I've Moved!

I'm moving my food posts away from this blog cuz I feel that they should have their own blog. Granted I tried this before and it didn't work, but try, try again. Right? Here's the new site:

http://ewongblog.wordpress.com/

Melon Smoothie with Sago

I've been meaning to make more things so that my blog is not just all about my yelp reviews and my random visits to places. So I made an Asian Melon w/ Sago Dessert that I found here:

http://www.fussfreecooking.com/sugary-treats/coconut-milk-melon-with-sago-dessert-%E6%A4%B0%E6%B1%81%E8%9C%9C%E7%93%9C%E8%A5%BF%E7%B1%B3/

This blogger is Emily who lives in Australia. (I don't know why I like Australian food bloggers). Her blog is all about Fuss Free Cooking. I have to say this was pretty fuss free. It was fun and simple to do.

These are the ingredients used in this dessert. From Left to Right: Water, Sago(Smal Tapioca Pearls), Coconut Milk, Sugar (I used splenda instead), Salt (I ended up not using it), and 1 Cantaloupe.

In order to make this dessert, you will need: a stove, 2 pots, a blender, a mixing bowl, a large knife, and a  chopping board. I didn't have a big enough blender so I used my sister's single serve smoothie blender. It worked just fine.

Now, considering that I forgot to chill the melon mixture before I stuck it all together, it still tasted delicious. I wish I had used a little more sugar, but it was plenty sweet. The other thing I wish I had done was cook the sago just a little bit longer since my sago was a little crunchy. But overall, it was still good for a first try!

You Can't Win

Listening to: You Can't Win By Kelly Clarkson



So, as I'm listening to this song, it occurs to me how true this song  is. Here's the thing, everyone has an opinion on everyone and everything. I was just complaining the other day that it is so tiring to have an opinion on anything or to make any kind of decision because everyone in my life wants to know why I made the decision that I did. Whether it's my family who's concerned that I'm making the right choices, a co-worker who asked me  my political and religious views so that they can argue with me or some complete stranger who has decided I'm some kind of idiot because of my age, gender or ethnicity, there is no way I can win. At all or ever.

So, now I'm going to throw in some religious stuff that applies. Don't go away just yet. My pastor was preaching on the UnPresidential Servant. He was talking about Jesus. His ultimate implications for this sermon was that you have to expect people to disagree with your views. No matter what they are. He also said that we should do more and talk less, choose wisely and be discerning. His final point was that Jesus is the Christian Commander-in-Chief. But yeah, my point in bringing this sermon up is that people are going to disagree with my beliefs and my actions but as long as my views are sound and my actions are fair(definition: giving everyone the opportunity to have a chance) then I need to forge ahead and stand by them no matter what happens. But of course, I will apologize if along the way I am wrong too. You'd be surprised how many people wouldn't.

I wanted to post the sermon up here too, but it's not posted on my church's  website yet, will do so when it is.

Joe and Books at the Rio

There's nothing like going to the bookstore to read a good book and drink a cup of joe. It's also a good place to use some free wifi on your laptop or tablet or to study with a friend. The review I did today is for the Barnes and Noble in the Washingtonian Center at 21 Grand Corner Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Here is my review from Yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/barnes-and-noble-gaithersburg

I come here quite often. The people here are usually nice and very helpful. It's usually a great place to go grab a cup of coffee from the starbucks inside, grab a book, and read for a few hours. The only thing I really don't like is that they got rid of all their comfy chairs and even the wooden chairs that they used to have spread around the store are gone. Now, if you want to sit and read, you have to fight for a table in the starbucks area. I don't know how much good it's done their business, but I do know for sure that I have stopped coming as much as i used to. Why go to B&N to read a book if there's no where to sit comfortably? Still, if you need to buy a book or get free wifi while drinking a good cup of joe. This is the place to go.

It's also conveinent because it's right next to Target, and many places to eat. Rio is a great area for this book store to be in.

Pumpkins!!!!

I decided late last night that I wanted to go pumpkin picking. It's not surprising that very few people were available to go with me. But surprise! One of my old college roommates decided to come with me! I ended up getting 4 pumpkins and apple cider. We went to Butler's Orchard. Butler's Orchard is pretty nice. The people are friendly and the pumpkins were plentiful. The only thing I didn't like is that all the pumpkins were cut off the vines but the vines were left around for people to trip on as they walked around. There were numerous rotted pumpkins everywhere. As it was, it was $0.65/lb for a pumpkin and it cost me about $22 for 4 pumpkins. I got 2 medium and 2 small pumpkins.

It was kind of sad to say that this is one of the better looking pumpkins and it's looks so nice because It turned it around. The other side is all marred up. But it was a nice size I suppose. I'm guessing it was because it's the end of the season, but there weren't that many good pumpkins around.

The Farmer's Market was a lot better than the pumpkin patch. It was clean, with plenty of people and products. I thought it was really funny that they spelled Bok Choy as Pak Choy. A lot of things were pretty expensive, but then, that's to be expected at Farmer's Markets. There was also apparently a Fall Festival but today was apparently the last day. We were going to go but it was $11 a person. I thought that was kind of ridiculous. 

Dumplings! Nope, Just Pho.

It is just a short walk from University of Maryland College Park. I may have been a little harsh in my review, but read and decide for yourself. They got an overall 3 stars at least.

Here's the Yelp! Review:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-thom-college-park

I wasn't very impressed with this place. First of all, I was looking forward to District Dumpling, but apparently the place is closed. So we went to Pho Thom instead. Wasn't very happy but, didn't want to walk anywhere else either. Yes, I was forced to walk to find food.

Food: 2.5/5 stars. I got a large P-3 which included Well Done flank, Eye of Round and tendons. The broth was alright, but had a bland after taste which was quickly covered up by sriracha sauce. Yum! The meat was well cooked. We also got the Chicken Satay. Some of the pieces weren't cooked all the way through. Yep, slightly raw chicken, not a good sign. The peanut sauce was greasy and unappetizing looking, but the cucumber sauce was yummy. Probably won't be getting the Chicken anytime soon.

Service: 3/5 stars. They were really packed but it's also a small restaurant. Maybe 15 tables max? the waiter took a REALLY long time to come get our order which is surprising since most Vietnamese restaurants want you in and out ASAP. The food came relatively fast and they didn't ignore us completely. The waitress there was also very nice even though she wasn't our waitress. But at least she greeted us nicely and said good-bye to us nicely. .5 stars more just for her.

Decor: 3/5 stars. It was nicely colored and I kind of liked the open space and the front desk even though it was plain. I think because the outside was so dingy looking that since the inside was somewhat nice, I was happy. Or it could have been the fact that I had to walk 20 minutes to get to my food and I was happy to sit down to a non gray colored table.

Overall, I'm giving it a 3 stars because I wasn't really offended by the raw food and the Pho really wasn't bad. I may not come here much, but it doesn't seem like a bad place. I even felt bad that I had to give them a coin tip because I ran out of cash. Just avoid anything on a skewer and you'll be fine.

Noodles Caboodles!

Filmed my promotional video and then we got hungry. Here's the review for Bob's Noodle 66. It's located on 305 N Washington St, Rockville, MD 20850. I gave it 5 stars on yelp because you can't give it half stars. Anyway, here's the review from Yelp!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bobs-noodle-66-rockville

I came here once years ago and never went back. It wasn't because I didn't like the place, I just wasn't impressed. I decided to eat her tonight because it was 8:30pm at night and the church people I was with decided on Bob's.

Food: 5/5 stars. Last time I came here, I got the Beef Stew Soup. Was NOT impressed even though ALL my friends got it and were raving about it. THIS time, I got the Pork and Egg Thick Noodle Soup for $6.95. Now what's weird is my soup could have fed about 3 of me and yet it was only $1 more than my sister's wonton noodle soup for $5.95 which was just the perfect size for 1 person. I did not have high expectations for my soup, but I LOVED it! 5 stars! Perfect! The soup was delicious, the veggies and meat were awesome, the noodles were just regular noodles and nothing much to raved about. But did I mention the soup???? My sister's soup looked good too. She drained it to the bottom, so I'm assuming it was good.

Service: 4/5 stars. It was late-ish, they were wrapping up, and out of a lot of stuff. This seems to be typical of Bob's since a couple of the people I was with mentioned that it had happened before. At least they're honest about it though and up front too. The waitress was nice and the whole staff seems friendly. Because of the food I'm inclined to be nicer and give an extra star that I normally wouldn't.

Decor: Nothing special, won't rate it.

Overall, 4.5 stars out of 5. I got a soup for $7 that I shared partially with my sister, have enough for lunch tomorrow and filled me up. That's a wonderful price for such a BIG soup! I may start going here more often. Yes, yes indeed.

A Solid Delicious BGR Joint

Yesterday, I had to go buy some equipment for my video camera since I'm going to be filming a promotional video for my church today. I was just going to get some fast food for dinner, but ended up trying out a new place instead. It's kind of amazing how many restaurants there are everywhere. I could go to a new place every time I go out to eat if I really wanted to.

I tried out BGR the Burger Joint. It is a chain restuarant and the one I went to is at 229 Boardwalk Pl
Gaithersburg, MD. It was alright, but nothing spectacular. It's a solid burger joint. I would go here for lunch or dinner if I was headed to a movie with friends or something I guess.

Here's my review from Yelp!:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bgr-the-burger-joint-gaithersburg

I decided to come here because I was hungry and I had been wanting to try this place out. It was also close to Target and I needed to go there. Ok, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Food: 4/5 stars. I ordered the Burger which is a standard hamburger and I asked for medium, I got Pepper Jack Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onions. I'm trying to cut down on unnecessary calories so I didn't get fries or a drink. The burger was medium just as I asked for. With no special anything on it, it tasted just like a regular burger which is what you want out of a burger. The beef was good, not dry or overcooked and not undercooked either. The bun was a little greasy but overall didn't make me cringe or feel nauseous which is always a good thing. I don't like extremely greasy burgers. A $7 burger ($8 if you get cheese) should taste great, And this one did. They have a basket of condiments on the table so I put some A-1 sauce and hot sauce on my burger after trying it plain. Not that it wasn't a good burger on it's own, I just like A-1 and hot sauce.

Service: 3/5 Stars. The girl who took my order was alright. The problem is that It was 8:30pm when I showed up, so there was only 1 other person who ordered while I was there, but they took a really long time to make my burger.

Decor: 3.5/5 stars. It was nicely decorated, good music was playing and they have that cool drink dispenser that gives you all those options for drinks. Too bad I didn't notice it before I ordered because I just ended up with water. The place was clean, it wasn't tacky and the music wasn't too loud. Not bad in my book.

Overall: 3.5/5 Stars. A place named BGR the Burger Joint, should wow you with it's burgers. But they didn't really. So it's more on the 3 side of that 3.5 stars. Maybe when I try the fries and the shakes I'll like the place better. Who knows?

Non-Sushi Japanese Food!

So, I've decided to start posting my yelp reviews here as well. You can always go to Yelp and take a look, but it seems like a good idea to me. My First post is for Temari Japanese Cafe.

Temari's is located at 1043 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 right across from the Taco Bell in the same shopping center as the Potomac Pizza. It's a really small place and it only has maybe 10-12 tables, so this is not a place to go to bring a large group. It's a hole in the wall without looking like one. Oh, by the way, they do serve sushi but it's not the only thing they are known for.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/temari-japanese-cafe-rockville#hrid:REs7-eT09PMaf1MBGirasA

Here's my review from Yelp:

Ok wow. Just Wow. I do NOT give 5 stars very often. But, I went here tonight with a friend for some much needed catching up and we had a hard time deciding what we were going to eat. After much mulling, I chose to try the ramen. I'm so glad I did!

Food: 5/5 stars. I got the Tonkatsu Ramen. The pork was tender, the soup was perfectly seasoned and the veggies were yummy. What more can you ask for? I kept exclaiming how good the broth was because, it was some pretty good broth. My friend got the Sake Shiyoyaki, which is a fancy japanese name for salmon in teriyaki sauce. She liked it, I kind of forgot to ask her what she would rate her food. We ended dinner with Green Tea Mochi. It wasn't what we were expecting. It didn't taste bad, just different. What can I say? Not everything is for everybody. It doesn't detract from how delicious my ramen was.

Service: 4/5 stars. The was attentive, the food came relatively fast, she filled up our waters. Not spectacular, but service was good enough to stay around 4 stars.

Decor: Nothing notable, so I won't comment.

Overall: The fact that I found a place where I really like their ramen warrants a 5 star rating out of me. Kind of expensive-ish though. So if you aren't getting ramen ($10.95) look to be spending around $15 for your entree and $5-$8 for appetizers.

D.E.O.

Today has been an interesting day. A group of people at my church just started a small group for Recent College Grads. We are calling the group D.E.O. It's got a 2 fold meaning. Deo means to God or for God. And the acronym is Devoted to Each Other.

We really hope that this Christian small group will be able to grow, trust and rely on each other fully in Christ.

So, today, we went to First Watch for Breakfast it was delicious. There were about 5 of us and I can barely remember the last time I went there. But I really want to go back. Go check out yelp if you want to know more about what I think about it.

New Blog

So, started a new blog. I just recently gained a temporary full time position at a Middle School around where I live. I've found that I need an outlet for my experiences. so what better way than to blog about it?

MySchoolSecurity.blogspot.com go check it out, YAY!

Sadness, Happiness and Joy!!!!!!

There has been a lot of sadness, a lot of happiness and maybe even a little joy.

• Crying with my sister and for my sister
• Being happy for a man who got a job
• joy at seeing a person break down their walls and let me in
• knowing I lost another one
• creating something new and remembering something old

one does not necessarily have to do with the other, and I was cryptic on purpose. So, to offset all the sadness, happiness and joy, here's a picture of my beautiful steaks!

The most beautiful and delicious steaks I ever made

and the cutest cat I have seen this year!

Make-Up Lesson FTW!

So, I grew up as a tomboy. A SEVERE Tomboy! I hated dresses, skirts, the colors pink and purple, loved sports, knives and martial arts. My role model in life was my pastor's wife who severely disliked dressed and skirts, and only ever wore a dress on her wedding day. But, things change I suppose.

I had my second make-up lesson today. I figure I should learn how to use make-up. It's something every girl is supposed to know right? Stereotype much yeah? but...It is something useful to know. So....I caved. My best friend has been teaching me about make-up and today she took me shopping.

We bought:

• Brushes (& Sh*t as she puts it)
• eye shadow - nudes and natural colors like I like and some blues that she think will look good...
• some type of powder finisher thing....(see how much I know about make-up?)
• eye liner
• mascara

After we got back to her house, she made me practice. Yeah...I poked my eye many many times and I kept making myself into a raccoon...make-up just does not come natural to me.

anyway...here's a picture of a cute doggie!

It looks like there's a stuffed animal next to me rather than a dog...

The Truth, The Lies and Everything in between.

I have always wondered why I prefer fiction books to non-fiction. I have also always wondered why I would rather stay up all night long to read rather than sleep and dream. Well, I just finished a book about facing the truths and so I thought I'd write a little truth.

I prefer fiction books to non-fiction because they help me escape. I escape my life and my world in favor of other lives and worlds that I would much prefer. For every fiction book, even the ones with sad endings seem to be more exciting and better lives than mine. I find my life boring and unsatisfying. I was once told by a very bright person to beware that slipping of worlds. She was right.

The truth about staying up at night is not always because of depression. I have always blamed it on that. But part of the truth is I do not wish to face the new day. Nor do I wish to face my dreams or to end my day the way it is. It seems to me that I do nothing worth remembering, I talk about nothing in particular and I want to stay up in hopes that something interesting will happen. It's is a child's folly.

So in essence, I prefer the fiction and I stay up all night because I am afraid of my life and bored of it too. I wish to be someone else, to live someone else's life and I dislike mine. What a wonderful discovery, eh?

As I've always been one who touts honesty as the best option, so much so that I am honest enough to hurt everyone's feelings, I hope I can sleep now that I have posted to anyone who wants to read that I am dissatisfied with myself and my life at 5am in the morning.

Let sleeping dogs lie with my foot.

Marshall Garrett Arrest - Occupy Wall Street

So to be fair, I know there are illegal arrests too. Here is one that from the arrestee's perspective I can see it is definitely illegal.

Marshall Garrett Arrest - http://preview.tinyurl.com/3undhru

• Protesters went to CitiBank to protest student loans and other financial corruption
• Undercover Police Officer (or hirelings by another source possibly) turned the peaceful protest unpeaceful
• Protesters did not leave when asked by Bank employees giving the Bank the right to call the police
• Bank Security and "White Coats" locked all the protesters inside the Bank until the Police got there
• Question: Did the Bank Security and "White Coats" have this authority to detain?
• Answer: Probably Yes
• Process was prolonged unnecessarily

Garrett in his interview said the White Coats were undercover police officers. I'm not convinced that is who they were, but I don't know that for sure. Also, he seems to think that since they were protesters they were not real inmates. At the time they were arrested, they became an inmate of the legal system. So this comment, "We went to prison in chain link cuffs, as if we were real prisoners instead of just protestors. After that, we were put in correction cells" (Thrasher, 2011) shows a little ignorance because in effect they were inmates until they posted bail or were processed.


At the same time, there is definitely something a little sketchy going on here. I would like to know who those "White Coats" as Marshall refers to them are.

Thrasher, Steven. "Marshall Garrett Tells the Voice About Being Arrested For Occupying Citibank - New York News - Runnin' Scared." The Village Voice Blogs. Villare Voice LLC, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. .

Occupy Protests and Cops

Since this blog is a place for my contemplations and ramblings, I thought it was a perfect place for this.

I've been thinking a lot about Occupy Wall Street and Occupy D.C. I even visited their websites and looked at news posts about what they've been doing, what celebrities have been showing up and who has been arrested. A lot of people have been commenting about how the police are just arresting people for no reason and taking away their first amendment rights to free speech. So here's the question:

Is it a violation of the First Amendment to be arrested while you are protesting?

My Answer: It depends.

So I ask another question, In each case what are they getting arrested for?

• Author Naomi Wolf - http://preview.tinyurl.com/3gqwk77
• Police was ordering the protesters to stay off the streets and to stop blocking the side walks
• Wolf told the police the protestors didn't need a permit for the megaphone and they were not blocking the sidewalk.
• Police told Naomi Wolf to leave. She stayed.

Without knowing what she was arrested for, there's really no way to answer whether or not it was right for the police to arrest her. But from the video I can see that the police officer gave her a direct order to leave the premises. As far as I am aware, it is unlawful to disobey a direct order from the police. It is not free speech to disobey a police officer. And to be honest, he did give her fair warning that she was going to be arrested for disobeying him, which he didn't have to do. So I would have to say, specifically for disobeying the police officer Naomi Wolf was arrested legally and rightfully.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

He is Risen!

Instead of just writing down about my day celebrating Easter, I thought I'd comment on Lent and what it has done for me. I know when you fast or give something up for God that you are supposed to focus on collecting your reward in heaven which is why many say people should not say anything about fasting and Lent and such. But I feel like from some of the comments I've gotten during Lent, I would like to reflect about this year's experience.

This year was different for me. I thought about what I would give up long and hard. During Lent, many people thought I was crazy for giving up so many things. I actually only gave up 3 things in my life that are important to me. I knew I wanted to give up things that I would truly feel the need to rely on God for when I was tempted. To be honest, I failed many several times and cheated many times. In a couple of instances, I was almost legalistic about how I was participating in Lent, which was wrong of me. But overall, the experience was good and it led me closer to God. I have created several spiritual habits that should have been habits before this, and leaning on God is never a bad thing.

Two people in my life made comments about Lent that really affected how I thought of Lent. The first was my friend Vincent who asked me why I participated in Lent and if it was biblical. He also wondered at the reason why Christians actually chose to participate in Lent. It led me to much thought and this is my answer. Everything that you do for God, should be between you and God, it should be done only after much prayer and communion with Him as well as guidance from your Christian brothers and sisters. Lent is similar to Fasting in which you give up something in order to focus on God. Many people fast when they need spiritual guidance. For me, Lent is the period in which I give up whatever is most important in my life so that I can refocus my life, reorder what is important to me and give God the glory he deserves. I do not have scripture to back up my thoughts, but I believe my thoughts are in the right direction at least. Carmen, another friend, reminded me that Lent is pointless if I make a point to announce to people what I'm doing. She helped me to see that compensating for my meatless-ness was wrong when I would tell people what I was doing for Lent so that they would accommodate me. I was reaping my rewards on this earth. I did find that participating in Lent gave me opportunities to bring up God with many people I wouldn't normally talk to about Him. So there were many blessing in Lent this season.

What is Boredom?

I find myself perpetually bored. But the thing that I most wonder when I'm bored and when I'm not, is What the heck is boredom? Is it the feeling of laziness? Is it a lack of challenge? Maybe a lack of interest? Whenever I ask someone what their definition of boredom is, I get a long rant of nothing and then a shoulder shrug.

So I ask, What is Boredom? Why do we have it and why are so many people of my age and younger bored? Why do we lose interest so quickly and what can we do to fix it? I have no idea.

I wrote this because I'm bored. My boredom has always been quite funny to me. When I am bored, I putter around playing mindless games like tetris until I get SO bored that I actually go do something like write a blog post on boredom. Yeah so.....That's my contemplation and rambling for the day. PEACE!

Lent

Yesterday started the official period of Lent. Lent is the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter which is for the purpose of sacrifice and cleansing for The celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. I encourage anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and the Gospel to participate in Lent. The 40 days in which Lent is traditionally practiced is comparable to the 40 days in which Jesus Christ fasted and prepared for his ministry to the World. During this period, Satan tempted Jesus but Jesus prevailed. So, in imitation and emulation of Jesus, during this period, it is encouraged the Christians give up something that is extremely important in their lives, something that could be an idol in your life. Also, during this time, we should be focusing on God, on his grace and mercy and bringing ourselves closer to him as well as seeking to understand Jesus' great sacrifice.


This year I have given up meat, facebook and reading for pleasure. It's been tough and it's only been one day, how weak am I. But it's alright for God has my back.


"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Westboro Church prevails in Snyder v. Phelps

Today, The Supreme Court's decision came out on the case of Snyder v. Phelps. I have mixed feelings and am overall sad about their decision. There are three reasons:

1. The First Amendment is being used by hate groups to hide.
2. The Westboro Church will view this as a victory from God, and further the persecution Christians must face because of their use of Christianity to support their hateful views.
3. More military families will have to face these people while trying to get through their grief of losing a loved one.

The First Amendment has been used by many people as protection against persecution. It has been used for both good and bad. The Supreme Court has gone through great lengths to protect the broad protection of the First Amendment because Freedom is what our Country has been built upon. But at what point is too much freedom a bad thing? Is it when groups like the Westboro Baptist Church can throw hateful messages around and antagonize military funerals as long as they talk about national issues and follow the rules given to them by the authorities? Or do we have to wait until complete anarchy has overrun the earth? I am not saying that our country is moving to anarchy, but it is possible. I just want to know, when does freedom become too much?

The Reason I am most sad, is because the Westboro group is calling themselves a baptist church. I would like to know, just what part of their mission, their message, is baptist? What part of it is even remotely Christian?

I understand that the Westboro Church believes they are doing the right thing and that they believe that God has turned away from the U.S. But don't these people deserve the privacy of their grief? If God did indeed strike down these men who have died because of homosexuality and others issues, should they not leave indiviudal members alone and go on a national level? Go into politics, the media, and other public sources without preying on private matters such as funerals.

Washington Post Article:
http://tinyurl.com/4maccpv