Let books find you

At my trip to the library I had in mind what an old friend had said long ago that she never looked for books, rather, she would let books search for her. Well, it seemed a bit vague when I had heard her tell me just that. But when I was at the library, ready to leave a three-hour workshop, I decided to go to the second floor to check out the career section. And my goodness, to my surprise I found great resources for job seekers. It dawned on me that I had so many resources available at the library's expense! Books that had already been purchased by some decent person (bless his or her heart!). The book that changed my life is Best Career and Education Web Sites, 6th Edition by Anne Wolfinger. I still have yet to go through all the contents of this book. It lists internet directories, job directories, job training, college and scholarship resources, tips for small business owners, and anything else relevant to the modern job seeker. A valuable find if you ask me.

An Interview with myself, interviewed by Loreto Pizrro from Europe

Hi Loreto,

Good gracious, the holiday weekend was long! I apologize for not replying any sooner. It's just that family, work and friends are just so darn demanding!

Anyway, let me get back to answering your list of questions below. Here is just a general overview of my understanding of Cambodia.Hope this helps.

A. What would you say, are the biggest issues in Cambodia for Cambodians?

    1. Politics: Cambodia has a history of land disputes with Vietnam and Thailand. Women are not expected to go into government but a few have    disputed with or against the leadership of Hun Sen and his party.
    2. Poverty: Cambodia is still a third world nation whose people are struggling to rebuild their nation from "year zero." Cambodia's Campot black pepper industry and rice industry are still thriving, albeit slowly.
    3. Human Trafficking: Young children are forced into prostitution by their parents and guardians as a source of income. Sex tourism enables this.
    4. Health: Increase of AIDS/HIV and diseases associated with third world countries like cholera, hepatitis, miscarriage, scurvy and malaria.
    5. Education: Most Cambodian educators are too expensive for the country to afford. Most parents can't afford to take their children to school.
    6. Land Grabbing on behalf of foreign buyers: Foreign investments made by persons born outside of Cambodia are constantly purchasing land     which rightfully belongs to native Cambodians who are too poor to own their own land. This is a constant struggle for rice farmers and the             poorer villagers whose average monthly income per household is less than $25.

B. Could you describe how someone from the rural areas or farmers spend their days? Could you also describe how people from the cities spend their days? I mean a normal workday in a week. 
   
    Cambodians from rural areas like to spend their days tending the fields. They actually live for their lands because the lands are their source of income with which they invest in better farming equipment and housing. Cambodians from the cities like Phnom Penh like to ride on bicycles and watch live performances including theater, music or comedies.

C. What do they do in their free time?

    It all depends on the weather and the person. If the weather is too hot for anything to be done, people usually just sit in the cool shade and fan themselves. If the weather is too humid, which is almost constantly, people like to bathe themselves in a nearby lake, river or waterfall.

D. What types of media do the people use in Cambodia? We have read general info about radio, internet, newspapers and TV being there. Which media are popular in Cambodia?

    A friend of mine who lives in Cambodia says Radio Free Asia is one of the most popular radio broadcast stations in Cambodia (RFA). It can also be listened to via the internet. Also, the internet is starting to touch base in Cambodia. Social media sites are cropping up and the locals have already created their own brand of software which is called "KhmerOS."

E. How do people in the rural area's receive news? We know that there are many papers, but we do not know if people in the villages read them a lot.

    Traditionally, news go around by word of mouth or via the radio. Cambodians love their radio.

F. Are the villages well connected to each other? As in, do the people visit other villages or area's a lot or do they remain in their own areas?

    I would assume that most villages are well connected to each other through the people, kingdom and government, especially. Though Camobodian communities are usually close-knit difficulties may occur across communities, especially those nearest to neighboring countries.

G. Do you hear much about the landmines and unexploded objects in Cambodia? Do schools teach the children about the dangers of landmines?

    Yes, I still hear about the landmines and unexploded objects in Cambodia. As far as I know, the tourist paths and walkways have been cleared by landmine removal technicians. That means, should a person veer off the trodden path, look out! A limb could be lost if reckless.

Oh now I know why I've been sick. I stopped eating fresh organic produce since June! I swear, that stuff will make you sh*t rainbows. And that's a good thing!

I am ready to go shopping for some new clothes. I think I'll shop for some new shoes, work clothes, and a new watch which will help me figure out when I'm on break at work. For days I've been forgetting to break for a drink. When that happens my mouth becomes dry and my feet would hurt from standing all day. When I do have my watch I'll finally be able to find the time to get that fruit smoothie I've always wanted to drink during break. I'll also be able to clock out of work at the correct times. I'm assuming that I don't get paid overtime which means I'll have to be very careful with the hours I report. Getting a new watch will definitely help me keep track of that.

I accidentally ate raw beef!

I cannot believe that I had eaten raw beef! Well, it was marinated in a spice rub which made me think it was cooked. I did cook the beef in the toaster oven for 3 minutes so I hope that killed most of the germs. I'm starting to feel sick. I've always wondered why some people eat their steaks medium rare or really rare. Now I know why. It's because rare to medium rare steaks are so darn easy to chew! Makes me wish I had cooked it a little longer because now I have a stomach ache. I'm hoping that I'll feel better by tomorrow. Makes me wonder if anyone else can relate.

Status Update for License To Quack blogger

Nick Name: Full Time Sugar Mama

Sex: Yes please, but only if I'm in a committed, long-term relationship.

Location: Everywhere, Worldwide

Relationship status: Single and Looking

Highest Education: Bachelors degree

Worth: Infinity + 1 dollars

Career: live to work, work to live

Testing testing... Do you copy? [me, testing out text to blogger.]

Graduation Day!

I'm finally a graduate! Now I can worry about the REAL things in life, excluding midterms, pop quizzes, finals, and bad grades. I'm so worried about not being able to find a good job, especially with this economy. I'm celebrating by drinking a can of Pepsi and watching the Chee-wow-wah movie. How sweet!

Beware of Yellow Snow

Crud. I'm snowed in. I'm unable to call any of my friends to come up because they're too chicken to drive on the ice. It's just black ice. I mean, how bad can it be? I'm kidding. Black ice is something to be afraid of. I'm just mad that mother nature decided to blow ice all around this bizzotch like a mad bitch. Gawd. There's nothing going on tonight. I wish it wasn't freezing cold outside. I'm in no mood to play in the snow or make snow angels. Everything outside is frozen anyway. Even yesterday's snow balls. I'm in the mood for some sweet treats; like cookies, apple fritters, apple pie, or something warm. Just nothing too cold. Not in the mood for ice cream. Not in the mood for yogurt. Not in the mood for salad. I'm in the mood for something warm. Cup of tea? Cup of anything. Just anything to keep me warm tonight.

Snow Day!

It's snowing here in Nowhere. The weather is nice and chill, a low 24 degrees Fahrenheit, with highs at 28 degrees and lows at 17 degrees, 38% humid, NNE 24 mph winds, partly sunny and partly flurry. Just beautiful. The weather forecast tells me that I'll be having snow for a while -- about a week perhaps. I know for sure that the snow will melt in the sun, and then refreeze, which will result in ice, which equals bad road conditions, and that's just really really bad. Luckily I rely on big broad busses to get me around the city. This is good for me because you know as well as i know that every driver out there on the road has some nagging fear about the possiblity of being hit by a large bus. Also, busses do well in snow or icy weather because their massive size allows them to roll smoothly on concrete roads. Though there is a downside to the massive size of busses -- they could easily turn over or slip to the side of hills if the drivers aren't careful. That means that I will have no problem with traffic as long as the bus doesn't fall off cliffs and hills.

Today I'm planning to go shopping with my roommate. Guess how we'll get there. By bus, of course! We plan to go browse through the racks at ____ Mall. I'm planning to purchase something special for my boyfriend. I have to make sure that I get something for him that he won't tire of. I did tell him that I would get him the latest season of Family Guy, but I'll have to see what else is there. Maybe a gift card would do nicely. That way he gets to choose what he wants with a limited amount of money, but he works anyway, so there's no point in me giving him a gift card. Or perhaps I should get him something in season. Like winter gloves or something else to keep him warm. Maybe I'll get him ear muffs or something else extra tacky. Perhaps I'll order him a gag-gift. Nice.

A Time to Chill

I awake at 8:48 am from a dream I cannot quite recall. I lay in bed for 30 minutes longer to as I began to retrace my dreamsteps back to my dream. No luck. The only thing that comes up is my anxiety over what I should do for the rest of the day. I have no plans. I am uncertain as to which friend I should call. Maybe I could call up a friend who would take me shopping at the mall. No rides to anywhere. No news from anywhere. It's just me and my security blanket of over 10 years draped over my body.

Crystallized Flowers?

Here is one project that you can do on any rainy day: edible sugar crystallized flowers. Before you decide to invest your time and energy on the making of these dainty delights, check with your doctor, or your mom, that the ingestion of flowers will not cause you any harm. And if you are not allergic to flowers, do not try to eat them all in one sitting. It is typical for one to encounter adverse reactions after the ingestion of edible flowers. A few heart palpitations after a few bites of this stuff is common. I would suggest that you never eat the bulbs, or the leaves, for that matter, and they are quite bitter. Now that we have got the precautions taken care of, here comes the answer as to where you may purchase these edible flowers. I had bought mine from my grocery store's organic produce section. I would also like to note that you should only purchase organic. Never get anything from a florist because they are loaded with too many pesticides (and they are probably not choice for this recipe anyway).

Here is what you need:

Edible Flowers
Fine Sugar
Powdered Egg Whites
Clean Paint Brush
Wax Paper
Ice
Bowl
Tweezers
Table Napkins
A Capacious, Flat Work Surface
Patience
Refinement

So you got your equipment! Now you're ready to proceed.

First, remove the large petals from the bulbs, and as for the smaller ones, leave them be. Fill your bowl with cool water and dunk all flowers in. Let stand for 10 minutes as the dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl. Make sure you slosh them in with a clean hand to get them moving around a bit. Just don't overdo it as these flowers are quite fragile.

The next thing is you'll need to dump out the old water, and then dunk in some ice. Pour in some cool water. The cold ice water will perk up the petals, revive their color, and refresh them.
Now they're ready to dry. Carefully remove the flowers from the bowl, transfer them onto paper towels, sort them in a single layer, and let dry.

Note: do not let the petals dry overnight or they will shrivel up.


Once dry, you're now ready to paint them with the powdered egg white mixture. Mix a round teaspoon of egg white mixture and a 1/2 cup of water into a bowl and whisk. The mixture should be smooth and free of clumps. Get out two wide rimmed shallow plates and line each with wax paper. Plate one will be the station where you paint your petals. Plate two will be the station where you set your painted and sugar dusted petals.

Using the tweezers, hold the petal in place as you paint each side with the egg white mixture. Immediately dunk it in the suger, carefully, and line it on plate two. Form the petal into the desired shape, and let dry. Repeat all the above steps until you're done.

Now, you're probably wondering what happened to the purple, yellow, and blue petals. Well, look below and you'll see that they have shriveled up (I was tired and it was 3 am). I tried them in my omelet but then I came down with heart palpitations so I threw all my project away. Even the crystallized ones that I worked so hard on :(



Well, at least I got some nice photos out of this project.

 For more ideas about how to incorporate edible flowers into your recipes, check out Edible Flowers: From garden to kitchen: growing flowers you can eat, with a directory of 40 edible varieties and 25 recipes, with 350 glorious colour photographs. and Melissa's Assorted Edible Flowers (50).

Disco Jesus of Naz'reth

Look closely, people. This here is Disco Jesus of Naz'reth, inspired by the movie Godspell (1973). The canvas is computer paper in standard white. I am still debating on how I should fix the part in his mustache because the gap looks a little bit unsettling to mine eyes. Some of you may take this image to heart, but really though, I don't intend to offend. This watercolor painting is only my interpretation of the movie Godspell. To me, this painting highlights the ways in which color manages to surface through dull gray, which is kind of like a metaphor for light (joys) passing through darkness (peril).