Pop-A-New Guineas!

Hello! My sister has been so good to her first guinea pig, Chloe, that another guinea pig didn't seem like a bad idea. Behold, she now has four (two fluffy Abyssinians and two American guinea pigs) and I'm happy to write that they get along swimmingly in their new "cage". It isn't really a cage, it's a rather long and spacious aquarium I filled with wood shavings and food. They did a lot of running around and popcorning the first time we put them there. Aren't they cute? :) All they do is eat and run around but I'm hoping we can train them as a special squad that will later on help save humanity, you know, kind of like G-Force? Yup. I noticed that Chloe doesn't wheek as much as she used to when she was alone. I guess guinea pigs are really social animals, a lot like my sister but a whole lot less like me. Although, they do eat more than they ought to and that gives us a common ground. More pet news after the cut.

A message from my dog

This weekend, my dog convinced himself that he was a cat. Also, he wishes you a happy day!

Scampi Sundays!

I thought I'd share what I had for lunch today and how I made it. I don't have any plans for the weekend, just read up on my YA, study a bit, and then pray for my dad. I'm very glad a new week (and month!) will be coming in tomorrow, though. I hated October a little, and November will be great. I can feel it!:)

SCAMPI SUNDAYS!

In which I share a recipe for shrimp scampi pasta^* 

What you need:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

peeled and deveined medium-sized shrimp (about 250g.)

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (you can wave this off if you don't like heat, I don't)

salt and pepper

some pasta 

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (but basil is fine too)

(some people add white wine, about half a cup but I suggest skip this step and drink the damn thing instead)

What you need to do:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until just tender. Reserve a portion of pasta-cooking water (this is a legit Giada DiLaurentis cooking tip), then drain pasta. Heat oil in a pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add garlic to oil remaining in skillet along with red pepper flakes, wine (if you're maarte), salt, and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and stir in shrimp. Remove skillet from heat. Toss pasta well with shrimp mixture and parsley in large bowl, adding some of reserved cooking water if necessary to keep moist (or they will clump together).

Eat. Enjoy.

^*This is a relatively fool-proof but absolutely delicious dish, once you get the timing for cooking the shrimp right. Shrimp when undercooked is just bad, it's mushy and it will leave an itchy sensation on your tongue. When overcooked, on the otherhand, shrimp is just tough and useless so you have got to watch your shrimp carefully. It must turn into a beautiful pink with the body slightly puffy from the deveining--that's when you remove the long vein at the back of the shrimp's body. Many celebrity cooks like Ina Garten and Giada DiLaurentis have their own versions of shrimp scampi. This is mine. It's not way off the original version but when I make one for myself, I tend to fill it up with so much garlic. It's delicious. 

Things I did this weekend: Wrote

I tweeted days ago that I need to earn more because my money, when not spent on graduate school readings, is almost like my food fund (They should be two separate things. Actually, I sometimes think that a food fund should not exist in a dignified 20 year old girl's life but well, I am also starting to think that I might not be a girl, just a rolling ball of something that thrives on food--occasional tumbles aside). It disturbs me that we can easily squander the money we have when it takes a long time to earn it back. For some twenty-somethings, money is spent on weekend getaways, weekly night outs, concert tickets, gadgets and clothes. For me, my money is spent largely on food and books. And I'm pretty sure that doesn't make me any better because I, the queen of excuses, cannot even justify my spending.

So, I've started taking small projects on the side (one of which involves writing about places like Ireland!) and putting a fourth of what I get for my food fund so that I can indulge myself once in a while. Not everyday, as I used to do. Baby steps. 

Go Outside

Some of the songs I like are getting so much love from the media lately. I just found out Darren Criss covered Neon Trees' Animals for Glee. The Queen of All Love Songs Who Must Be Hailed and Sanctified, Adele, has been getting so much love for her new album. I love that the Glee kids are all over her and that Someone Like You is starting to climb up the charts. My favorite, so far, is Dave Franco & Emma Roberts' MTV Supervideo for Cults - Go Outside. (I'm so glad they're not called The Cults, although there's nothing wrong with that!) I like how this video has a classic California feel to it plus the cast looks great. Don't take my word for it, watch it.

This song is quite special to me because it reminds me of afternoons in San Francisco when I was just a lowly (but really, so much happier) intern. I would make plans in my head to go to Union Square at exactly 5:00 PM and just stay there, by myself, to people-watch. HAHAHA. Back then, this song was on-repeat all the time. Oh, those were the days. I also have a special place in my heart for James Franco and his ability to bite off more than he can chew and swallow it nonetheless so, yes. It works that the actor in the video is a good looking Franco.

PS: My writing is getting worse day by day. Just so you know, I did spend the last two days studying and writing (by hand, six hours straight for a test) so my brain is just stimulated differently nowadays. I'm looking forward to the month ahead because it spells big changes for me. Graduate school and the career I want for myself are both big commitments and I now realize the road will not be easy at all. I'm scared but genuinely thankful for the opportunities to balance the two together. Things are bound to get better. :)