Operation Chocolate Chip Cookie: Trial 13

Suffice it to say that the best chocolate chip cookies will not contain pistachios. I returned from a cookie baking hiatus to make Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies, from the Simply Recipes Blog. Here is a picture.

These cookies were soft and chewy, and the pistachio and chocolate combo was pretty good. I definitely liked that it was a twist from the proverbial chocolate and walnut combo. Despite good reviews- Karl came back for a 2nd cookie, and Vickie said that these were her favorite-I don't think I'll continue baking with pistachios. Which is unfortunate because I now have a big bag of leftover nuts.

a few rambling thoughts

So, I have not had a chance to photograph my office yet. Sorry about that. The walls are bright pink (think Pepto Bismol) and the door is a chalkboard now. I am getting new officemates soon, and I hope that they share in my enthusiasm of pink.

We start classes on Thursday, and I'm staying mildly busy and nice and relaxed. I submitted another draft of my qualifier, I'm RAing for BG, reading interesting books that I don't have time to read during the quarter (see my list in the sidebar), watching movies, crocheting, running, and going to yoga and pilates classes. And, I'm thinking about knitting myself a sweater. Just thinking about it.

Speaking of yoga and pilates, whenever I leave Yoga Shakti, there is this smell of mini donuts permeating the air. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Yoga Shakti is in the University Center which is filled with some shops, restaurants, Trader Joe's, and a Jack in the Box. So, I know that the mini donut smell is coming from the Jack in the Box, and I wonder what the hell is on their menu that could possibly resemble mini donuts. Anyway, maybe I'll check it out sometime, but for now, it's a mystery. Any ideas?

I have a confession to make: I am addicted to Gossip Girl. I have no idea how this could have possibly happened, but I am. I started watching the new season, and I'm hooked. Oh so hooked. Season 1 is on my Blockbuster queue, and I have watched 3 of the 5 discs. Number 4 just came in the mail today, so I'm indulging myself tonight. And by the way, don't you hate it how DVD's are labelled as containing the complete season, yet it contains only 4 episodes?

All right, I'm done. I'm off to bake some cookies now. Stay tuned.

on selecting an adviser

So, I am finally putting that art degree to good use- I'm painting my office! The walls are a bright pink and the door is going to be a chalkboard. I'll post pictures sometime next week.

In academic news, I changed advisers last week. See, upon entering grad school, we are each assigned an adviser. It is kind of like an arranged marriage, except that we can always opt out and choose a new adviser. I talked to MP about this last week, and he gave me some good advice on selecting an adviser. An adviser should be my advocate. An adviser should be responsive and reliable. An adviser should push me to do good work and reach my fullest potential. I was in agreement with MP- these were the qualities that I was looking for in a potential adviser. My other personal criteria? This hinged on personality- I also wanted someone that I felt comfortable with, who had integrity, and someone who would laugh at my jokes.

Among my grad school friends, we like to joke that choosing an adviser is a lot like dating. We meet professors, get to know them, develop working relationships with them, and then we "pop the question." I spent this last year developing professional relationships by taking classes from professors, TAing for them, and asking them to be readers on my qualifying paper. To me, these are some good ways to get to know professors and figure out who I want to work with and who would be a good adviser. Last week, I quit dragging my heels and finally made things official with LD. Since we seemed to have an informal adviser/advisee relationship since sometime last spring, popping the adviser question came as no surprise.

Some people may feel bad when they change advisers. Some are afraid of burning bridges and hurting professors' feelings. Yet, at the end of the day, I know that I had to do what is right for myself. I don't feel bad about "breaking up" with my assigned adviser because this is my grad school experience, not someone else's. MP compared choosing an adviser to grocery shopping. When we choose one brand of bread over another, we don't have to justify our purchase and tell the makers of the rejected bread brand why we didn't purchase their bread.

yarn, yoga, and dachshunds

Last weekend was a lot of fun, and I hope you had a fun weekend too! I went to the beach, took a yoga class, saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but cheesy movies are my guilty pleasure), loaded up on loot from Bath & Body Works (they have a new scent- Black Amethyst!), and I saw 3 dachshunds (1 at Fashion Island and 2 while I was out running).

So, I have been keeping busy, waiting for classes to start in about 2 weeks. I have been taking it easy, reading all the books that I don't really have time to read while I'm taking classes. I am still running, and I have started yoga again. This time, I am taking classes at Yoga Shakti, this yoga place across the street from UCI. And, I started a new crochet project, a baby blanket for a colleague due in about a month. Here is what I've done so far:

Sorry for the poor picture quality. Again, you would think that as a former art major (with a focus in photography), I could do better.

Palin Power

I'm rooting for Governor Palin. There, I said it. Now, because our policy views are diametrically opposed, chances are that I will still cast a vote for Obama. Nevertheless, I'm still rooting for Palin. I watched her RNC speech last night, and I was relieved- she did a great job. Palin was tapped to be VP to complement McCain, and she seems to do just that. Appeal to the social conservatives? Check. Appeal to the working moms? Check. Appeal to the working class? Check. Appeal to small town America? Check. Deliver a good punchline? Check. I suppose that last one wasn't a requirement, but I was entertained (even though this came at Obama's expense).

All right, this is why I want Palin to perform well: If she messes this up, I'm afraid that she's going to mess things up for all women. I'm afraid that people will say "see what happens when we nominate a woman? Let's not do that again." I'm afraid that people will say that women just aren't suitable for positions of power for whatever reason: family responsibilities, pressure, media scrutiny, qualifications, etc. Think about it, when a man screws up, we never think twice about electing another one. However, if Palin screws up, I'm afraid that we'll think twice about nominating another woman. Already, we are second guessing her qualifications and experience, and there have been doubts that she was properly vetted. It's been 24 years since a woman was on a major party ticket; I don't want to wait another 24 to see another one.

let's talk about sex

I finally got around to removing the Hillary sign out of my bedroom window. That I waited so long to do so wasn't out of hostility toward Obama but rather sheer laziness. Anyway, I've been paying more attention to the Republican National Convention than I did to the Democratic National Convention. Maybe it's because the RNC is in my home state of Minnesota, but there's just more excitement and drama on the Republican side.

All right, where do I start? Let's begin with the surprise VP nomination- Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. How many people have ever heard of her? Seriously, how many people even know where Alaska is? Only a few days before McCain announced his VP pick, my dad and I had a conversation about potential candidates. I mentioned that I thought a woman would be a strategic choice, and I had Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in mind. Anyway, I was completely shocked that McCain did actually pick a woman (and one with minimal experience). Who says Republicans are against affirmative action?

A thought about political experience. We hear all this talk that the VP is "a heartbeat away from the presidency." I mean, I know McCain is old, but would his VP seriously be a "heartbeat away from the presidency"? The media make it sound like McCain is going keel over and die any moment. Does this piss him off? Is he secretly seething and screaming inside "I'm not dead yet, you morons!" And, isn't it interesting that it's not okay to be blatantly racist or sexist, but apparently ageist is okay? Just something to think about. A final thought about political experience: I've never been VP and I'm not familiar with the office, but I would suspect that there's a pretty steep learning curve and Palin would be okay if she had to assume the presidency.

Other thoughts: I like how McCain is trying to attract Hillary supporters with the Palin pick. As if any woman will do, and as if I'll just exchange my Hillary sign for a Sarah sign. Sure, like I won't notice that the woman on the ticket is a gun toting, NRA card carrying lifetime member, and posterchild for the anti-abortion crowd who thinks creationism should be taught in schools and that climate change is a sham. Nice try, John McCain.

And finally, how could I forget that Governor Palin's daughter is pregnant? I mean, the New York Times reminds me every time I open up my internet browser. The media sure is having fun with this one. Between the drama on the Republican side and Gustav, they've had a busy week. Seriously, teenage pregnancy probably sucks as it is, and I can't imagine enduring it with all the attention, criticism, and Democrats laughing about the irony of the Republican monopoly on so-called "family values." Plus, some have gone so far as to question Governor Palin's plan to seek the vice presidency and campaign despite her daughter's pregnancy. Dubbed the Campaign Edition of the Mommy Wars, some suggest that Palin may not make a good VP, considering she has her hands full with 5 kids and a grandkid on the way. Really? Would we be questioning Palin if she were a man? I don't think so. Ugh.

If there are any lessons to be learned from this whole ordeal, it's this: comprehensive sex education. Can we please talk about sex now? Really. This abstinence only "education" and sweeping sex ed under the rug just isn't working. Fine, teach kids to wait until marriage, but they're not going to listen. Not even the kids who learn that premarital sex is wrong, not even the kids who are raised in socially conservative families, and not even the kids who take virginity pledges. And when these kids decide to have sex anyway, they're ill prepared and aren't going to take the necessary precautions for safe sex. Think that talking about condoms is going to put ideas into their head and encourage them to have sex? Think again: sex is everywhere; all kids have to do is turn on the TV, open a magazine, or surf the internet to find provocative photos of Miley Cyrus, spoiled teenagers having sex (hello, Gossip Girl!), and guys desperately trying to get laid (Superbad). Sure, touting comprehensive sex ed might be easy for me considering I don't have kids. Yet, doesn't it make sense to prepare kids for something they're going to do anyway? I mean, even the governor's teenage daughter has sex. Let's stop being in denial.

a day at the getty

Yesterday, I headed up to LA to go to the Getty Museum. It was a good day- lots of paintings, sculptures, beautiful gardens. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

The day ended on the UCLA campus at this cookie shop, Diddy Riese, known for making ice cream sandwiches with an assortment of cookies and ice creams flavors. I ate a vanilla ice cream sandwich with a chocolate chocolate chip walnut cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. I went home content and with a full belly.