice came over the PA system telling me that I had FIVE minutes left and the standardized patient had JUST finished answering all my questions. So I washed my hands, did the vital signs as quickly as I could and started palpating the precordium (5 landmarks of the chest used for the assessment). The final obstacle, which just made me want to laugh and cry at the same time, was that the man was too muscular. I couldn't feel the intercostal spaces! So I just imagined in my head where they would be and palpated the chest anyway. Like I could feel anything through at least 4cm of pectoral muscles, really.
It was awkward, feeling this man's chest without saying anything, so...
Judy: You're very muscular.
Client: Oh really? I've been reading the Men's Health magazine [indicates one sitting on the table next to him] and I look nothing like those guys.
Judy: Well, they probably spend 4 to 6 hours working out everyday.
Client: The women in it are extremely buff.
PA System: END OF SESSION. BEGIN DEBRIEFING.
The comments I got were that I was very methodical and thorough in my questioning, but that I needed to be more aware of the time. I was very good with taking the vital signs, but that if they were normal, I could reassure the client with the results instead of just moving onto the next procedure.
In brief, I listen a little too well, it seems, which makes me an awesome McGill nurse, but it's not very practical in the real world. Hmm. Do you know what I say to that? If you're going to teach me to be a holistic nurse, give me more than 15 minutes to do an assessment. 5 more minutes would have been a huge help, in my case. Anyway, I learned a lot from my first standardized patient encounter and definitely have some things to work on, but I'm getting more confident day by day.
Oh yeah, I should be getting my scrubs in a few weeks. They're not as ugly as I thought they would be, which is a comfort. I must get back to work on a family interview report that rivals Alexandre Dumas novels in their intricacy and drama!
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