Okay, there is something definitely off with me. I'm getting teary thinking about Basil right now. 
It's my first week without having him here at the apartment, and looking at all his pictures sure is 
not helping. I miss him so much, that little booger. I am never this emotional about anything. 
Wow, Basil, you've got a place in my heart. 

I like Coldplay's album Parachute. I'm listening to it right now. 

Someday

Gouda gouda gouda

Made grilled cheese with gouda, roasted mushrooms, and onions. So good. I'm in love with gouda cheese. 
It's my favorite cheese now actually. Mmm. 

Fig jam and Portola

Spent a nice weekend strolling around with my sister, cousin, and nieces. I had the Apple and Brie Cheese 

Panini with Fig Jam at Boudin and it was delicious. They got rid of their Spinach and Mushroom Pizza...

that pizza was so good. Afterwards, we stopped by Portola. I never knew this kind of place existed. 

By "this kind," I mean a place with an interior design reminiscent of what I've seen in Korea, but in Costa 

Mesa. Brought back warm, fond memories I can't describe in words but just feel. I'll try explaining. 

You know that feeling when you smell a scent and you immediately flash back to a distant memory in a specific 

time and place and frames of movement whiz by like you've just experienced it all over again within a span of 

one second? It's fast, but what you feel from that one second is so vivid, your senses awake. Then it's over. 

Comes and goes, everything is back to normal. It is strange and a treat when I experience these. It's okay if 

you don't understand. I sound like a total looney, but that was just an attempt to describe the awesome, 

once every couple of months feeling I encounter. 

My stomach is growling. I'm tucked in my bed so maybe I should just fall asleep. Goodnight world. 

Subconscious guilt

Lately, I've been thinking about Basil more than usual. I realize it must be my subconscious guilt 

with the upcoming trip to Korea. As exciting as going to Korea is, there's a string tugging at the 

thought of leaving Basil behind for two weeks. Two weeks is an eternity for a dog without his family. 

I hope he does not feel abandoned. Being from a shelter, abandonment is something I wish he 

will never feel again, a feeling he is all too familiar with. I am horrible for leaving him. I pray he will be 

distracted and happy with his friend Ringo. But really, every hour at work I'm thinking about Basil 

and wanting to rush to the apartment to be with him. As the trip nears, I am becoming a wee 

bit more anxious. I'm so sorry Basil. I will shower you with love, kisses and treats when I return. I still 

have a month until I leave; yes, I am overreacting a tad, but because I love him so much, this 

is how and what I feel. 

Je suis

I am learning French via Duolingo. It's fun. Today I learned the very basics. 

Je suis une femme. (I am a woman)

La chat est noir. (The cat is black)

Nous sont riche. (We are rich)

La robe et la pomme sont rouge. (The dress and the apple is red)

La - the (feminine)

Une - a (feminine)

Le - the (masculine)

Un - a (masculine)

L'homme - the man

Garçon - boy

Femme - woman

Fille - girl

La lettre - the letter

Le livre - the book

Rouge - red

Riche - rich

Manges - eat

Chat - cat

Noir - black/dark

Il - it/he

Et - and

Tu - you

Je - i

J'aime - i like/love

Suis - am

Sont/sommes - are

Pomme - apple

Robe - dress

Enfante - child

Calme - calm/quiet

These are just some of what I learned from the top of my head. Repetition will be my best friend 

if I want to remember. I feel good learning. 

Night light effect

Glass of water, meet night light. I was drinking my glass of cold water next to my night light right 

before going to bed. I looked down at my cup which I happened to hold at an angle above the night light 

and noticed a neat effect. I'm sure the cold water causing the glass to fog enhanced the texture 

of it all, though. I just had to take a photograph. Kind of looks like I'm holding a wad of space or a giant, 

glowing, translucent, marbleized ball. 

Eggcellent

I love eggs. Over easy, poached, scrambled, hard boiled - I love them. They're great with rice, 

bagels, pizza, sandwiches, meat, burgers, ramen, and by itself. I'm so thankful for them. 

If this was real

This is pause worthy. I can look at this photo multiple times and feel enchanted like the 

first time; however, I hear this is photoshopped. Ugh...photoshop. It's disappointing 

when I see a picture so beautiful, only to find out it's not real. Yes, photoshop is magical and 

imaginative, but it's also dismaying, misleading, and for me, anticlimactic. Unable to believe 

or differentiate truth from fabrication is unnerving. As cool as an image may look, if it's been 

altered to portray or tell a false story, it goes straight into my mental junk neuron.  My automatic 

response to any gasp activating photograph today is, "is this real?". Having to question 

a photo's authenticity is indeed pitiful, but I would be a fool to believe everything I see online. 

Let's not be fools. Man, I love this photo and I hate it. 

Overall, if something is clearly meant to be creative and experimental with the use of photoshop, 

I'm all for it. When photoshop is used with the intention to pass something off as authentic or real 

when it's not, I turn sour. My rant about this aspect of abuse in today's digital age is now over. 

Love him to pieces. 

Chimichurri on sliced, toasted baguette is the bomb.

I have Morton's toe and so does the Statue of Liberty. Cool.