TPG is Moving!

I'm moving to WordPress! I felt the same revelation I had when I switched from a Nikon point-and-shoot to a Canon one.  More features, more user-friendly, more flexibility, more, more, more!  So I've pack up my bags and I'm moving on to bigger and better things.  Meet me there - http://www.peargallery.com

Although we had a good run, this is my formal farewell to Blogger.

Goodbye.

A Series of Historical Accidents

With a more-than-slight sense of disdain, I will admit that I either have Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" or Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" incessantly on replay in my head.  This is, by the way, not by choice, but rather, it's merely a reflection of what today's radio stations are constantly having to play every hour of everyday.  UGH.  Enough already!  Even if you start to like a song, you'll end up hating it purely because of this repititious nature.  So to save my ears from this pain, for the past several months I have had one of two talk radio stations on to get me through the day: 106.7 The Fan and WAMU 88.5 (NPR).  While I probably now know more than the average Redskins fan should know about the team, I've also learned a little more about the world around me.  Talk about a win-win!  When I do miss music, I'll just pop in a mixed CD (mostly comprised of music from this playlist: hypem.com/pmoraras), because sadly, my car is not iPod capable.

Now onto the real topic of the day:  How the American Health System came to be.

Podcast - October 22, 2009: Accidents of History Created U.S. Health System: NPR

It explains how the current employer based health insurance system started in the first place.  If we want to fix this broken system, we should try to understand how and why it became so popular.  Always look to history to understand the present and determine the future!

post-script:  As I'm publishing this, my brother is in the next room watching TV and I can hear Ms. Cyrus' voice.. noddin' my head like yeah.  I think you get it now.

Hot Sauced in Barcelona

Excerpt from Rick Steves' Spain 2008 guide -- on Barcelona:

Theft Alert: You're more likely to be pickpocketed here than about anywhere else in Europe. Most of the crime is nonviolent, but mugglings do occur. Be on guard. Leave valuables in your hotel and wear a money belt.
Street scams are easy to avoid if you recognize them... Beware of groups of women aggressively selling carnations, people offering to clean off a stain from your shirt, and people picking things up in front of you on escalators... Assume any scuffle is simply a distraction by a team of thieves.

After having successfully survived through the tourist-heavy cities of Paris, Venice, and Rome we arrived to Barcelona confident and aware, but still paranoid of pickpocketers. Despite all this, we managed to become victims of the classic Barcelona "stain scam." Here is a detailed recap of how it happened:

The Crime--
On Day 2, PV and I visited La Sagrada Familia (pictured above), one of Antoni Gaudi's most amazing works of architecture. We walked into a park behind the church to take more pictures and admire the scenery when we saw a quiet pond close by. As we walked down closer to it, I turned around to say something when I noticed another couple right behind us. I stopped to let them pass, but suddenly felt something fall on my head and back. I immediately thought it was bird pooh and before I could react, the couple started pointing to the tree above us and speaking hurriedly in Spanish. I could only catch a few words, but the woman tried to tell us that green stuff from this tree falls on people all the time so we should be careful. They conveniently pulled out a bottle of water and several tissues to help us wipe it off. It was all over PV's back so she handed me some of the tissues and showed me the best method in getting the stain off successfully. Meanwhile, her husband was behind me wiping off the stains from my back and hair... Or so I thought. After handing us some more tissues, they walked off as I sent them many "graciases."

As soon as they left, I had a sick feeling in my stomach that something wrong had just happened. PV was still concerned with all the stains on his back and the backpack while I reached in my purse to make sure that everything was still in there. "Scarf, check. Rick Steves' Guide Book, check. Wallet... gone."

The Damage--
50 euros (75USD)
Drivers License
2 Student IDs
2 CCs (MasterCard, Visa) -- of which, $800 was charged to Footlocker on the MC
Fotomaton photos from Paris (from my attempt to reenact Amelie)

My debit card, other cash, and passport were safe in our money belt so the damage was minimal considering what could have been stolen. The damage control was done within an hour and all that could have been replaced has been replaced. Now we will move on and learn from our mistakes. I hope you will too.

post-script: The "green stuff" was actually hot sauce. Charrito burritos will never be the same again.

Spreading Myself Thin

Hah! It's not going to be that type of post! What the title really means is that I've been neglecting this blog because of my dedication to other social networking sites (i.e. Flickr, Twitter, Yelp, FB). Respectively, those sites have been for photos, favorite links/articles, food/restaurant reviews, and other personal interests. Blogger is the one place where I can write about all of the above and more, but because my interests have been spread across so many different forums, I've found myself uninspired for a good post. I've concluded that I just need more interests and hobbies! What shall they be? I do not yet know, but please do stay tuned.

This is also a shameless plug for my new Flickr account: www.flickr.com/pmoraras. It chronicles my noobtatsic photography with the Canon PowerShot and PV's Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5. I do plan on getting a DSLR in the future so in the end this will document my journey with these cameras. Till that day, do bear with me and the inevitable noobiness.

cuatro millas!

Although I've been putting it off mentally despite being physically ready for it, I have at long last hit the 4 mile mark. I definitely shouldn't have plateaued at 3 miles for that long though. Nevertheless, it felt great to do it and I wasn't exhausted when I finished.


I apologize for this poor excuse of a blog post -- nothing has been blog worthy as of late.
Maybe I'll post pictures of how I've been doing in my cake-deco class later this week... maybe.

Detox Day 3-4 Recap

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is walnut-colored, the texture of toothpaste, and the length of a banana? (this is not a riddle)

Day 3: Add raw veggies

This was pretty simple, I felt less limited because I was just a vegetarian for the day. This thus gave me the bright idea of grabbing lunch at Sunflower Vegetarian. I got the House Salad with Avocado and Japanese style ginger dressing (oil free) -- it was quite satisfying. I can't wait to go back for all the other goodies they have to offer.

Dinner was another salad: Baby spinach, avocado, bell peppers, and some lemon juice

I did go on a 3 mile /30 min run when I got home from work and found myself more exhausted and producing a lot more sweat than usual; I am attributing this to the detox.

Day 4: Add brown rice and cooked veggies

I was so excited for this day because I have been without carbs for what feels like a lifetime. The brown rice was oh so good, I might even consider eating it on a regular basis. I cooked some broccoli and bell peppers in EVOO and fresh minced garlic. This was my hearty lunch for the day.

Dinner had similar ingredients, but with a different prep. I steamed all the veggies using as little water as possible and squeezed some lemon juice on it. Needless to say, my dinner was delicious (compared to all of my previous meals). I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to my normal eating habits; I admit it takes very little to excite me these days when it comes to what I can eat though.

Net Weight Change: -4.5lbs

Book Binging

As inspired by Gade's post, I want to share my bookworming habits, too!

Recently finished:
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

Currently reading:
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Recently purchased:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

Eventually reread (IB English doesn't haunt me anymore):
A Handmaid's Tail - Margaret Atwood
The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende

On the List:
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories - Miranda July
Cooked - Jeff Henderson
How Doctors Think - Jerome Groopman
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

I'm a binge reader though so I take long hiatuses in between binges (only exception is HP). I'm trying to shake off this habit by reading a little bit everyday rather than a lot of bit for a short period and nothing for a long period. Anyway, warmer weather means I can relax and read in the new hammock!

Chocoholics Anonymous

Co Co Sala

929 F Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004






In celebration of my first paycheck at the new job, Mumbly and I put on our baller suits and indulged in some tapas, dessert, and drinks at Co Co Sala.

Our menu for this special night:
CoCo Bites: (sorry, no pictures here. We were halfway done eating them before we remembered to take some. Great presentation on their part, though!)
Lobster Salad [lemon aioli/cucumber/crushed avodcado/greens/corn bread/passion chocolate vinaigrette]
Tuna Tartar [blue fin tuna/zesty herb dressing/crispy shallots]

Monde Du Chocolat:
Xocolatyl (Three Course Aztec Experience)
- Churros with Dulce de Leche dip
- Hot chocolate souffle with fiery center, kahlua shooter, expresso ice cream
- chocolate infused horchata, mexican wedding cake

Cocktails (Elixir Pairings):
cocojito (left) - a mojito with Chocolate-infused vodka and chocolate shavings - most popular drink there and freaking delicious!! The chocolate flavor was so subtle and blended so well with the lime and mint; who knew chocolate would be this good in a cocktail.
alisar (right) - refreshing cucumber drink - tasted like sprite! The cucumber gave it just enough flavor for a great aftertaste. This is the second best drink on the menu, imo.

Ambiance:
[3 separate sections, DJ, a bit frou frou, diverse, mid-20s to mid-30s crowd]
Left side: Bar with two-tops along the wall.
Center: Bar, loungy feeling with short tables and couches.
Right side: Dining room - great for dates, but also for large groups too.

Overall: I recommend this place for a special occasion. Everything I put in my mouth was pretty much amazing. It's only good for special occasions though because I don't have the monies to be dropping 70 bucks for small plates and desserts. Although the cocktails were probably the best I've had in a while, they are pretty expensive at $13 per drink. If I'm going to pay that much for a drink, it not only must be good, but it must also be STRONG! This is what lacked at CoCoSala.

4 stars on the Yelp scale!

--
post script: om nom nom nom... nom nom

2008 in cities

Kottke does a list every year, so I wanted to see what my list looked like.

Las Vegas, NV
San Francisco, CA
Lake Tahoe, CA
Blacksburg, VA
Duck (OBX), NC
New York City, NY
Rehoboth/Dewey, DE
Charlottesville, VA*
Bangkok, Thailand
Lynchburg, VA
Richmond, VA**
Breckenridge, CO

*still counts since it was a visit even though I lived there the first 5 months of the year
**Obama Rally! It doesn't really count, but it was an important event for me

And because my 2008 list is so impressive, let's take a look at 2007!

Lima, Peru
Cusco, Peru
Managua, Nicaragua
San Jose, CA
San Francisco, CA
Harrisonburg, VA
Atlantic City, NJ
Chicago, IL

That wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. What does yours look like?

Food Allergies for Food Lovers

I am currently experiencing the consequences of eating an avocado sandwich for lunch. I will endure and fight my own body's rejection of something that not only tastes good, but is supposed to be good for you! Due to my undying love, I absolutely refuse to stop eating the foods that my body hates most. It's heart over head, as always. Plus, I'm stubborn as crap.

This includes:

Dairy Products:
Cheese
Milk

Fruit:
Peaches, Plums, Bananas, Apples, Mangoes (more so than before), Avocados, Melons, Cherries, and more
Limes, Peppers, Tomatoes (irritates the skin on my fingers when I cut them)

Kiwi -- the worst of them all and the only fruit I will never, EVER eat again.

This is so ironic in more ways than one.

Link to an interesting article on fruit allergies (Oral Allergy Syndrome)

P.S. In case you were wondering (and I know you were), I'm NOT allergic to Pears, especially not the Asian ones.