Category: potpourri

HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Being away from home, I am constantly craving what I can’t have.

Korean Food.

I think of it day and night. I realized that every year, this appetite for some good home cooking gets worse.

This weekend, I went home and got to enjoy Korean food for the first time in five weeks. Let me tell you, it was amazing and I ate a week’s worth of food.

Korean food isn’t what people think. It’s not just simply rice and kimchi. There is so much more than just Korean BBQ and top ramen. Here are a few of the dishes I savored this weekend.

For lunch on Saturday, I ate Bo Sam (보쌈), Cha Dol Dwenjang Chigae (차돌됀장찌개), and Jap Chae (잡채).

This is Bo Sam.

It is delicious. Roasted slices of pork that you wrap in lettuce. It is simple but fantastic. Gosh, my stomach is growling just looking at the picture of it.

This is Cha Dol Dwenjang Chigae.

It’s main ingredient is made up of the same components that is in miso soup: fermented soy beans. The taste is a lot richer and the broth is a lot thicker. Inside, there are many healthy vegetables such as zucchini, onions, garlic, and more. And of course, pork.

The great thing about the restaurant I went to is that they give you a bowl with vegetables and other dressings so that when you are done with your soup, you can put in the rest of it in the bowl and mix it with rice. So GOOD and healthy too!

This is Jap Chae.

A savory medley of clear, glass noodles, vegetables, beef, and soy sauce. It is a delicate dish. I don’t know if it’s because I was craving Korean food for those five weeks or if it is because the restaurant was fantastic, but I have never had Jap Chae better than the one I ate last Saturday.

I want all of you to try some Korean food sometime soon.

White Rocks and Moonlight Walks

rangerthecat2 Comments

I had never been to the infamous White Rocks in the Los Padres National Forest before a few days ago on Tuesday night.

Our head lamps and flashlights were turned off as we ascended up the mountain on our short hike, which took about 20 or 30 minutes. It was dark, but the full moon hovered overhead, lighting our paths. We were not talking; it was silent except for the sounds of bugs and our footsteps on the ground.

After crossing a few areas of water and unfortunately tripping over some big rocks, we had made it to a big white plateau surrounded by 3 towering white rock masses. It was so beautiful to see the white surface illuminated by the full moon.

And so we sat – Coop, Floyd, 15 other student leaders, and myself. We talked about issues at school, had a debate, and took a beautiful group photograph. (Thank you Max, it turned out so amazing!)

AND THEN WE PLAYED HIDE AND SEEK.
It was extremely epic and fun. There were so many good hiding spots too.

I was skeptical at first about this moonlight hike that Coop had planned for us, but I ended up having such a great time. I really did. I did not want the night to end! We have such a fun and interesting group of student leaders this year and I am so proud do be one of them.

A Tropical Adventure (Continued)

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

As I was saying, Costa Rica was an eventful trip.  We went to Manuel Antonio National Park.  It has this beautiful beach that’s right on the jungle.  We were already wearing our bathing suits so we went swimming and my dad took a picture of me spitting water at my waterproof Olympus Stylus 7.1

He’s been obsessed with motion water pictures ever since.  I used to be really into horseback riding.  I rode English in California but in Manuel Antonio, the only place we could find with horses rode Western.  It was tricky, trying to ride with one hand and the saddle was a little different.  It had a pommel, which I liked.  I could hold onto it and it was the perfect size for my hand.  My horse was really nice too, but the best part was the ride.  We rode alone along the deserted beach for hours.  It was foggy and cool, late in the afternoon.  The light was beautiful, calm and glowing.  I had never been on a better ride, and even though I quit riding 2 years later, I still never have.

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The Past is in the Past

yrreskrap2 Comments

It’s true. Sometimes, we just have to let go.

Life is a learning process. Learning about our limits, our purpose, our favorite types of candy, our soul mate, our best friends. We have been learning from the very beginning. We absorb the most knowledge in the first five years in our life. We learn how to recognize faces. We learn how to walk. We learn to smile when we are happy and frown when we are not. We learn from experience, from our mistakes.

 

But we also learn about avarice, heartache, anger, prejudice, hatred, poverty, and murder. And through the years and our experiences, these unwanted emotions begin to build, some changing us for the better, others blinding us from the positive things in life.

That is why I love this quote so much.

We must leave the past in the past. I am not saying that we must forget about our past completely. No. That would be unwise at the least; the past is what defines us and makes us individuals. It is our past that helps us learn and grow. But it is equally important to learn to move on, recognize our faults, and realize that tomorrow is different from yesterday and even today.

Leaving the past behind may be the hardest part, but life should not be bogged down by our past but rather influenced and benefitted from it.

Climate Change

therightliberalLeave a comment

In a time where the word “change” is constantly being used as a positive, climate change is sneaking up from behind.

It could just be me, but it seems as though all the talk about how quickly we are changing our climate has quickly died off. This worries me.

I am not a radical in my environmental thinking. I feel that people should do what they can to reduce their personal effect of the environment. I am not one to say that we all need to ride bikes and never buy a product that does not contain recycled material.

However, there are so many simple things we can do to prevent our home from becoming a lot less nice than it is now.

We can recycle at every possible moment. It really is not that difficult to put things in the right bin and purchase products that can easily be recycled. We can make conscious choices throughout our day that are little yet make a difference.

I am lazy so I understand that making these changes can be tedious at times. But in the long run it seems worth it. We can work now to slow the damage that we are increasingly doing to the earth.

From a political standpoint this is a prime example of what is wrong with our political system. By far the majority of the people of the US realize we need to change. And yet, there is hardly any political movement because of sticking to party lines.

How about we all just admit we need to change the way we live. Remember how change can be used as a powerful and great word? Lets change our path to avoid extreme climate change. Let us change the little things to achieve the big things.

New York City

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

According to Urban Dictionary, you know you’re a New Yorker when:

“You say “the city” and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.

You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.

The subway makes sense.

The most frequently used part of your car is the horn. 

You think Central Park is ‘nature.'”

Click here to view an entire list of what makes you a New Yorker.

I am most definitely NOT a New Yorker.  As my best friend would say, I don’t know how to cross a city street (because pushing the “walk” button doesn’t count).  I’m from San Diego, 8th largest city in the United States with an estimated 1.307 million residents.  So I should know about cities right?  WRONG!  I moved to Ventura, California when I was 7 and the population is barely crawling past 106,400 thousand people.

So when I went to “the city” in 2008, I was mind blown.

My aunt and uncle used to live in Chelsea, a neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan.  I took this picture out of their loft window:

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Why I Chose Politics

therightliberal1 Comment

I could blog about anything I wanted. I could choose to pursue a profession that was less cut-throat and more fun. I could hide under a rock and pretend it was not there.

But instead, I have chosen to involve myself in the often frustrating and  continuously puzzling world of politics.

(Augustus Caesar, one of the greatest politicians in history)

Yet I do not lack reason for this choice. While many see themselves as having a calling in fields such as business, health-care or others, I have always seen myself in politics.

My reasons are simple. I feel it is a way in which I can help people, something I have skill in, something that I enjoy, plus there is money too. It is not easy nor is it always fun, but I feel as though I would fit in well.

Politics is tricky because humans do not agree. It is difficult because a politician seeks progress in a world that is not often accepting of change. The best politicians make people feel as though nothing is changing when in fact, everything is.

Take FDR for example. At first glance, one might say, “Everyone knew how much the world was changing during his time in office!” But did they?

We look back and see how much he did to halt the Great Depression, from passing bills to inspiring the people. He also led us through one of the most difficult war times our country has seen.

But what made him great was the instilled confidence in the people. He was calm and confident. He understated the reality of the situation. He understood that sometimes the American people did not need to know information until after the fact.

The confidence he instilled in the people and the respect he earned is the glorious side of politics. There is a chance (though quite slight) to obtain a type of immortality; infamy. I do not see this as being the sole reason why anyone should seek public office, but if one’s goal is to help the people in every way possible, representing them and what they believe, then go for it.

I see myself in the wild world of politics out of a self-duty. I do not see it as a chore nor a thing of pure enjoyment. I see politics as my way of leading and my way of giving. I do not believe in fate but I do believe (at least at this point) that I want to help create the world I will live in.

Warren G. Harding said, “America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.”

This is true today and it will be true tomorrow. And despite what we face, I want to be part of it.

What A Month.

yrreskrap1 Comment

October.

And I’m already feeling the symptoms of senioritis.

A stress-packed conglomeration of college applications, standardized testing, school, cross country meets, and more college applications.

The first day of October commenced with a good early morning dosage of standardized testing. Yes, the SAT’s. However, I don’t remember ever sleeping so long (9 hours) during my five-year stay at Ojai Valley School.

I was also assigned four reading journals and an essay this week for AP Literature. How I am going to finish those assignments, I have yet to figure out but I will get it done.

My next big event is this upcoming Wednesday. At Thacher, I am running in a cross country meet. As well as on the Wednesday after that and (surprise surprise) the Wednesday after that. This is my first time running cross country and I am nervous. I don’t know what to expect. All I know is that the course will be three miles but I guess I will find out in three days exactly how it will be.

On October 22, I will be taking the ACT…in Oxnard. Which means that I will be waking up at five o’ clock, getting breakfast somehow, driving down to make it by 7:45 a.m. to register and take the test.

Two days before that, I will have figured out my SAT score from the test I took yesterday.

One day before, October 21, I would have found out whether or not I have become a finalist in the Questbridge National College Match program. This is my most important deadline and I expect myself to be checking every moment of the day for a notification from the program telling me whether or not I have made it. If I do make the program, I will be able to be offered a four-year full scholarship at the schools of my dreams, Williams College and Amherst College. I am anxious. I had been working on my essay for months. With the help of my mentor, Fred Alvarez, and my college counselor, Dave Edwards, I turned in my final product. Hopefully, my work has paid off.

The last weekend of October is also Parent’s Weekend here at OVS. I will be very busy having conferences with my teachers and having a seminar on that Sunday.

The UC Application is also up online as of yesterday. I need to get started on that soon because I will not have the time to work on them on the upcoming weekends.

As overwhelming as this month seems to me, I know that I need to take things one step at a time. If I bombard myself with all of these events at once, I know the quality of my work will be compromised. I just need to pray to the man up above for a break, big or small, so that my college stresses could be relieved soon. My senioritis isn’t helping either. 249 days until graduation!

The Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort: Kailua-Kona

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

Some people go to Hawaii to tan, relax, and drink piña coladas on the beach. Not my family.  We probably spend equal amounts of time in and out of the water.  Hawaii itself is very important to us.  My parents lived in Haena on Kauai before they adopted me.  The first vacation I remember in Kauai.  My twins sisters learned to swim in Kona and I got my dive certification there, July 2007.

Front of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, Kailua-Kona

Years ago my mom found this beautiful little hotel  and she and my dad went snorkeling there.  She remembered it and booked us a room at  Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort in Kailua-Kona, October of 2003. It’s this GORGEOUS, amazing hotel right on Keauhou Bay.  There is a small snorkeling beach, as well as a little set of stairs that lead directly into the water.  The hotel includes deluxe ocean-view rooms, excellent free daily breakfast for guests, and an incredible seaside restaurant with the most spectacular view of the sunset in all of Hawaii.

Oh! Just a Dream

bedghost1 Comment

A couple of days ago, me and my friends were telling tales about recent dreams and their significance, during a short ride in our white vans, heading toward our designated workout spot.

Many of us had suspicions about whether dreams had actual meaning.
Yet one of my superiors spoke of, what we can call, a bizarre dream in which he died in a violent and gruesome manner. It turns out the epic ending he suffers was a tragic blow to his neck, given to him by an unknown” man. The injury claimed his life, but not before he is tortured by watching as blood spurts from his tiny wound and spreads all over the ground.

As he spoke of his dream, the events in the story did not make much sense, although some parts where interesting. The way he had died was so dramatic it caught the attention of me and one other student.

So we quickly, whipped out the old smart phone from our pockets and began our
quest to find its meaning. A few seconds later, we found it. Thank you Google.

This is what we found,

To dream that you are bleeding or losing blood, signifies that you are suffering from exhaustion or that you are feeling emotionally drained…”       – http://www.dreammoods.com

Wooaahh there… What?

Well it turns out our Superior had been preparing for the Boston Marathon.

See where this starts to make sense?

So back to the Point. Do dreams really have a deeper meaning? Or are they just an adventure our brain goes of to do while it waits for dawn?