Pop Experiment

Just discovered this site, which is great for browsing and discovering amazing - and sometimes not-so-amazing - art.

So far I've only had a look at the visual arts section, but photography looks good too, and they also have music and motion arts. And with seperate links to all artists featured.

As it looks like the next few days in the office will be quiet this is just the thing I needed to keep me somewhat entertained. :)

A pre-weekend post

A few links to some things I've been reading recently, there's some interesting stuff out there (okay, it's a bit of a change from the usual posts lately...)

The Oil Drum is finally getting into geopolitics in East Asia on energy security. Hopefully they'll start posting more. Or maybe I should start contributing, if I want to see that happening?

A new blog discussing the opportunities for reconciliation between China and Japan. Incidentally, this also has some post referring to the East China Sea issue that TOD discusses.

New abduction stuff, through Sean Kinsell. I find it amazing that this still continues...

And cake recipes! Thought I'd try to tackle one of those food challenges that I haven't been doing so far...

Well, first I'm off to enjoy the weekend though: drinks, networking, more drinks, cultural stuff with parents, and music. Yay, it'll be a good one.

Virtual representation

Procrastinating as ever - as usual I need to do job stuff - I was trying to fix a profile on one of those internet virtual networks that I don't use (what else to do with your time!)

I started wondering about how we portray ourselves online, and if that is different from who we are in real life. For example, I have no clue if this blog is a correct reflection of who I am - even if I write about stuff that I'm occupied with in daily life.

Avatars are another weird habit. Mine is always some image of Lain, as you can see on the left. I don't know why. Just love the series. Mostly because it is so unbelievably vague, but also because of the way it is drawn. She always looks incredibly sad in every picture though. Maybe if people see avatars as some kind of reflection of themselves it could be interpreted as a representation of me?

Ah well, the profile I was trying to fix had me portrayed as psycho and depressed I think :)

Hmm... travel (2)

I've been spending the past hour scouring the net and dreaming away of the thought of wandering around Moscow and Kazakhstan.... If only!

Would be cool though, to be posting away from Kazakhstan in a few weeks!

And another thing

[blogger broke down just as I finished writing the original, so here we go again]

What I was saying, the best part of all these meetings last week and this week is that I feel as if I'm being taken serious again. And it feels good, very good.

At my current work I'm the secretary. A good one, but still just the secretary. No one has a clue about what I've done up to now, and if I tell them I am met with slightly dazed looks: "Then WHY are you here?!" is usually the normal reaction. But unless they know that, the general assumption is that I will stay forever because why wouldn't you. There's also general amazement about the fact that I have chosen not to work my way into a contract yet.

I can't wait to see the look on my colleagues' faces when I tell them - eventually - that I'm switching to a new job. Undoubtedly a job which they had never imagined me doing (okay, my colleagues have surprisingly little imagination but that's another issue).
Can't wait :)

Well, on that note, I should start preparing for my university meeting tomorrow afternoon and try not to get too distracted by my plans for tomorrow evening.

*Sigh*

Creating opportunities

I believe quite firmly that opportunities don’t just come about when you’re hanging out on your couch in front of the tv. You have to create your own opportunities – you have to make it happen.

Y wrote about something similar a few weeks back:

Your mind is a really incredible, phenomenal thing. It's really amazing just what you can do when you decide to do it.
[…]
It's called attitude. Go cop one and see what you can do .

Over the last week or so I have come to realize that I haven’t really been doing this over the past few months. I’ve tried, but it feels as if I’ve been floating around without any direction. Which in turn was frustrating because I didn’t know how to change this.

This has changed. Or at least, that’s what it feels like at the moment.
The previous week has been very inspiring. I was able to meet some new people and old friends whose advice and insights have helped a lot. Some new possibilities have appeared, and I see ways of getting to where I want to be. It’s going to take a lot of effort and energy but that’s okay. It’ll be worth it. And I’ve never chosen the easy way out, but have always been able to do the things I wanted to. And more. So I can do that this time too.

What’s more, I used to think about ‘creating opportunities’ only in the context of study and work, but not in terms of anything more personal like relationships. And I think I was wrong to think so. So, that’s another thing I’m changing. And surprisingly (or, maybe not), it seems to be working.

Life is good. There’s a lot going on but, at the moment, life is good.

Kitchen inspiration

I'm looking for cool food pictures for my kitchen, so here are some for your enjoyment:


Japanese dinner on one of many schooltrips


Kaitensushi


Delicious Dutch mussels!


Zarusoba in Nikko


Barcelona seafood at the market


Birthday cake (*^-^*)

Hmm... travel

I should really start making more serious plans for travel this year: I have it in my head to go to China. After looking through these pictures I want to go even more.

Right, let's try to figure out how to make it happen for real.

Random encounters

Ever had those conversations where you realize mid-way that the person you are talking to is very different from what you had assumed at first? (well, who hasn't?)

Tonight's scenario: randomly talking [(in this case) = discussing jobhunting problems] to someone at a bar, then realize that this person is the founder/owner of a recruitment agency where you have had several applications rejected. Gah. And he was kinda cute - well, funny and interesting at least. Maybe I should have handled the night differently? (seeing as I am home now...)

Oh well, time for bed!
(Really, what am I doing posting at this hour?)

Food tagged!

Well, I could've seen this one coming, Y has tagged me to list five food things, challenges. Right.

1) Learn to bake cakes and dessert-like stuff. Although that also means that I need to have more people over for dinner and so on because I won't be able to eat it all myself.

2) Grow my own herbs. I have a little patio thing with my apartment but it doesn't get any direct sunlight so I'm not sure if I can do it there. Friends of mine always use fresh herbs and it's so nice. Even if it's not for the taste, the idea of growing stuff yourself (but being in the city) sort of sounds good :)

3) Use my not-so-standard kitchen stuff more often: steam basket, grill pan, etc. I should be able to make loads of yummy food with it, I just need to make an effort to find some good recipes for it.

4) Take better care of randomly printed and cut-out recipes.

5) Use more seasonal foods. That probably means that I need to get my dad to teach me how to cook some of the less common vegetables. It's somewhat unclear to me how I can be the daughter of a chef, but not know some basic kitchen stuff.

Hmm, who to tag next? Who else but Cookie? This is definitely her kind of tag. Plus: Bonny, Kanakana (once she's back from the US of course) and Pompelmoes. Yoroshiku ne ;)

[Update @ 25/2]
I actually thought of another challenge that I should have included:
6) Cook more Japanese!
I made the best gyoza and okonomiyaki a few weeks ago, so will have to do that more often. But tonight I think I might dive into my Wagamama cookbook (okay, not completely authentic Japanese) for a good ramen-recipe. Yummm.