I am a science experiment

A few blog posts ago I wrote about wanting to give up dairy in hopes of trying to get rid of my acne. Here's a little update.

I am about a month and a half, maybe two months, in on this no-dairy kick. Actually it's a less-dairy kick and it looks like this:

1. No milk for breakfast. Good-bye yogurt and cereal, Hello oatmeal.

2. No glasses of milk with sweets (e.g. cookies and brownies).

3. No more Pizza Thursdays for lunch with coworkers.

4. No more grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese quesadillas for dinner.

5. No more string cheese or Colby Jack squares+Triscuits for snacking.

It's pretty much no dairy at home for me, with the exception of the oh-so-delicious Korean Melona bars I just discovered at Grand Mart International Food market in Virginia Beach. I would estimate that my dairy intake has been cut by at least 75%. Now I just eat this food group when I'm at restaurants, which is about twice a week, or when my dairy-loving boyfriend makes me dinner.

And you know what's amazing...this little science experiment I'm doing on myself is working! I didn't make any other lifestyle change except for the dairy thing and my skin is the best I've seen in YEARS. It''s still a little early to tell whether dairy products have been the main contributor for my acne, but exciting stuff nonetheless!

What I learned while running in downtown Norfolk today

1. There's a Chinese pagoda in Norfolk! And it's gorgeous! Amazing how I've been to downtown Norfolk a million times for eating/running/shopping/festivals and just today noticed this little gem. It's located at 265 W. Tazewell St. and you can find more info here.

(Serithian, flickr)

2. There is more than one option for triva night in Hampton Roads! I always thought that my trivia night options were limited to the one at The Public House in Ghent, but I was sorely mistaken. I ran past a flyer advertising trivia night at Jack's Attic on Granby (above Jack Quinn's), which lead to some Googling when I got home and the discovery of trivia night at AJ Gator's on Holland Road and Path Norfolk (apparently there's a vegan restaurant inside that pagoda!).  Great news for trivia geeks like me!

Oh no...tunnel tolls!

Ugh, are we doing these tolls on the Midtown and Downtown tunnels or not?

I first heard about this project last year, but didn't care since I almost never ventured over to Portmouth or Suffolk.  In 2011, I think my only trip over was to take shelter at a buddy's house in Suffolk during the hurricane.  But now that I am making the Norfolk-Portsmouth commute 2-3 times a week, you betcha that I'm paying close attention to the toll talk.  I wasn't happy during my morning commute when the radio host made the tolls sound like a done deal.  But a little research this evening on the WAVY website showed that there is debate about the legality of the tolls...so maybe there's still hope left!

At the least, the tolls would cost me approximately $305 per year.  This would mean going through the tunnel twice a week and postponing Friday date night until after 7pm.  At the most, it goes up to $530 to cross it three times a week with disregard to on-peak/off-peak hours.  Personally, that sounds like a bit much to visit the boyfriend who lives six miles away.   

At least there is one good thing coming out of these tunnels...me caring about local politics! 

Baby Day. Ugh.

I was really hoping that I wouldn't get any why-aren't-you-married/why-don't-you-have-kids inquiries until I hit the big 3-0 (which is less than 3 years away). Nope. Got my first one today and didn't like it one bit. During my lunch break phone call to my mom, she let me know that I'm past my prime. Because according to her, 20-25 is the best age to have babies. She also predicts that my older sister, in her early 30s and starting "trying" this year, will have difficulty due to her age. She also let me know that my grandparents have been asking her why I'm not married yet. Love my mom and knows she means well...but I don't need any more reminders that I'm single and childless.  That's what Facebook is for.  

It didn't help that I got the baby while eating my oh-so-delicious piece of king cake today at work. it was a creepy little thing with abnormally long arms and legs. Regardless, Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!  

To Buy or Not to Buy: A House

It was a stressful Valentine's Day for me. Being the first V-Day in a new relationship, I tried way too hard to impress the guy and offered to make dinner for the first time. The menu consists of char siu (Chinese BBQ pork), fried rice, and mango sorbet topped with pomegranate arils. In order to get that nice charred look/taste for the pork, I had to use the broiler function of my oven for the first time. And using this broiler meant my fire alarm going off like a dozen times at 5:00 in the morning. Here's what was running through my head during my 20 minutes of meat cooking:

So, so sorry neighbor!

Ugh, I wished I had a grill!

There's no way a fire truck would come by...right?

My neighbor's gonna hate me!

What if I dismantle the fire alarm and can't figure out how to put it back together?

Why can't I open the window?!

Sorry neighbor!

I've been having house envy for the past few months and this little cooking fiasco was a nice kick in the butt. My parents have been putting pressure on me to buy for awhile and I've always resisted (So much money! So much work!)...but, like always, I think my parents were right. Home ownership sounds pretty awesome right now.  The only question I have now is...can I commit to living here for at least another 3-5 years (or however long they say to make buying a house worthwhile)? 

I've (Semi) Escaped "The List"

One of my guiltiest pleasures is reading Cosmo.  But I've been too lazy to hit the bookstore lately (and no, I don't do magazine subscriptions) so I've taken up reading The Frisky everyday instead.  It had an article today titled "Can You Ever Escape "The List"? that got me thinking about my own relationship.  "The List", in case you are wondering, are qualities you are looking for in a potential mate.

(Oh, I have a boyfriend now by the way.  We had "the talk" at the beginning of the month, so it's legit.  So you probably won't be seeing many more blog posts about the funny/creepy emails I get from my online dating account...bummer.) 

Anyways, new boyfriend possesses some qualities I have on my list, like having a steady job, not having kids, being a gentleman, being tall, etc.  But he also possesses a surprising number of qualities that I would have NEVER wanted in a boyfriend, including:

• Collects guns/former member of the NRA
• Big fan of video games
• Drinks a lot
• Smokes cigars (rarely, but still...)
• Eats even unhealthier than I do
• Being a Libertarian
• Owns a Rumba and a billion other gadgets
• Wears t-shirts from strip clubs
• Would rather live in the country than the city
• Dislikes dim sum
• NASCAR and pro wrestling fan
• Firmly believes a woman should change her last name upon marriage
• Perfectly content staying at home and watching reruns of The Office all day

I know, I know...such an utterly superficial list.  But I am absolutely smitten by this guy.  So ladies, ease up on your List...you may be missing out on Mr. Right! 

The Problem with Dodgeball

I'm on my third season of dodgeball in Hampton Roads.  For super competitive Type-A folks like myself, dodgeball is the perfect adult recreational sport.  However, as team captain, this also means that come Thursday nights...I spend about an hour wondering "is this what a heart attack feels like?"

Because the problem with dodgeball is that it is full of annoying 20-something douchebags.  My games involve:

-Guys not knowing the definition of "honor system"  (20 players, 8 balls, 2 refs...you do the math)

-Guys pointing and yelling at other guys "You're out, you're out!" but in not-so-nice words

-Guys yelling at the refs, over and over again

-Refs having to bring the two teams together mid-game to tell us that we need to act like adults

-Me physically holding back teammates so that they don't get kicked out of the game/league

And no I'm not geing sexist...it's always the guys acting a fool during the games.  I haven't seen any physical altercations yet (we're going on week 3) but I would be very surprised if I didn't see at least one by the end of the season.

On a more upbeat note, did you know that there's TRAMPOLINE DODGEBALL here in Hampton Roads?!  I have yet to try it out, but it looks like crazy fun!  Check out Rebounderz Indoor Trampoline Arena in Newport News off Patrick Henry Drive.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Being of Chinese descent, today marks the biggest holiday of the year for me...Chinese New Year!  I've been slacking off the last few years, mainly because I have no family or Chinese friends in the area.  Kinda sucks celebrating holidays solo.  But I promised myself that it would be different from now on!  Here are a few Chinese traditions I followed this year in honor of the new year:

1.  Cleaned my entire apartment.

2.  Wore a red top to work.

3.  Ate an orange (okay, Minneola) during lunch.

4.  Gave a younger friend a lai see (red envelope) with a dollar in it.

5.  Ate potstickers for dinner.

Okay, so I didn't quite roast an entire pig...but it's the thought that counts, right?  I also searched for (and found!) my York County Public Library card to start learning more Chinese via their online subscription with Rocket Languages.  Yay!

If you are interested in learning more about the holiday, check out the Lunar Chinese New Year celebration this Saturday at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach from 4 to 9pm. 

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I can't drive in Virginia Beach

I had to go to the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach today.  Can anyone tell me what is the point of the side roads off Laskin?!  Is it really necessary?

I've traveled to a lot of different cities throughout the US and Virginia Beach is the only place I've encountered these side roads.  They give me anxiety.  Major anxiety.  I've been driving for 11 years, so it's not like I'm an amateur.  Yet I still avoid the Hilltop area like the plague, which makes me sad. 

Maybe I'll put that on my list of goals for 2012: Learn to drive in Hilltop without feeling like I'm going to get in a car accident any second now.

I Wish They Taught Me This in College

I learned something new this week. Something crazy. When typing, apparently two spaces after a period is passe. The new rule is one space. 

It's been nearly a decade since I've taken an English class (AP English-something, senior year of high school). My coworker has informed me that this new rule has been around since the introduction of word processing. Still in utter disbelief, I asked a few other coworkers (of various ages) and they agreed with the one space rule. How come I've never, ever heard of this?! None of my college professors mentioned it. I taught two semesters as an adjunct, making my students write three papers, and was totally oblivious to it. In fact, I probably commented "two spaces after period, not one" when editing their rough drafts. I feel like a bad teacher now.

PS: I typed this using my newfound knowledge. I think it looks quite weird.