Card Trick

From card tricks to Card Throwing ►

Off Day

Today I didn't have enough time to learn something new. However to offset this negative, I'll give 2 positives for the day.

First, I just added a new diploma to the kitchen fridge. After completing 20 intensive hours of instruction and passing a rigorous evaluation (hardly), I am now a certified Drink Master graduate. We thought the best way to prepare for the exam was to practice at home with live ammunition. It's not.

This joins my Christopher Blake Love Certificate of Achievement and my 2nd place F1 Racing LapTime analysis 

The second good news is that I got redemption in Boston by parallel parking. It was on my third attempt that I was able to slide the car in perfectly. I realized I had been pulling too close to the front car and once I corrected that I was in like Flynn. 

heck yeah

Raw Vegan

This past summer, my dad and I enjoyed many raw meals of mainly different salads, zucchini/squash pasta, cauliflower rice, raw lasagna, etc..We were eating incredibly healthy and thus we felt better about ourselves. Usually we'd fry an egg or two to round out our meal.

OJ, Spinach, Broccoli, Avocado

Today I wanted to challenge myself by eating only raw vegan food. It proved to be a challenge, a tad bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I wasn't sure if my oatmeal is raw so I couldn't have my normal breakfast. I ended up making a green smoothie which was a delicious way to start the day.

I had to pack a lunch for my afternoon class and was pretty disappointed with my choices. Meanwhile my mom questioned my motive  When I looked at the hummus I was saddened because it's made from "Freshly steamed chickpeas". I couldn't bring my daily intake of a couple handfuls of nuts as all of our nuts are roasted (le sigh). I couldn't eat anything in our upstairs nor downstairs pantry. Needless to say, I was pretty hungry when I got home.

For lunch:

Luckily I found this in the fridge which held me over until dinner.

Originally my dad was going to make a raw meal for dinner. He borrowed a raw recipe book from the library and I was excited to see what he'd come up with. Unfortunately he came up short as his plans fell through. I ended up making another green smoothie except my dinner looked like puke. I can't wait until tomorrow.

Breakfast smoothie

By the way, I was peeing about 4 times as much as normal. Something about eating so many fruits and veggies.

Relax a bit on the Off Day ►

Sudoku - The Problem

Sudoku is one of those strange things that seems pretty easy but can get as rough as the callouses women get on their feet (Ped Egg--eww. If your cheese grater ever breaks...). I've never completed a Sudoku that had less than half of the numbers filled in so this is a challenge for me. The dreaded Friday Sudoku:

Give it a try! We'll compare times and scores.

The Solution ►

Sudoku - The Solution (Part 2)

This Sudoku took me less than an hour to finish--barely. 59 minutes and 59 seconds to be exact but who's counting anyways? Aced it with 100% baby! Haven't done this well since middle school!

Eat Raw Vegan ► 

Learn some ASL - Part 2

A special thanks to Matt for helping me put this together. I put everything I've got into this video. Enjoy

Sources: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainValor This guy is amazing. Check him out.

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

Complete a Sudoku ►

Learn to Draw Stewie

My drawing skills are by far the worst in my immediate family; the ability gap is kind of scary. While I was practicing, my dad looked over my shoulder and inquired, "Who is this? Hello Kitty?".  No comment...

Give it a try yourself. This is a good guide.

Practice Runs

Happy Stewie > Evil Stewie

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7XBnojAGDQ

Let's Learn ASL ► 

Learn Some ASL Part 1

I'm having some technical difficulties. This post will go up as soon as they are cleared.

Go To Part 2

Memorize a Poem

This is the first poem I've memorized since one the about star-crossed lovers. During my search for a poem, I read about some guy who "doesn't need an Ipod" because he would rather memorize poems...I'm still looking for something other than an Ipod as well.

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley; 1849-1903

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

Learn to Draw Stewie ►

Make a Budget

There's an old proverb that says: She who fails to plan, plans to fail. If you're not taking control of your financial situation, you're good as poor. Do you think broke lottery winners make budgets? Today we'll learn to make a budget so we can be confident about our finances.

My financial situation is a bit simple. I only have 1 real expense: student loans. Tonight I just made a payment to kill my highest interest rate loan (yay!). A sound financial tip: If you have some monies stored offshore in a Swiss bank and are collecting minimal interest, think about putting these funds toward paying off some loans which are accumulating more than minimal interest.

The rest of my money gets saved and some of it ends up in my belly. If I set a $150 budget per month on entertainment and purchases every month, I could meet it without a hitch. Since I'm leaving the country soon, I do have a few big ticket items to purchase: a MP3 player, an external hard drive, and maybe some hiking boots. Nothing crazy. President's weekend is great for electronics and I'm willing to wait. If I do decide to get hiking boots, I'll make sure to get a Peace Corps discount before hand.

A reader saw that I'd be making a budget today and asked for help. This is what I was given:

Please make me a budget  

my monthly expenses: 
transportation - gas 2 times a month, T tickets 
food for lunch/dinner at school
fun times - going out, movie night
miscellaneous - manicures, i can try to cut back on my clothes shopping

i have a limited (read: nonexistent) income. I only want to spend $500 a month. Is that doable? Realistically?


Dear faithful reader, of course it's doable and very realistic. The goal is to spend $500 or less a month and put some money away. Another tip is to pay yourself first AKA save money. If you can save 10% of your money you'll be ahead of most of your peers. If you're ambitious, shoot for 15% or maybe even 20%. Let's put $50 aside for saving. 


Transportation: $100 a month for gas, $20 for T tickets - $120.


Food for school lunch and dinner can be kept to a minimal by packing lunch and making your own dinner. Let's say 40 bucks a week - $160 a month. 


Extracurriculars and Night Life: $30 a week - $120 a month.


Miscellaneous/Purchases is the remaining - $50 a month. This overflow can be used as deemed necessary by you.


There you have it:

.

Let's Memorize a Poem ► 

Yummy Yummy

Watching Sunday night football gives me the munchies. I scanned Instructables.com for a yummy and more importantly, a simple recipe. A yummyness caught my attention and my eyes feasted on chocolate covered almonds. I turned on the gas to start the double boiler before collecting all the ingredients.

This recipe is extremely easy, even for someone who watches more Food Network than does actual cooking (me). With some freshly popped popcorn on hand, I dumped some in to soak up the excess chocolate. I chose to put less cocoa powder and formed an extremely large cluster. Luckily we snapped a picture before it got finished.

Chocolate on my lips

Sources: http://www.instructables.com/id/Last-minute-chocolate-almonds/

Let's Make a Budget ►

Touch Typing Part 2

I have to explain myself for last night's post. After dinner I was so jazzed up to learn to touch type (which I am doing right now), I headed downstairs to the barely used family desktop to get my own private typing lesson from none other than Mavis Beacon. Actresses aside, she is probably the third most recognizable black woman behind Oprah and Michelle Obama.

In high school, typing class was mandatory. Of course being a pimply teenager, I thought I knew better and just stuck with my own way of typing. I understand the usefulness of touch typing although I have to gripe about the Qwerty keyboard. What's the deal with putting the semi-colon key on the home row? 'J' on the right index finger--dumb. 'P' is in a pretty bad position as well. I could keep going...

After blazing through beginner and intermediate lessons, I decide to take the typing test. Little did I know, it took a grueling 17 minutes to complete the exam. I could feel Mavis breathing down my neck and hear her chortle every time I missed a letter but continued typing, which led to a string of missed letters. It was awful. Lastly, I learned that carpal tunnel is not reserved for graying receptionists. We're all potential sitting ducks so remember to stretch and take breaks.

Sources: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_11_19/ai_110809218/

Let's Make a Yummy Dessert ►

Learn to Touch Type

Typed on Mavis Beacon for 2 hours straight. 40 wpm - adjusted to 37 wpm accounting for mistakes. Carpal tunnel...oww

Continue to Part 2 ►

Write to an Author

I apologize for not posting yesterday. Anyone who has maintained a blog knows how difficult it is to post consistently (see my neglected blogs: http://alexleechina.blogspot.com/, http://alexsalzburg.blogspot.com/).

Anyhow, I'm reading a book called Only Bees Die by Robert Keller, MBA, in preparation for my service in Albania (Keller did Peace Corps in Albania). His book is a great read and my only problem with it is that it keeps me up too late. I ordered the paperback online (very, very unusual of me) and then remembered that I only want to bring ebooks with me. So I figured I'd look up Mr. Keller and make a request. Like they say: Ask and you shall receive.

After about 40 minutes on Google, I think I found his email. The email I sent him still hasn't bounced back so I'm guessing it's okay. Here's what I wrote:

Dear Mr. Keller,

Through the recommendations of the Peace Corps network and my future G14 "brothers and sisters" I ordered your book, Only Bees Die. It arrived on my doorstep a few days ago and I've been tearing through it. You definitely did a great job making me laugh and alleviating some of the fears that have crossed my mind.

Halfway through the book, I realized that this is without a doubt a book I'd like to bring during my service. Originally I was hoping to only bring ebooks with me but I absentmindedly purchased the paperback version. I'm hoping you'd be willing to send me the ebook version.

One last thing. I noticed you didn't copyright your material. Why did you choose to do that?

Sincerely,

Alex

P.S. You are somewhat difficult to track down online. I'm assuming you choose to be. Is that so?

I really hope he responds.

I've never written to an author before. Share your experiences in the comments section.

Go Learn to Touch Type ►

Welcome - Mirë se vini

I just completed Lesson 1 Pimsleuer - Albanian and it's safe to say that I remember nothing. This is truly a foreign language to me. Throughout high school I took Spanish classes and struggled with it but we all had a few buzz words under our belt, you know: quesadilla, burrito, torilla, taco, salsa, gordita, chalupa...the list goes on. At Fairfield I took several semesters of Mandarin but with a background in Cantonese, it wasn't so hard for me. I'm just beginning to realize how brave my classmates were.

I won't complain too much because Shqip uses the Roman alphabet. There's only a couple letters that are different from English and the pronunciation is slightly different as well.

So I was supposed to learn how to say "thank you" but that's too difficult (Faleminderit). Instead I've memorized two words.

Just don't ask me how to pronounce either.

Let's Write to an Author ►

Button Sewing

Sister: Hey what are you learning tomorrow?

Me: To sew buttons.

Sister: Oh great, I have a couple shirts that need buttons!

Dad: So what is your lesson for today?

Me: To sew buttons.

Dad: What?

Me: To sew buttons.

Dad: What?

Me: To sew buttons.

Dad: Oh, you can fix my pants!

The strangest thing is they both know how to sew buttons but don't do it themselves. We all give our clothes to my mom to sew our buttons. Now it's my turn to know how to sew my own buttons but give them to my mom to mend anyway. 

This button took me 11 minutes and 27 seconds from start to finish (it took me about 60 seconds to find which button needed to be replaced). The video in it's original state is about as interesting as watching standing cat, all 745mb of it (I lied, standing cat is fascinating). 

I've sped it up and added an audio track so it's a bit more entertaining. Enjoy!

Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrSs_DiJ-ZA

Go Learn Some Shqip ►

eBay? More like eBlah

For the lack of a good post, I made this

Today I wanted to learn to sell something on the great eBay. Having never bought or sold anything at this site, I felt like I was missing a major part of popular culture. My aversion to credit cards doesn't help either.

A little research was done on my part learning "tricks and tips" for selling on eBay. I looked at possible shipping methods and decided I would provide free shipping no matter what. It seemed like the highest selling items started with low starting bids so I'd do the same. Next I looked into Paypal. Apparently my dad setup a Paypal account when I was in middle school because I wanted an add-on to AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for the younger/older crowd) called DeadAIM. I don't recall why I wanted it so bad but I remember really liking it. Anyhow, the Paypal account was all set.

It was then that my sister then informed me that eBay has a seller fee although she wasn't sure what it was. So I check and it turns out that there are 2 fees. The first is called an "insertion fee" which allows you to post your auction. These run between free and $2.00 depending on your starting or reserve price. Okay, I can handle that. Then there's the final value free which can be between 8%-15%!! What the hell?!

That's as far as I got on eBay. I don't think I'll sell anything on there anytime soon. I just put a posting on Craigslist for free. Take that eBay. By the way, Craigslist has a new phone verification system where they call your phone number to give you a code. I'm not sure what exactly this verifies but it beats paying commission to eBay.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.

Sources: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/onlinebusiness/a/ebaysellingtips.htm

Watch me Sew Buttons ►

PUFF!

This is my first time playing the piano. With a bit of a musical background from high school band (a bottom seat trumpet), a piano book for 3 year olds (i.e. numbers for the keys), and an hour of practice after dinner; it is with great honor to demonstrate the piano with vocal accompaniment.

A special thank you to the anonymous vocalist.

(It's ok to laugh.)

Check Out eBay ►

Parallel Parking

In the busy streets of Boston, oncoming traffic and the added pressure of onlookers makes me pee my pants. A couple months ago I was trying to catch a show and looked to park on Commonwealth Ave. I pulled my car up to a great spot in front of the entrance to the Kenmore T-stop. T-stations being the hobo magnets that they are, my audience was plentiful and heterogeneous. Several people took a breather from shaking their Dunkin Donuts cups to enjoy the show.

The blinker clicks as hesitation, fear, dreadfulness, doubt, apprehension among a few other feelings swirl around my head as I prepare my final act. Oncoming traffic pauses and the curtain is drawn. This is a recreation of actual events:


Turn hard. Car swings into empty street. Back up--Cut hard! Car jolts to a halt. Curb--crap! Try again. Car returns to original position. Car swings out and cuts back in. Too tight--shoot! One more time. Car pulls next to front car. You can do it. Car hits curb again. Damn! Car drives away in shame.

To my defense, parallel parking in suburbia is like scoring a knock out with Sock'Em Boppers--it just doesn't happen all that often. For such a crucial skill it's a surprise that more people can't do it (maybe it's just me). Despite a slightly sore palm (maybe from practicing yoga) and strange looks from neighbors, I'm fortunate to have gotten some practice in my driveway.

Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ-loe3xXLg

**Any suggestions for this Sunday? Post below

Watch a Piano Concert ►

Put Your Hands Together - Human Paper Accordian

Cartoons introduced me to human paper accordions and therefore I had a tough time rationalizing whether or not they were really possible. Remember that these cartoon artists are the same people who largely popularized a cross-dressing, smart-alec bunny wabbit and showed us that dropping anvils on people is merely a means of slowing them down. 

See the results:

Watch Me Parallel Park ►

My Fingers Smell Like Cheese

I have been looking forward to a day devoted to eating with my hands for a few years now. While in the Philippines, I was eager to try eating with my hands at a restaurant but unfortunately the opportunity never arose. The day that I thought would never come--is finally here.

In preparation for the day's lesson I watched the above video several times. It is obvious that decades of practice has molded this gentleman into an eating machine that understands the nuances of eating with his hands. He is a figure skater performing triple axles and Lutz jumps before an astonished crowd--10's from the judges across the board.

My breakfast normally consists of oatmeal with an assortment of nuts and raisins. Today I opt for a sunny-side egg and a peanut butter and banana sandwich on pita bread. The first meal was safe and easy.

Remember dear reader, the world's strongest men don't get jacked riding ellipticals. They use steroids. For me to even breathe the same air or God forbid, eat in the same room as the gentleman above, I had to challenge myself and thus I did the unthinkable. For lunch I packed quiche and rice.

Sweet Jesus was that a mistake.  

As I sat down to eat my zapped lunch, a stock exchange ticker tape scroll on repeat through my head reading, "Please don't see me. Please don't come in." My double edged sword of an office desk allows me to see out the front door but at the same time allows incoming people to see me shoveling my slimy fingers into my pie hole. This was the most excruciating meal experience I'd ever had. 

I recognize the faux pas of eating with your left hand in India but 1. I'm not in India, 2. I'm a lefty, and 3. I wipe with my right hand. But even with my left hand, I have trouble comprehending why it was so difficult to eat with my hands. Watching me eat is like watching a whale explode in Taiwan. If you think eating chocolate covered strawberries with your hands is sexy, I don't suggest you watch the video.

WARNING: This Is Disgusting

Human Paper Accordian ►

Playing with the Stars

Light pollution is my enemy and tonight is no exception. The sky was devoid clouds but yet I could only make out Orion and his nifty belt.

---------------------------
With a voice more commanding than dare I say Ted Williams (you know the homeless, alcoholic, father of 9, Golden Voice), Sean Connery's classic, Dragon Heart teaches us that the baddest constellation in the sky is Draco. It just so happens that Draco is my favorite constellation and the first time I spotted it was almost as exciting as when I learned that Facebook changed my profile to the "new and improved" one...not.


I just learned that the when the Arabs took to the sky, they didn't see a dragon, instead they saw the ring (Draco's head) as the Mother Camels. You'll notice that the ring of stars, I mean camels are surrounding thus protecting a baby camel from a pack of cackling hyenas. I have to thank the Gods for the Greeks because Draco is so much cooler and could kill the hyenas and camels with a cheese grater.

In my fifth grade astronomy class, we never studied Hydra which surprises me because it's the largest constellation. "One myth associates it with a water snake that a crow served Apollo in a cup when it was sent to fetch water; Apollo saw through the fraud, and angrily cast the crow, cup, and snake, into the sky." -Wiki. The snake, "crater", and "corvus" (crow) all rest close by each other. I love when that happens. Also the Babylonians interpreted Hydra to be a snake as well- talk about staying power. 

Bootes is notably know as the plow man who keeps the heavens spinning due to it's proximity to the polar axis. Although a good explanation, a more entertaining version brought to us by Wikipedia "portrays Boötes as a grape grower called Icarius, who one day invited the Roman god Bacchus/Dionysus, to inspect his vineyards. Bacchus revealed the secret of wine making to Icarius, who was so impressed by this alcoholic beverage that he invited his friends round to sample it. Having never tasted wine before, they all drank too much and woke up the next morning with terrible hangovers; and they made the mistaken assumption that Icarius had tried to poison them. It was decided that Icarius should pay the price with his own life, and he was swiftly murdered in his sleep. Bacchus placed Icarius in the stars to honor him." 


There's nothing like showing your friends a good time and getting rubbed out in return. Talk about a buzz-kill.


Sources: Interactive Sky Maps - Pretty Good
Wikipedia

Watch me: Eat With My Hands ►

Side Crow Pose

Sister: "You should learn to do a yoga move!"
Me: "Ok, which one?"
Sister: "Side Crow Pose."
Me: "Sure, whatever."

Look at this:

Mother of God--what did I get myself into? Have any of you even imagined this before?!

What was for breakfast? Oriental Rug. And for lunch? The same.
This is what I learned today:

If you have an empty stomach, an empty room, and no one watching, I highly encourage you to try it. Just remember that balance is more important than strength. Neither of which I have.

**I'd love to see a non yoga instructor do this. This is a challenge.

Let's Learn Some Constellations ► 

The Best Part of Waking Up...Is Getting Chewed Out by Your Dad

Note: This is the remaining half of the coffee brewed yet to be stored in a vacuum flask

In preparing for my weekend jaunt in Albania, I've seen more references to coffee than our ill fated friends of the Birdpocalypse. As a current non-consumer of coffee, I figured it's best to learn more about coffee before I leave. Coffee seems to be the Facebook of Albania: 1. People sitting around 2. People occasionally making comments 3. People spending a great portion of their day doing so.

At this point in my life, I've only drank one complete cup of coffee (I'm working on making that 2). For that first cup I give my thanks to my coworkers in Salzburg who strapped me to a chair (figuratively of course) and proceeded to record and document me as if I were the last unicorn drinking a cup of joe.

This morning I committed a monstrosity of unparalleled proportions in the world of coffee by adding 4 times (read: FOUR TIMES) the appropriate amount of coffee grinds. Even after my dad added a 1:1 ratio of milk, the semi-liquid sludge did not change in color (contrary to our expectations).

For those of you not paying attention, the lesson learned is that you can still salvage a ruined pot of coffee by brewing more coffee until the proper proportion (1 Tsp of grinds : 1 Cup of coffee) is reached. If your math is good, you'd realize that we ended up brewing 16 cups of coffee. It should last the family for the rest of the week.

Sources: http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/04/17/how-to-make-coffee/
Other Ideas: http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/turkishcoffee

Let's Do: Yoga ►

Paper Planes

This is a paper airplane that I've wanted to make since high school. A friend (who now makes handheld flamethrowers) brought one to school and I thought it was so cool. A short six years later and all my aeronautical aspirations have been achieved.

A former GE aerospace engine design engineer informed me that "it flies straight and true".



Sources: http://www.zurqui.co.cr/crinfocus/paper/air-bld1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3_VMPkzI8A

Let's Go: Brew Some Coffee ►

Calendar

Start Day 1 - Paper Planes ►

The Beginning

Today marks the first day of learning something new everyday. Now when I say this, I don't mean learning silly facts like that it "takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs." Is that for real? We might never know.

So my sister and I came up with a list of things to do each and everyday. I know, some of these are a bit silly, some I should already know how to do, and others are things that I've wanted to try but just haven't gotten around to it. Either way, I'll be enriching my overly fascinating life.

Please join me on this journey and I'm open to any suggestions for things to try!

Check out the Calendar ►
Or Let's Get This Started - Fun with Planes ►