Moon Festival (044.5/365)

Happy Autumn moon festival, y'all!  :D  May this new moon bring unto you and your family peace, prosperity and happiness.  :)

This was tonight's dinner.  :)  We made spring rolls.  :D

Patina (?) Design (044/365)

I got bored last night and couldn't sleep.  I was playing around with Armour Etch to etch up some glassware around the house (namely my drinking jars).  I got curious as to what types of ingredients were in it and looked up the MSDS (yeah... I do random research when I can't sleep).  It has a small percentage of acid and so I wondered how well it would leave a patina on my knife blades.

I love using Armour Etch and Con-Tact paper to etch intricate designs on glass and figured I could do the same on a blade.  The above photo is the result of that.  Actually, since it was just a tester blade on Wal-Mart's $1.00 Ozark Trails knife, I did the design by hand instead of busting out the stencil cutter and Con-Tact paper.  This design happens to be my family name.  :)

I think it came out pretty well (it's actually darker than the picture makes it look).

(edit)  Oh yeah.  It only took 10 minutes to do.  :P

Coffee Time! (043/365)

Thanks a lot, KAMM.  At 5pm, I decided to make Vietnamese iced coffee.  Today, I decided to use the french press over the percolator - it was just less of a hassle.  I've never quite gotten the hang of how tightly I should tighten those things.

This was made with Cafe du Monde and Sweetened Condensed Milk (the one with the old Asian man on it).  Deeeeelicious!  I poured it over ice and served it in my jar.  Why?  'Cause jars are awesome.  :P There's just something about that sized jar (Goober's striped Strawberry/Peanut Butter) that I really love.  Its the perfect size and fits nicely in my hand.

Another First Aid Kit (041/365)

I had picked up a FAK from Target a few months ago.  (Seen here)  I like the box, as its got real hinges and is fairly robust.  I went to Wally World the other day to kill some time and found this one.  It's a nice bright red color, which I really like.  The plastic used for this doesn't seem as robust (I think 'cause it's the clear type) as the Target one... but it's red!  It looks like it's the same company who put out the Target one, as it's got the exact same components.  However, the Target one is under the Up & Up brand (including the bandages).  Everything else included in the kit is exactly the same, though.

I might pick this one up in the future.  :)  My current one resides in my school pack and I still need another for my car.

Taco Bell's Gettin' Fancy (042/365)

At work today, I hopped on over to Taco Bell for lunch during my lunch break.  They're gettin' all fancy with leaving their hot sauce in little wicker baskets atop each table.  haha I like it - it's much better than having to go up and ask them for hot sauce, only to get a few and then embarrassingly asking the worker for more (seriously... I use a minimum 5 packets per burrito or something).

I believe this is the chicken burrito or gordita Meal Deal.  I got another for the houseless guy outside.  :)  It was a good day.

Tiny Bike (040/365)

I took this picture after school today.  :)  My bike is the teeny tiny one in the middle!  I hadn't realized how small it was until I was able to compare it to the other kids' bikes at University today.

It's the bike from my previous post.  It was $50.00 and it works well for my use.  Being only 4' 11", the kids' 20" bike was all I needed.  I brought up the seat and adjusted the handle and it works perfectly fine.

Like I mentioned before, I wanted a bike that would fit in my car (I have to drive to my friend's house, then ride the rest of the way to school since there's no parking there), didn't break the bank/wouldn't make me cry if it were stolen, and fit me nicely.

All in all, I'm a happy camper.  :)

Down but Happy (039/365)

There's not much to write today.  Today's a bit of a downer.  But I can still see the silver lining alongside the rough edges of today.  There's no point to musing over the "bad" when the "good" stuff, no matter how small and insignificant they may seem, can always make you happy.  :)  There's just always a reason to smile.

Mexican Jumping Beans - Pure Nostalgia (038/365)

I found these at Dollar Tree on my break at work.  I got them just 'cause I had a dollar burning a hole in my pocket.  :)  Well, not really.  I got them 'cause Brother had these when he was younger and he had killed them on accident by leaving them under the lamp for too long.  I believe he'd gotten them at KB Toys waaaaaay back.

It was nice to see something so simple bring back so many memories.  :)

Anyhow, Brother was happy to get them.  We're waiting on them to "hatch" from their little bean pod and emerge as little moths now.  It's kind of fun seeing them rattle in their little box.  Mom thinks that they're possessed and can't quite grasp why these beans are jumping on their own.

Apparently, the ones I bought (and the same ones Brother got when he was younger) are from Jbeans.com.  There's a nice little story about them there as well as an explanation on them (with care instructions, too!).  It's pretty cute and I think it's very nice of them to offer free beans to teachers and their students for submitting in a story.  :)

Mustard Seed Family Night 2012 (037/365)

(I didn't take any pictures.  Sorry!  It was much too busy tonight for pictures!)

Tonight was great.  Though I was originally planning to show up to our annual Family Night event as a guest, I ended up working alongside one of my best friends as "Food Coordinator."  Well, we weren't actually the coordinators, but it felt like it.  

Family Night is an annual event that the members of Mustard Seeds (Hạt Cải) hold in honor our our family, especially our parents.  We rehearse for months to put up skits and entertainment, including a traditional Vietnamese dance, to show our appreciation for our parents.  :)

The day was pretty hectic, but it was well worth it.  Because I had done Food Coordinator last year, I knew what it was like already.  A lot of the members of the group this year are new so they didn't know what to expect.  A lot of them were stressed out (many of them having not slept the night prior) and the least I could do was help with the food.  It may seem hard, but having to cook food (it's tradition that you actually COOK it yourself without the aid of parentals) for an RSVP list of 250 and get te 3 course meal out to them all within a time frame of 30 minutes is no easy task!  

Though I didn't get to see the show, I'm glad that all the food got out on time and everybody had a good portion.  I'm just glad that the others were able to not stress about the food and only think about their parts in the show while J and I did the background work in the kitchen.  

All in all, it was a good night.  :)  I hope everybody else had fun too.

A Bittersweet Farewell (036/365)

(Pictures aren't working right now.  I'll fix that at a later date when I find the time.)

Yet another farewell to a friend, going her separate way in life.  She's one of the best girls you'll ever meet, especially once you get to know her.  We had gone to middle school and high school together.  Then she'd left for Japan for 2 years to study abroad.  When she came back, we were coupon buddies for the next 2.5 years - we would go shopping together at least once a week.  And now, she's continuing her studies in NYU.  :)  Best of luck, hun!

For dinner tonight, we (our close-knit group of friends) took her out for sushi (her favorite).  We went to Maru Sushi in CM, CA and had a blast just eating together and discussing the most random topics with one another.

P and I totally got into talking about Disney for a little while.  hahaha!  After dinner, we headed on over to That Boba Place to get K her "last" cup of Earl Grey Milk Tea before she boarded the plane and left CA.  And as always, we ended the night with a long discussion, filled with plenty of smiles and laughter.  I wouldn't ask for anything more.  If I had but one day left on this earth, it would be to spend it with J, P, K, and R.  :)

:)  Fun times!  I can't wait until she comes back, though.  Until then, I'll be shopping at Staples the way she taught me.  :)

Cheers!

Goodbye Vic and Bug (035/365)

I don't have a picture today.  Not because I'm lazy, but because these items are no longer in my possession.

A few days ago, a neighbor buddy (also co-worker) lost his keys at work, and along with it, his Victorinox Classic.  He was pretty bummed about it, I think.  So when I came in to work today, I came prepared with my backup Vic Classic and the Spyderco Bug for him.  :)  It made me happy to see that he was happy.  He was using it throughout the shift.

I'm glad that my two tools went to somebody who thoroughly appreciated it and would put them to good use.  To be honest, I've yet to use my Spyderco Bug and that particular Vic Classic was sitting around in my room without seeing much use except for the occasional package.

Cheers!

UK Prize Pack (034/365)

Today, I got my prize pack from Jericanman's Pay It Forward contest.  :)  This one was for winning the "Alien Conspiracy" contest wherein each member was supposed to post up their portrait donning a foil hat.  :P

In this package, I got:

• a green aluminum water bottle
• a hobo tool (I love it!)
• a small bag (it's got some pretty nice pockets)
• and a cobra stitch fob in purple and [what I think is] pink

:D  Awesome stuff.  Thanks, Jericanman!  :)  I love my prize pack.  I think I'll be using the bag as my first aid kit.  The hobo tool will definitely be replacing my current one, which has rusted.  I also like this size of hobo tool better, as the one I've got is about twice the size and a little bit uncomfortable to hold.

Back to the PocketMod (033/365)

No picture today.  'Cause... I didn't feel like it.  :P

Anywho.  For the longest time, I've been on the lookout for a good EDC notebook.  I've tried the "Fauxlant"  (see my post on that here), Hipster PDA (hPDA), a folded sheet of paper, and the PocketMod.

The Pocket Mod was the first thing that I'd ever used when I started to want to carry paper on me.  It worked perfectly fine, but I felt that I wanted more from it (at least, at the time I did).  After much searching, I came upon the hPDA.  I love index cards.  They're a little more durable than normal filler paper and they're a great size to carry around.  It just got to be a hassle using the binder clip, binder rings, and Circa/Rollabind system.  From there, I switched to a regular spiral 3x5" memo pad.  I like it.  But the spiral got in the way.

The "Fauxlant..."  Hmm... I guess if I wasn't so lazy, I'd still use it.  hahaha  They're great!  If I had the money, I'd buy the Moleskine Volant XS.  Alas, I do not.  So by all means, I make my own.  But lately, I've been either too busy with school and work or too lazy.  Perhaps on one of my lazy days, I'll get up off of my butt and make a bunch at one time and have a small stockpile of them.

I rediscovered the PocketMod some time in the summer.  I was working Security at the local fair and forgot my memo pad at home.  I found a sheet of paper, busted out Blurple, and made a "pocket mod" type notebook.  I loved it.  It gave me the option of a booklet with the thickness and "strength" of an hPDA without the annoyance of the spiral binding.

The other thing I like about the PocketMod (or even better, the RePocketMod) is that it's got plenty of templates to choose from.  In the case of the RePocketMod, they've even got the DIYPlanner templates.

Freaken awesome stuff.  :)  Now I can't get over it.  I love that I can make it on the fly, as well, so long as I have access to a sheet of paper.  It's a great temporary use until I start making those fauxlants.  Currently though, my RePocketMod will reside happily inside my wallet.  :)

Cheers!

DIY Bar to Liquid Soap (032/365)

Blurple and I made liquid soap out of this bar of Dove soap today.  The current soap bar in the shower is but a sliver and well... I just got tired of using bar soaps.  I miss liquid soaps and hadn't used them since probably elementary.  But they're pretty pricey, especially the Dove ones.  So our household gave them up.

Anyhow, I figured bar soap is nothing more than concentrated liquid soap.  So by all means, I started searching online and it was simple enough to do.

This was the aftermath of Blurple versus Dove bar soap.  I didn't have a grater, so Blurple did all the work.  :)  Easy as pie!  It looks like white chocolate!  Since I was only doing a tester batch, I used only half bar.  For the Dove recipes that I'd found online, the soap to water ratio was usually 1:2  (for all other soaps, it's 1:10).  Because Dove already contains moisturizer, glycerin was not needed.

Since I didn't want to mess up the good pots in the house, I went ahead and used the little pot from my mess kit.  Using the above ratio, I brought 1 cup of water to boil and added the soap flakes in.  Stir until there are no more lumps, and put it out overnight to cool.  I poured mine into a jar.  After it's cooled, I'll be pouring it into a pump bottle thing for shower use.  :)  Perhaps hand soap too.

DIY Toothpick Pod Tutorial (031/365)

I decided to make a toothpick pod this morning.  This was also posted on EDCF, btw.  :D

I have a habit of chewing on things.  Pens (though not since elementary school), gum, mints, toothpicks... if they made rawhide (you know that stuff that dogs chew on?) for human consumption, I'd probably be all over it.  Until then, I've always got a toothpick.  It's usually either Thursday Plantation's Tea Tree or Cinnamon ones; I've yet to dabble into making them myself.  

Anyway... on with the tutorial.

I marked the pen barrel where the cap would have stopped with it on.  This one happens to be 0.5" on a Bic Stic (between the purple mark and the yellow arrow is where the pen barrel and cap overlaps).  I found out much later that this step wasn't really necessary; it may be for other pens, though.

I then measured and marked the length of the toothpick against the barrel (starting at the back end) and subtracted the length of the cap, taking into consideration the length of the overlap.  Using Blurple, I scored the pen barrel and cleanly snapped it apart at the mark.

Here's the finished product!  Because the barrel and cap didn't fit snug, I had to wrap some painter's tape where the overlap happens.  I found that it has to be only ONE layer thick, otherwise putting the cap on and off distorts the tape.  This happens to need 1.0" to go around the perimeter.  After that, the cap sits nice and snug.

Overall, the contraption took only about 5 minutes to create and is just about 2.5" in length.  It's easily pocketable and holds 4 toothpicks (I usually only use 2 each day).  Had the clip on these things been made better, I would have carried it on my collar.  Alas, it is not and so I actually snapped the clip off after taking this picture.

Cheers!  :)  Now I get to have toothpicks with me at all times.  Not bad at all, if I do say so myself

Newest Member of the Family (030/365)

Though not EDC related, I wanted y'all to meet Sir Maximilian Piddles ... aka MAX.  :)  He's the newest member of the family.  Max is a full breed Shih Tzu, two years of age.  I adopted him the shelter today and so far he's doing great.  Max is very laid back.  He knows a lot of tricks already and we already love him lots.  Here's to many more years with Sir Maximilian Piddles.  :D

He doesn't do very much.  He just likes to lounge around all day.  Pretty much the only time he's active is when he sees the leash and when he hears to treat box/bag rattle.

He doesn't seem to notice Mr. Tinkles, but boy does Mr. Tinkles notice him!  Mr. Tinkles is a little jealous and while I do make the effort to give him (Tinkles) extra attention, apparently, it's not enough.  He's so used to me giving him 100% attention that he's being a little baby at the moment.  It's getting better, so hopefully he'll come to realize that Sir Piddles is here to stay and that he's his little brother (albeit 4 times T's size!).

PS.  Though his microchip reads Max, he doesn't answer to the name at all.  I wonder what his previous parents called him.  Or maybe he thinks his name is the rattle of a treat box.

The Hat & Visiting Old Friends (029/365)

Today, between work and school, I met up with an old friend at The Hat for lunch.  I've known this guy since my freshman year of college.  :)  He was introducing me to some of his friends, as we've never really hung out before.  Coincidentally, one of his high school friends is actually one of my elementary school friends.  Small world, eh?  I haven't spoken to this guy since... about 7th grade.  Here we are, just about a decade later, having lunch together.  :)  Strange how these things happen.  But it's nice when they do.

It was a really nice (not to mention, really DELICIOUS) lunch time with the gang.  I had a find time meeting and catching up with everyone.  :)

Nothing & A "New" Friend (028/365)

I've nothing to say today.  It was a long day at work.  It's been one heck of a week.  I'm actually not that happy this week.  :(

I am, however, happy to report that I've reacquainted myself with a "friend" from long ago.  We've known each other all of our lives, as we have been neighbors since the day we were born.  We're only 2 years apart and have gone to all of the same schools up until college.  Yet, we've never talked.  Ever. That is, up until the past couple of days.  We started working together.  It was nice because it was easy to talk to him and he had an interest in getting a new knife.  The work shift went by smoothly and it was just nice to talk to someone who knew what I was talking about.  :)

The Sebenza That Never Was (027/365)

This, my dear friends, is the Sebenza that never made it.  A little while back, CRKT and Mr. Chris Reeves got together to create an affordable Sebenza.  I present to you, the CRKT Sebenza.  This little thing never did make it to production, however, as it wasn't up to Mr. Reeves's standards and the project was nixed.

Pity that CRKT didn't try harder.  It would have been one heck of a product, I'm sure.  Though, I'm not really sure how well a plastic frame lock would have worked out.  But good for Mr. Reeves for pulling the project.  That makes me want his "real" Sebenza (small) even more and happy to put my hard earned money toward something of such high quality.  I'm glad that Mr. Reeves stands by his products and would not allow his name to be associated with anything less than "perfect."

Rumor has it that Mr. Reeves tried to get rid of every single one of these.  This knife isn't really mine, though it is in my possession.  It's a pretty nice piece of history, though.

Pentax Q (026/365)

Got a new little camera today - the Pentax Q.  It's one heck of a little bugger.  :)  I don't own any cameras (other than the one on my phone).  Brother and I do "share" a Nikon D40 DLSR, but I think of the few years that we've owned it, he'd only let me use it 3 times - once when I went out of town, another at my friend's birthday shindig, and the third time a few months ago at my friend's graduation ceremony.

This is one sweet little compact system.  :)  It's freaken cute and packs a whole lot of awesomeness in such a small package.  One thing about the DSLRs is that it's sometimes too bulky for my use.  I don't want to lug around something so large for short/small outings with friends.  At the same time, the new point and shoot cameras has so many settings that I didn't want to deal with it.  This one's right in the middle; kind of like a "bridge" camera, if you will.  :)

Anyhow, seeing as how I haven't had much time with this little guy, I can't say much else on its performance.  I do love the quick startup though.  That's one thing that bothers me about some point and shoots.  So far, the UI is quite friendly and easy to navigate.  :)  We'll see how it holds up as my EDC camera.

New Bike for School (026/365)

I hadn't gotten it yet, but this will be my new bike for school.  (By the way, that is NOT me in the picture!  :P)  It's a cheap little 20" Huffy bike from Wally World ($50.00).  I'm getting it for a few reasons:

• It's one of the few that's within my budget (<$100.00).
• I had to choose something cheap/inexpensive because on campus, there are bike thieves.  The rule of thumb is to get a cheap bike with an expensive lock.  :)
• It doesn't look too dorky.
• It fits in my trunk (with the seats down, of course).

I've been monitoring the parking on campus for the past few weeks and quite frankly, it's ridiculous.  There are 3 parking structures available for students, each of which has over 1500 parking spots (close to 2000 each).  Even then, it's impossible to find parking.  

From Monday-Thursday, whenever I'm on campus, the sign outside (and via our school's app) tells me that there are parking spots available in the single digits (or if I'm lucky, mid teens).  I quite literally have to drive around for about 2 hours and "stalk" a student to follow them to their parking spot (which I'm too afraid to do).  That's not worth $300.00 per semester for parking.

So instead, a friend of mine is allowing me to park at her place about 3 or so blocks down from school and bike there.  I think it's well worth my time and $50.00 bike investment.  I'd much rather ride my bike for 30 minutes and know I can get to class on time than drive around for 2 hours in hopes of finding a parking spot.

Squished Pennies - Pocketable Memories (025/365)

I think most of us have seen this squished pennies at amusement parks and such.  I collect these (along with shot glasses) wherever I go.  Actually, I collect shot glasses from everywhere I go.  These pennies are only collected when I go out with my best friend.  :)

I don't keep all of them on my person though.  I keep only the most recent one in my wallet.  The rest of them are kept on my Shelf o' Stuff.  Whenever I get a new one, it replaces the wallet carry one and then that one gets put on the shelf.

I find that I always rifle through my wallet whenever I'm bored.  Finding the squished penny is just a tangible item that brings back memories of the most recent adventure of Lala y Pato.  :P

Boots! (024/365)

Posting this up to EDCF's "What's on your feet?" prompted today's 365 post.  These are my cheap/inexpensive Response Gear 8" WOMEN'S Side Zip boots from Big 5.  I'd gotten them a whole year ago and they have treated me well, and shall continue to.

These were only $30.00.  To date, they are the most comfortable (even moreso than my hiking shoes) shoes I own.  Perhaps it's because they're about a half size too large?  These are Women's size 6, but they have a lot of cushioning, so it holds on to my feet well, even after a year of wearing them in.  Actually, these boots needed no such thing!  They were comfy from the start.  :)

Anywho, I've really put these boots through heck and back - camping, hiking, training, SAR missions, patrol work, and then through my day to day life - they've held up just fine.  All of the seams are still intact and it doesn't show signs of coming apart.

As much as I would like the 5.11 ATAC 8's, I just don't have the means necessary to be able to purchase them quite yet.  Even so, I'm very happy with these boots and they are more than enough to tide me over until I can get those 5.11's.  I think even after those 5.11's, these will definitely have a place in my rotation, though.  For $30.00, they're kinda hard to beat, considering how comfortable they are, even after a year's worth of work.

Scoubidou! :) (023/365)

It was one of those days when I had nothing to do but find something to do.  The school week is over and I didn't have a shift today.  What to do?  I looked through my box of craft stuffs and found Scoubidou!  I hadn't made these things since grade school.  I think it was in 2nd or 3rd grade when it was the "thing" in school.

I made a little lanyard for my little Spyderco Bug.  :)  It's a nice purple and green one, 'cause I think that color combo is one of the best.  :D  (Even if it does remind me of the evil Barney.  *shudder*)

Weee!  What memories this brings back.  :)  And kills time.  hahaha :P

Mio Drink Mixes (022/365)

Keeping hydrated is a very important part of well, every day living.  :)  But I do have to admit, drinking plain water (especially when not icy cool) can get pretty... tiring.  Though I know when dehydrated, it's best and quicker to rehydrate with tepid water, icy cool just goes down the hatch easier for me.

How do I combat the boring, plain, tepid water?  Mio (and Mio-like) drink mixes!  :)  I was never really a fan of the powdered type things since you could really taste the aspartame aftertaste.  With these Mio drink mixes, you don't have that problem.  Plus, you can adjust the flavor easily.

Mio comes in plenty of flavors.  My favorite is probably the Blueberry Lemonade.  Shown above is also Walmart's version... I don't like it.  You can taste the aspartame and the flavor is just weird.  Mio's flavoring is pretty much spot on.  I've yet to try Market Pantry's (Target's brand), but I have a feeling it won't be as great as Mio's.  *shrug*  I'll still try it one of these days, though.

The regular Mios boast (24) 8-ounce servings, but I always get much more than that.  They suggest one "squeeze" per 8 ounces of water.  I'm still not sure how you measure squeezes, but what I assume to be a "full" squeeze is still too much for me.  The Mio Energy boasts 18 servings for the same price, since it's probably laced with Vitamin B and stuff for that energy boost.

I think you're "supposed" to use it up within a month of opening, but I've had these throughout the summer (and no, they're not empty yet, even after hard use!) and they still taste good.  I've experienced no change in taste since day 1.  I love that no refrigeration is needed, as I like to just keep a bottle in each of my bags and lunch bag.  :)

At the price of about $4.00 per bottle, you might feel that it's pricey.  But compare that to buying (in my case) 48 bottles of sport drink, it's well worth the cost.  Besides, it helps me drink more water each day! :)

**UPDATE**

(15 September 2012)

Today, I picked up a bottle of the Mio Energy:  Green Thunder.  While checking out, I thought it looked funny.  The label read that it was good for 12 servings.  I thought for sure that they should have been 18 servings.  But I bought it anyway ($3.50 at Wally World).  When I came home, my instincts were proven correct, when I compared it to my other bottles of Mio.  The older bottle of Mio Energy: Black Cherry was definitely larger, with a label reading 18 servings.

What a gyp!  The older bottles were larger and had 6 more servings for only about $0.25 more in cost.  The Mio website has not yet updated this, but it does show both the 12 and 18 servings bottles.  I wonder if there are two different sizes available or if they are downgrading all of their bottles.  I wonder if the normal flavors (not Energy) are going to get downsized as well.

Boba Night :) (021/365)

One of my absolute favorite things to do is go out with my girl(s) for boba.  It almost always ends in much needed heart-to-heart talks.  These girls are my absolute closest friends; I consider them family.  I know that I can always tell them anything that's on my mind and I will always get unbiased, non-sugar coated advice in return.  Boba nights happen maybe once a week for us and it's something I always look forward to.

Lately, I've found that I've been carrying "very little" on my person.  Girl pockets suck and it's way too hot to be wearing a jacket around just to have extra pockets.  I'm also too lazy to wear a bag - even my Fatboy.

For these outings, I've generally been carrying (as shown in the picture above):

• Maxped Micro wallet 
• bandages
• antiseptic wipes
• alcohol wipes
• aspirin
• ID
• CC
• some cash
• emergency contacts
• small sheet of stickers for fussy kids
• Keys (Nite-Ize Key Rack) 
• Fenix E01
• car key
• house keys
• bike lock key
• cash boxes' keys
• USB flash drive
• TEC glow fob
• Uncle Bill's tweezers
• Spyderco Bug
• Motorola Arix (not shown)
• pen(s)
• fountain pen (this time was a Lamy Vista w/ Private Reserve Chocolat)
• ballpoint or rollerball (this time was the Zebra F-701 w/ bold refill)
• Blurple - Since getting this knife, I hadn't actually rotated any of the others out.  :)  This one's pretty much on me 24/7, other than when I shower.  I even clip it to my jammy bottoms for bed.  :)

Recorder (020/365)

I had a family member swing by for a visit yesterday.  :)  I got this brand new Olympus voice recorder to use for school.  This family member is always getting me things that I would need for school, as they very much support my efforts in academia.  :D  Joy!  It's very simple to use and has the option of expanding the memory via a micro SD card.  I love that it runs off of two AAA batteries.  It's also very tiny, which means it won't be obtrusive when I take it into class.  I think my favorite thing about it is that it's got a built in flip-out stand.  :)

Letter Writing (019/365)

I was digging through my old school bag and found this little setup (minus the Pilot Prera; that's new!) in one of my folders.  Back when I was REALLY into letter writing, I kept this around so that I could write letters and/or postcards to my friends whenever I found the time or wanted to kill time.

This little setup included:

• an envelope (stamped with "From the desk of J_______.")
• a postcard
• a sheet of Staples bagasse letter sized paper
• a stick of sealing wax
• the wax seal
• a forever stamp - that way I don't have to worry about getting the correct stamp for letters or postcards

As long as I had a lighter on me (most of the time it was in my backpack), the wax seal would be used. This particular one was a really cheap one, as I didn't want to accidentally lose a "good" one.  Every now and then I would switch it out for a chop that has my name in Chinese and a red ink pad.  That didn't happen too often since I didn't want to deal with the probability of getting ink all over.

The pen used for letter writing is whatever I had on my person.  During this time of my college career, I was almost always never without the Platinum Preppy, filled with Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

I've been meaning to get an embosser to replace the "From the desk of J_________." stamp, but it never happened since the customized ones were in the $60.00 range.  However, recently, I found a very nice deal on the ink type seals (same design as the embosser) for $30.00 for a two pack (mailing address + seal).  I'll have to look into that, but I hope it's a good deal.  I might finally be able to stop my search!  :)

Costco Work Carry (018/365)

I got a temporary job at Costco demoing moon cakes for the upcoming moon cake festival (30 September 2012).  It's a pretty laid back job.  I just hate weekdays when I have to work the final two hours all by my lonesome self.  It's also hard to keep up with cutting the samples for the members, answering all their questions, and filling their orders.  I'm getting better at it, but I wish I had someone else with me at the booth the entire shift instead.  Then at the end of the night, I have to stack all the tins up and make sure everything's ready for the morning person.

Because I can't really carry anything with me, I brought it down to a very minimal carry.  This also includes no watches or jewelry.

The following is what I bring with me:

• name tag (not shown)
• Maxpedition Micro wallet w/ ID, CC, a couple dollars cash, loyalty cards, emergency contacts
• Bic lighter (the one shown is the newest one - the purple dragon!)
• keys
• Zebra F-701
• Blurple
• spiral notepad

Though we're not allowed to have a watch on our wrist, I still carry the little Casio with me, but I attach it to my belt.  :)

Flick My Bic! (017/365)

Nothing too interesting today.  :)  I got this new lighter from 7-11 while getting a Slurpee.  It's got a purple dragon on it and it's the only one of the Tattoo designs that I like.  I hope Bic picks some better designs soon.  I'm not at all interested in the current ones that they've got.  Maybe I'll start making my own.  :)