Happy 25th Birthday, babe!

...so old...

lol just kidding.

My next desired purchase... :')

I want a small complete gongfu cha set ~_~

school...:(

so.... i'm super sleepy and overwhelmed and possibly afraid of what's to come.

for now i'm in...

bio 240 (crashing, was promised an add code)
chem 115 (enrolled)

physics 111/112 (enrolled, waiting to pass readiness exam so i can stay enrolled)

psych 200 (enrolled, but will drop if i can add bio and/or physics)

sci 111 (enrolled)
sci 115 (enrolled)

math 226-calculus (enrolled, but wanting to drop because i'm intimidated by the material.....)

so far... 17-18 units

i'm such a sad, sad panda -_-

Rack City Remix... BAHAHA

Broke city, trick!
Broke, broke city, trick!
Pennies, pennies, nickles, dimes,
and them quarters, trick!!!

Genmaicha

I decided to try genmaicha (brown rice/popcorn green tea) today. When I opened the bag, I noticed that it was covered in matcha powder (Matcha-iri genmaicha). How exciting! ^o^ Anywho. I sniffed the contents and it carried a very light, almost unnoticeable scent of popcorn. I was sort of skeptical because I couldn't pick up any trace of green tea (or for that matter, the strong scent of green tea that I am used to).

I brewed for about 3 minutes... I wanted the lightest brew possible.After pouring it through a strainer, the color was actually a darker green instead of the yellow pictured above. My camera isn't the best, so I'm pretty upset it showed up as yellow. However I was able to capture the powder/cloudy aspect of the tea. After a while, the dust settled down (LOL the saying made me chuckle) and sunk to the bottom. The more it settled, the more clear the tea became.

The aroma after brewing had a more mild popcorn scent with a (brown) rice undertone. I sat for a minute to see what kind of aroma therapy effects it had... and sadly, it was just "nice." It didn't do much relaxing for me physically nor mentally as longjing did. I also noticed that after 30 or so minutes of consumption, my stomach felt a bit unsettled. Since genmaicha has a similar taste to the tea they serve at sushi restaurants (without the added matcha powder), I am assuming that the matcha powder annoyed my GERD. I would try it again, but since it feels like there are more negatives than positives... matcha-iri genmaicha is not my go-to tea. :(

-- edit --
I was thinking about as to why I was so displeased with genmaicha. But then I remembered an article I read. Apparently this tea is a commoner's tea and historically, the roasted rice was added to the tea to bring costs down thus making it more "affordable." Whereas longjing was labeled as an imperial tea because of its high qualities. I guess I am already spoiled, lol.

Green Tea Sampler

By the recommendation of DiDi, I ordered a green tea sampler from Floating Leaves Tea. It includes genmaicha "brown rice tea," house green, longjing "dragon well," jasmine pearls and a sample of bao zhong.

So far, I decided to try longjing first since I learned about it first and it is supposedly a high quality green tea that's ideal for relaxation and thinking.

I'm not sure how credible my source is, but a temperature of 167 degrees fahrenheit is best for infusion and for longjing, a brewing time of 2-3 minutes is ideal.

This is my first experience of brewing tea using whole leaves. I now understand what it means for a teabag to have that "paper" taste and after enjoying longjing's gentle sweet aroma and airy nutty profile, I don't think I will ever return to the heavy feeling, dusty profile a teabag carries (at least by choice anyways). Green tea in a teabag tastes so much different, bitter and mostly uncouth. During tasting, I had an open mind and I felt that longjing definitely has an uplifting and relaxing affect both physically and mentally. I am so glad I got the sampler, I can't wait to taste the others. :)

I love the 99¢ Only Store!

GUESS WHO GOT FOUR NIVEA LIP BALMS FOR $4??? I did, yes sir indeedy. >xD

I usually get Chapstick, but all they had were Nivea and Blistex. I'm glad I'm trying out Nivea, absorbs better and lasts longer on my lips.

sleepily staring at these recently acknowledged blank, white walls.
maybe within time, they won't be such an eye sore.
still sleepily thinking about myself. who am i? what do i want?
right now i would rather be nothing.
people seem to always categorize into some preconceived notion of a "type" of personality.
nerd. "creative." hipster. religious. loner. lover. weirdo. rebel.

a title. a label.

"more laid back," "not serious enough," "oh... not the type."
no matter what, you are a label.
so different, yet still the same.
obviously not the same as others from different categories, but the same follower as those within the group you identify with.
so what's this mess about not being "cool enough" because you're not "different enough"?
sounds like bullshit to me, really.
or maybe people part because their labels clash, not necessarily because one is better than the other?

...as for me, i've thought about which label i'm categorized best as...
i really don't fit in any.
so maybe for now... i'm an academic droid with no "personality" who is in recurring denial.

yeah, i made that up. but it sounds about right for now.

but "oddly" enough. i don't feel like changing it.

and "oddly" enough. i am slowly accepting that it just might be very much who i am.

...naturally.

eh. g'night.

--edit--

i reread this and the line, "i would rather be nothing" might turn some heads.

i think by using the word "nothing" in such context, i don't literally mean nothing/emptiness.

by "nothing," my thoughts and feelings were more along the lines that people have the tendency to believe that if you don't fit within those common, general labels... you're either "boring" or "out-of-style." Thus, "no personality."

and because i don't comfortably fit among those labels for long periods of time, i would rather be "nothing," under no label.

my label.

"Do you ever just sit down and count your blessings? Being healthy. Able to walk. Eating a meal. Able to speak. Having a family. $ to spend." - Polo

Hope 2012 is as blessed as 2011.
Happy New Years. :)