Computer Build

At 3:15am, my mom's new computer came to life, and I immediately discovered that, as I suspected initially, her old CD drive is too old to be recognized by the new system. Sooo, a trip into my computer to get my drive, and probably bring my system home, is on the docket for the morning. Then put an order into Newegg for the Lightscribe drive we'd initially selected, and just wait for it to be in stock again. Other than that, though, everything appears to be working properly, so that is very good. And its a fantastically quiet setup, I really am liking it at this point. A new CD/DVD drive, rout the cables a little better, and it'll be up and ready to roll...

Will post pictures later.

Kao Soi

This dish makes an excellent meal for around 6 large servings, it is great for leftovers as well. I altered the original recipie slightly, I'll note my experiences and alterations at the end, but here is the recipe I started with:
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Kao Soi

3/4c Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
1 Tsp Ground turmeric
1 lb Chicken, pre-cooked & boneless, cut or shredded into bitesize pieces

2c Coconut Milk
2c Water
3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1lb fresh chinese-style egg noodles, cooked until tender, drained, rinsed in cold water and drained again.
1/2c thinly sliced green onions

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, warm 3/4c coconut milk over medium heat until it boils gently. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The coconut cream will become fragrant as it thickens. When you see tiny pools of oil glistening on the surface, add the curry paste and turmeric and stir to dissolve the paste into the coconut cream. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, until the curry paste has a pleasing aroma.

Add the chicken and stir-fry to coat it evenly with the paste. Cook for about 2 minutes. Increase the heat and add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, and salt; stir well. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, active boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

To serve, place a handful of cooked noodles in each large individual serving bowl. Ladle a serving of chicken and curry sauce into each bowl, adding a sprinkling of green onions.
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So, a couple of notes.

First, I would highly recommend boiling the chicken beforehand when cooking it, then shredding it into strips. The chunks were good, but I think shredded would fit the meal a little better.

When I did this, I halved the curry paste, because my mom does not like spicy foods, and it still had plenty of taste. Definitely adjust the curry as you like. I would probably double the curry paste if doing it for myself, but I like things a little spicy. The green onions make a great garnish that adds a nice flavor to the meal.

I also substituted a few things, and added additional ingredients. To make it a little more healthy, I added onions and bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces, when I added the chicken. I sauteed them a little beforehand to soften them up, which was probably a good idea, but I ended up cooking the entire batch for longer than listed, so they were plenty soft by the time dinner was served.

I used Basmati rice instead of the called-for chinese noodles, and really liked it better that way. Costco happens to carry large bags of basmati rice for not much more than white rice, I'd definitely recommend trying it both ways and seeing which you prefer. Also, experiment with what vegetables you like in the mix, it adds a good extra flavor. For the bell peppers, I used yellow peppers to stay consistent with the color, given that I had the green onions to add extra color at the end, but that's a personal choice, and red or green would certainly work as well.

Also, check the cooking time on whatever you are going to put this over. Basmati rice takes about 40 minutes to fully cook, and I made the mistake of not starting that first, so we had to wait until the rice was ready. Always check the cooking times of each part of the meal. This should be common sense, but we sometimes make assumptions.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Enjoy!

Apologies...

I had intended to start this blog as I started a new time in my life, when I'd moved beyond Nicole and was going forward with my life as best I can. I had planned not to discuss her here, but I figure that its fitting to at least know where I am, and when something truly significant happens.
Nicole and I are taking time away from each other. How long, I don't know. A few days, a few weeks, a few months, we didn't really discuss what it'd be, but that's what it is. I don't know yet if this will save me pain, or cause me more. But that's how the cards have fallen, and I'm out of the game, essentially. Nicole feels nothing for me, and I can't say I blame her for not wanting me, after four years of not getting what she wanted.
So... I went to church today. I desperately needed some peace, and there are few places that I've ever felt calm and love and support so clearly. The only other one I could go to now is gone, so I drove to the Sacramento Temple after I left Nicole's place to quiet my mind and still my heart. It was a truly moving experience, and while I can't rectify my personal differences with the Church, I will always be amazed by the people who are there. I met old friends who welcomed me back without a moment's hesitation, who genuinely care about me. I, apprently, even have a date tomorrow night (tonight?). I can hardly call it a date with the condition my heart is in, but it is very nice to feel that outpouring of care and kindness. Much more importantly, though, the speakers today seemed as if they could be talking directly to me. I could say that I don't know what prompted me to go to church this morning, but that would be a lie. I know.
And I am better for that knowledge, because I know that there is strength beyond what I have, given to me, love beyond what I am capable of, shown to me, and wisdom beyond my few short years, available to me should I but seek it.
Now, though, it is time for me to sleep. I need it, desperately. Tomorrow... Well, tomorrow will be here soon enough and I'll deal with it then.
Until then, remember to live each day like it is your last. Tell those you love, that you love them, make peace with those who seek your forgiveness, and above all, smile, because you never know how far that simple gesture may carry.

In other news, I got an e-mail from a friend of mine about last night (reception for Jen and Shane's wedding). It is really a tremendous feeling when I'm able to do something right, that improves people's lives and helps them, and the e-mail he sent me really reminded me that I have a lot of people that I can help, whose lives I can impact in a positive way. I need to remember to smile myself, because what kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn't take my own advice?

And now, bed. Goodnight.

Campus Attack...

On Wednesday, a student in one of the dorms on Sac State attacked his roommate with a baseball bat and a knife. He died from his injuries at the hospital later. The attacker turned on police when they arrived, brandishing the knife, and after pepperballs didn't stop him, officers drew their weapons and shot him. He is still alive, and apparently conscious at this point, but wow...

You hear about these kinds of things, but when it happens so close to home, it somehow hits you differently. The student who was attacked was a History major, he struggled with a form of Autism, but had gotten to the point where he could be independent and living on his own. He was, by all accounts, a remarkable story of perseverence and success, and to have that taken all away from you is truly tragic. More details will be revealed in the coming days as the events surrounding this begin to come together into a more coherent story, I'm sure, but for now, its odd whenever I walk on campus and look across at the dorms where this took place.

How quickly life can be taken from us, how tenuous our continued existence is on this planet...

That just makes it all the more important that we live every day to its fullest potential, that we give everything we have, that we never stop trying.

Salsa and a Meteor Shower

Had a wonderful evening last night. Ran a few errands on my way to class, found some very nice yarn for a crochet project, since I needed something to keep me busy in the evenings, stopped by Best Buy, then headed to class. Realized I forgot my backpack at home, but fortunately, I didn't really need it specifically. Class was actually one of the better ones I've had, so that went well, we got out around 7, then went over to a friend's place to cook dinner. Made an absolutely delightful butternut squash soup, I'm going to steal the recipe, it is definitely going into my collection of recipes. Afterwards, we headed out to the Davis Graduate for salsa dancing. After a bit of see-sawing, Ben finally gave in and joined us. I'm glad he did, gave me someone to sit and chat with when I wasn't dancing. The Grad was tons of fun as always, had an absolutely fantastic time, and really enjoyed the evening overall. Dancing with Sara was a lot of fun, and met a couple of new people, spent a fair amount of time watching. I really need to get some practice time in, there are a ton of things that I want to try, but don't want to start out at full speed, I need to break it down more so I don't hurt the follow... So hopefully will have an opportunity to do that in the future. We'll see.
So we'd planned on making it an early night, but decided to stay till close, so we left at 1, walked back to Ben's dorms, and then headed back to Sac around 1:30, got there just before 2. So I left Sac at right around the beginning of the peak of the meteor shower. Drove up to Shingle Springs, went to a nice dark overlook that I'd found, and sat and watched the meteor shower for about an hour. It was really fantastic. Having the moon dark made the stars absolutely amazing. Beyond amazing, stunning, overwhelming. Saw a ton of shooting stars, weren't quite as many as I'd hoped, but it was very, very impressive.
So, around 3:30ish, finally headed home, got in just before 4. Spent about 20 minutes assembling my mom's computer before I realized that the one thing that I -really- need to assemble the computer, and is only a $5 part, I'd forgotten to get. No thermal paste for me. Sooo annoyed at myself. So, need to make a trip to Best Buy or Fry's before class today, then will finish it up tonight. Just kind of annoying to have everything at hand, and then to realize you're missing the one thing that prevents me from assembling everything else. Heh.
Slept well, woke up around 7 when people started coming downstairs. Started working on some crochet, had a great breakfast, and will be shortly heading down into the shop. Lots of fun.

Computer Build

Well, everything -except- the case for my mom's computer arrived yesterday. The case will hopefully arrive today and I can get this silly little guy built and running for my mom. Its going to be a fun build, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it today, hopefully the case won't arrive too late into the afternoon.

In other news, I made an amazing discovery last night which I will detail more in a post later, I'm hoping to share what I found with someone, so I'm not going to blab too much right now.

Yesterday was a tough day early on, for a number of reasons, but I feel a lot better about my friendship with Nicole now, so that is very good.

Trying to extricate my heart's feelings for Nicole, while retaining all my drive to be romantic, to care, to express emotions, is proving difficult, but time will help with that, I'm sure. Until then, I'm just trying to keep my heart from shutting down like it wants to. Its like poking a sea anemone. My heart has endured so much pain, it very much wants to close itself off and feel no more, but I don't want it to. That pain is well worth the experience of living my life the way that I am, its worth it for all that I've learned about myself. I'm not going to lose that.

Thus, trying to extricate my feelings for Nicole.

So, here's to more good days and fewer bad days. To living life to the fullest, taking each opportunity and chance as it comes, and being myself, and holding nothing back.

Here's to a good life.

Morning...

I love this kind of weather. The clouds hang thick overhead, tendrils sweeping up the valleys surrounding our home. This is the kind of weather that I love to go driving in, to explore the mists and enjoy the chilling air. Unfortunately, its also the type of weather that precludes an expedition into Desolation Wilderness, which is where I really want to be right now. But while I can handle going into Desolation alone, going there when a storm is moving in is beyond the danger I'm willing to accept in travelling solo.
So, sadly, Pyramid Peak will have to wait for another day. I'll have a post detailing my trip when I actually make it...

It is a remarkable experience when you find out who your friends are, who really cares, who reaches out, who is there when you need them, offering support and encouragement. After I cooked dinner last night (and I'll post about that later, as it was Oooh-so-yummy and very easy) I met up with my friend Kim for slightly late drinks at Denny's in Cameron Park. I was kind of planning on going dancing afterwards, but we ended up sitting and talking from 9:30 till well after 1 in the morning. It was really a lot of fun, I'm really glad that I decided to go ahead with meeting up. So much that I didn't know about her, and she is a wonderful friend.

Taylor and Sable are two others that I did not expect to become the friends that they are. They've been beyond supportive, checking in with me, letting me know they care, that they want the best for me, lending an ear, or offering advice when I need it. Inviting me down for events that they're doing, its really nice to have friends like them.

Big Eric, bless his heart, is going through as hard a time as I am, for completely different reasons. He lost his Grandmother last week, so it was a good chance for us to support each other this past weekend. When so many people that he wanted to come were busy with other things, I'm glad that I made sure I was there for him, he's certainly been there for me when I need it. We had a fantastic time, even when we were talking about the difficulties we were going through.

David Parsons, who calls me almost every other day just to check in and see how I'm doing. I love that guy, he is a fantastic support, so positive and outgoing, and whenever my phone rings and I see his name, I have to smile, because I know he's going to make me laugh. He's definitely one of the best guys I know.

John Evans and his Nicole, Clinton, Rebecca, Emily, Sara and Sara, everyone that's reached out, talked to me, supported me through everything, thank you. If I forgot your name on here, I'm sorry, but know that you are appreciated and cared for, even if your name escapes me at the moment.

I'm lucky to have friends like all of you, though I know most of you will never read this, I hope I am the kind of friend that you'd like to have too.

So... Obligatory first post

Well, its time to move forward with my life. So I've decided to change things up a little, and really make a clean start. So here we are.

Welcome to the rest of my life.