All the Single Ladies...

I've been going through all kinds of old papers lately and having had a rant on stats recently, thought this excerpt I found was funny-- I think it was also from Dr. Witesman. This is, indeed, a very strange-sounding rule. But mathematicians have proved it works better than any other. The number thirty-seven percent is an approximation of the exact number I/e, where e is the base for natural logarithms... of course this rule can't guarantee success, but, as Churchill said of democracy, it's the worst strategy except for all the others, and it gives you a thirty-seven percent probability of making the best decision. Here is one example. Suppose over a life-time you expect to meet one hundred available candidates. If you marry the first one, the chance that you have indeed found the best of all one hundred candidates is only 1/100. Likewise, if you wait to meet all one hundred candidates, you will have rejected ninety-nine who came before, and the possibility that the last person you meet is also the best is again only 1/100. The best strategies allow you to sample for a while, in order to learn about the various candidtes; and of all such strategies, the best has you samplling thirty-seven percent of the total and then choosing the first candidate thereafter who beats all the ones who came before. Of course, there is a chance you will never find one who is better than all thirty-seven percent you've already seen. So if you are a young woman who expects to meet one hundred attractive bachelors over her dating years, you should let the first thrity-seven of them go, and marry the first one you meet thereafter who is more attractive to you than all thirty-seven young men you have already dated. Now, don't you wish your mother would give you advice like that?

What have I become?

Maybe a skeptic of the first class. Yikes. But seriously, I was not aware of this side effect of grad school. Stats and Eva's class, I believe, were the biggest culprit of turning me into a doubt-everything Thomas. For example, I saw the link for this article (http://utahdatapoints.com/2011/03/who-has-the-decisive-vote-in-the-utah-legislature/) earlier and when reading it, my immediate thoughts were whoa whoa whoa, hang on. You're arguing what?!

Anyway, now I want to discuss this. Are these stats valid? Do you think it really demonstrates power to have voted with the majority the most-- why wouldn't that show herd mentality? Anyone who's bored and wants to relive program eval, let me know :)

New Love

I'm not particularly a Twilight fan-- the movies were fine but I never read any of the books. However, this song from the score is my new love. I think I've listened to it 25 times in a row on continuous play.



p.s. choose to ignore the sappy text in this video... or indulge-- whichever floats your boat :)

Keeper Recipe

It was a long three months with no Southern Living inspiration, but my subscription is now renewed and the delivery problems sorted out :) Recommence the experimental recipes!

I tried this one on Ben and Suzannah and it was a success!

Chicken with Pecan Sauce
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup butter, divided
4 chicken cutlets (abt 1 1/4 lb)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Heat pecans and 2 Tbsp butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low until toasted and fragrant. Remove from skillet.
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour.
3. Cook chicken in hot oil in skillet over medim heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and done. Transfer to a serving platter. Top with pecans.
4. Add chicken broth to skillet, and cook 2 minutes, stirring to losen particles from bottom of skillet. Add brown sugar, vinegar, and thyme, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until sugar is melted and sauce is slightly thickened. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp butter. Serve sauce over chicken.

*All that butter isn't necessary. I left the butter from toasting the nuts in the skillet to cook the chicken. I also would not add more to the sauce at the end. And I added more nuts-- can't have too many pecans!

Abject, pleading apologies

Dear Karma,

I am sorry. Dog ran away again and I crashed into a snow bank. Was that really necessary? It was just a blog post.

Sincerely,
Gan

Warning: the following images may be unsuitable for queezier readers

It took me about a month before I could look back and laugh at the experience. Then literally the day I was looking through pictues and thought about making a blog post about it, I come home and the dang dog ran away. Knock on wood, nothing will happen if I post this now. But as some of you know, I had an attempt at ambidextrousness earlier this year after an incident with my housemate, Alphonzo. My first week dogsitting was a little traumatic, but I got pretty good at using the touch mouse and washing my hair with my left hand. The good news: we get along well now. He loves to sing while I play the piano. I just don't pet him :)

P.S. I attempted to play around the template of my blog. Big mistake. I want an undo button.

Because I'm INTJ, that's why.

So when I visited DC several weeks ago, one of my favorite things was Heather, Sarah, Lindi, and Connie's consistent application of their Myers-Briggs personality profiles in everyday banter. Like we would be talking about something like work styles and Lindi would pipe in "that's your P-ness showing through." Or Heather would talk about her pursuit of a certain young man and Connie would respond, "you're such a I!"

While there, I retook the test and got the same result I have gotten every time I've taken it since high school: INTJ. Usually when I've taken the test before, it was as a school assignment and while the fast glimpse I took at my profile was interesting and fitting, I never studied it in-depth... until the past few days while continuing this anxiety-ridden, soul-searching, journey of self discovery that has been the past few months. Appropos timing, yes? I thought so too.

And oddly what I've found in my search has been empowering, reassuring, and, I believe, a contributing factor to the end of my cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat phase (hooray!). Nearly every link under the Google search "INTJ" is now purple. I also found a forum where other INTJ's post about their experiences, historical figures with whom they relate, and their personality tendencies and I find myself thinking "oh my heck, you are articulating what I've always felt but never been able to explain and you feel the same way! I'm not such a weirdo." (incidentally, expressing internal insights or emotion is not a strong-suit of my profile).

Interesting fact: less than 1 percent of the population are considered INTJ-- the majority of which are men. I know that we all have felt at some point that we are 'weird,' but reading that alone I guess justified in my mind some of the 'differentness' I have always felt. Also interestingly, I am very logical (check), I view the world in terms of opportunity for improvement and increased efficiency (check), I prefer privacy to crowds of people (check), I primarily value intelligence and competence in myself and others (check), I abhor small talk but find it a necessary social nicety... and am usually bad at it (check!), my quietness is often mistaken for arrogance or boredom... but in actuality seldom feel these things (check), I am largely an observer (yep), I value organization and try to put everything into a rational system (just ask any former roommate), I am not very demonstrative of affection/ emotion (yes), I find gratification in implementing systems and work (check), and I feel satisfaction when decisions are made (hello! welcome to my predicament of the last 2.5 months).

I guess the moral of this post is, if you haven't taken the Myers-Briggs, dooooo iiiit. Maybe you're not on a search for validation and self-discovery as I am, but maybe you are. And maybe this too will help you make some sense of things (look, there goes my logical side again :) ).

Look, Grandma, it's finally done!

It has been a project about 5 years in the making, but one week of the cold bug and I was able to make some progress.

En la Onda

Social media: a fad or a revolution?



As always, take the statistics with a grain of salt as to source and bias, but overall this video is very fascinating!

Roller Coasters

I remember as a little girl going to Lagoon and my dad never going on the rollercoasters because they made him "toss his cookies." Now at amusement parks, I feel the same stomach-churning sensation on these loop-da-loops... so as a grown up, we're supposed to not be on these rollercoasters, but why then as I feel I am on the cusp of my "grown-up" life do I feel like I am on this continual roller coaster? Starting in August, I was at a high coming home from a life-changing China experience, then the realization of officially graduating, Grandma's death, and such took me to a low. September: low to high. October: chicken-with-my-head-cut-off mostly highs. November: high high to low low. It seems I've run the gamut the past few months. Lest you think I'm becoming a manic depressive, don't worry, I'm just trying to navigate this "most exciting time of my life." :)

So I set off on a job exploration/soul-searching week of fun in DC. Exactly what I needed. To share some of the fun highlights, a few pictures:

So beautiful.

Merry Christmas from the White House!

Christmas display at the Botanical Gardens

As I reflect on my figurative fork in the road, I realize how blessed I am. With a solid foundation of faith, family, and friends how could I possibly be better set up for this ride? In this season of Thanksgiving and Salvation, I feel incredibly grateful. So here's to enjoying the ride and plenty of dramamine to settle the stomach :)

P.S. If it seems like my head is in the clouds.... it is. Being able to blog from 30,000 is totally increasing my productivity.

Christmas Came Early this Year :)

I'm happy to report Election Day went well yesterday! I always love watching the results come in, but this year I have expanded gratitude for the democratic republic I am privileged to enjoy citizenship in. Is it perfect? Certainly not, but I believe in its greatness and Election Day, for the most part, usually reaffirms that.

Now... to clean my car. Does anyone have any tips for deodorizing? It smells like an industrial print house from signs, mailers, and tshirts.

7 days!!!!! Just sayin'

Since it's Christmasesque weather (really?! seriously?!) and I started listening to The Forgotten Carols on Sunday, my Christmas wish is that one week from now I am leaving a fabulous victory party :) Then I wish that I get to sleep for a long time the next day... and if I've really been a good girl, that my car gets magically cleared of all the logo-covered debris that currently occupies nearly every square inch!

Yay!!!!

For the Beauty of the Earth...

Isn't fall spectacular?! I've had a couple opportunities to explore this colorful season this week and what strikes me most is that while I have been so lucky the past few years to see some amazing things, even more than the world's wonders, what never ceases to amaze me is the natural beauty everywhere.

Where it's at:

Nanputuo Temple, China

(moss growing on rocks) Hong Kong

Cotswalds, England

Cherry Blossoms on the National Mall, DC

Guilin, China

Reed Flute Cave, China

Xiamen, China

Mueller Park, UT

Watkins Glen, NY

Monticello, VA

Bryce Canyon, UT

Legacy

Legacy. To me, the word initially conjured images of baseball legends and leaders of societal movements. I recently finished Glenn Beck's new novel, The Overton Window (I need to stop with the doomsday books and movies!) which I found very thought provoking. One of the takeaways was a contemplation of an older character who ironically was plotting to overthrow the American societal order and move it toward a powercentric, contrived order. While his end is not one I condone, his realization that despite all the money and power he had earned, the only things that are really important are his time and his legacy was interesting.

For my Grandma Ossmen's funeral, we had a service largely based around music, as it was one of my Grandma's loves/ joys. During and since the funeral, I have pondered how I consider music to be my Grandma's legacy to me because my learning to play the piano and participation in singing groups all my young life, I believe, are directly attributable to her love for and participation in music.

Over the past very busy campaign month, I have found myself resorting to playing the piano and quilting for brief relaxing moments of reprieve. Quilting is another legacy left to me, this one by my Grandma Selin. Her entrepreneurship in quilting brought an art back to not only a lot of people in the Atlanta region, but my dad's extended family as well... and me. I remember trips to Grandma's quilt shop in Stone Mountain since I was very young and remember picking out the fabric for my first "big" quilt with her.

Legacy is an interesting concept. It is awe-inspiring to think of all the things in my life that are directly attributable to my ancestors, forebears, or even peers. It's a significant part-- if not the majority-- of who I am. It's so fascinating to think that so much of who we are comes from where we come from. And thinking to the future, no pressure as to what you [or I] will leave :)

A Funny :)

Have you read Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High? Good book.

And sage advice :)

Thanks, Jasen!

For Your Pondering

"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" T.S. Eliot

I came across this quote this morning. Interesting, poignant thought.

Last week I crossed one more state off of my list of states I have been to: Florida! I had a wonderful trip with Michelle and Melaina. And Florida is a great place-- Governor Charlie Crist, no income tax, a good percentage of humidity (in Sept at least), and gorgeous coasts-- yep, I could get used to that!

We had a fun-packed vacation with two days at Disneyworld, one day at SeaWorld's Aquatica, one day at Clearwater Beach, and one day of shopping-- perfect vacation mix.

Here are some picture highlights:

Clearwater Beach is just beautiful. The blue, blue water and white sand are great. Little wonder it is ranked America's best beach. We had fun exploring the boardwalk in John's Pass too.

Magic Kingdom was adorably decorated for Halloween. Michelle and Melaina at the entrance.

Epcot is my definite favorito! I loved the country exhibits. And the fireworks show, which definitely helped me compensate for a fireworks-less 4th of July this year.

SeaWorld's Aquatica waterpark is so, so fun! This is us in front of the dolphin tank that has clear waterslides that go through it. If only I wasn't screaming with my eyes shut during that part of the slide, I might have seen them :)

"I look once more, just around the Riverbend." We met Pocahontas, and that song was stuck in my head for the rest of the day :) All part of the Disney spirit.

At the Orlando Airport after just arriving in Florida around midnight. It was late and we were excited.

Epcot took me back to China! Only in this China, I could still have my cell phone-- halelujia! And it smelled better sans stinky tofu.

This just never gets old!

Abundantly Creative

Lately my desire to be like Amy Atlas has been piqued even further (Rach, I blame/credit you for introducing the blog to me first) :) Maybe this is sufficient cause to change my career path? If it means going back to school, yes please :) I've been so happy lately to get to do a couple creative things. First was Amber's bridal shower. I pulled some inspirations from the Amy Atlas site and overall was pleased with how it all came together-- it wasn't exactly what I envisioned, but really does anything ever turn out that way?

Then last weekend, Zan invited me to for a girls' night and taught me how to use fondant. I've wanted to learn for so long. And the chance to learn from Zan, whom I credit with being my first baking teacher way back in Heritage, was even better. Here is our cake that we created. I use the term "cake" loosely becauase it's actually only about 2/5 actual cake.

(that may or may not be a measuring cup serving as a cake prop... Zan's genius idea!)

Mei Guo was my name

Once upon a time I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime and headed to China. I've shared most my Hong Kong adventures-- which was fabulous and my favorite city visited in Asia. The part I didn't get to (and my favorite experience) is when we were invited to lunch at Asia Area President Perkin's home. The view of the bay was incredibly beautiful, but talking to President Perkins and hearing about the Church's work in Asia was even better.

After Hong Kong, we flew to Shanghai and experienced the 2010 World Expo and the downtown area.

Then the study abroad part started. We lived in Xiamen-- an island in southern Fujian province across the bay from Taiwan. We attended Xiamen University, learning about performance measurement and Chinese government history and structure. We also spent nearly every weekend of two months traveling around China with adventures to Nanjing, Suzhou, Guilin, Yanshuo, Tulou, Xi'an, Wuyishan, and Beijing. We had so many fun experiences; I will share some of my favorites through pictures:

China has an amazing history. I thoroughly loved learning about it, yet still have a lot more to discover. We were able to see a lot of the places that served as the government centers including Nanjing and Beijing. (this is at Tiananmen Square)

Go figure there are a whole lot of Chinese people in China. And we stuck out like nobody's business. We got so many requests for pictures that I'm certain if we had charged 10 yuan per picture, we could have funded someone's China trip :)

We took two sleeper train rides through the country and saw beautiful vistas like this rice patty out of our windows for much of it!

Wow. That' s how I would sum up the terra cotta warriors. The portion that has been unearthed is amazing itself, but did you know that this is a mere fraction of what experts believe Emperor Qin Shi Huang's complete tomb consists of? It's incredible to fathom.

These wonders of the world were just as their status indicates-- awe inspiring. The Great Wall of China definitely qualifies. It is so much steeper and taller than I imagined, as well as in much more rugged terrain as it scales very steep hills. It is awesome to imagine how it was built hundreds of years ago-- all 3,000+ miles of it!

Aside from bedbugs (which we unfortunately experienced), cicadas were the insect bane of my existence. They were so prevelent in Xiamen that there was always a constant hum. Luckily, Chinese women have the custom of carrying umbrellas and that was useful to shield the mystery drips from the trees. On their backs is how I wanted to forever remember them :)

China is a beautiful country and one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever seen is Guilin. It was once underwater, which formed the amazing mountains. We took a cruise down the Li River and got to take in this gorgeousness for 4 incredible hours.

The food was... interesting. We definitely all had bouts with everything that can be categorized as "stomach problems." This is Jennica, Heather C, and I in front of a restaurant-- not an aquarium as you may have thought. Our foot-high ice cream cones is more of a tourist fare on Gulang Yu, but I thought the combo was a good one.

I thought the food merited two pictures. Any guesses to what is on this plate? At first we thought some creature from the sea, but alas, it is a platter of duck tongues. No need to even ask-- heck no I did not try it!

We had some great tongxues (classmates) at Xiamen Da Xue! This is my project team: Talia, Sweety, me, and Juliette. We had a lot of fun outside of class too with movie nights, KTV, and learning Tai Chi.

We literally pretty much lived on the beach. While it's not one you would probably opt to swim in, it was gorgeous and we enjoyed many a walk and tandem bike ride along the boardwalk.

In sum, I am so happy to have had this chance of a lifetime! Who'd have ever thought I would go to China-- not me! My time there definitely broadened my perspective of the world and I have a new appreciation for my Mei Guo life.

Chi Guai (That's Weird)

Day 4: We still have not ever taken a watch with us on any of our adventures (which has been kind of liberating when not stressing about not knowing what time it is), but we’re having the time of our lives. So, today we got into the elevator and a Chinese couple made fun of us thinking we couldn’t understand them and they were right…..about three of us. Sarah turned to them and asked them in Chinese where they were from. :) Their jaws dropped a little bit, it was pretty funny!

Then we walked to the Hong Kong Temple from our hotel. It is closed for cleaning until tomorrow, but it was neat to walk around the grounds and enjoy the courtyard (Jerusalem courtyard-ish feeling). It was a nice 45-minute walk up Waterloo Road. It was neat to see the road change from busy markets to more of a residential and school zone. The temple was beautiful!! It seems different to me than the official church picture-- much smaller and a little different color-- but it is gorgeous. We also saw the stake center/ chapel being built across the street. It is supposed to be done and dedicated within the next couple weeks.

Then we went to a massive monastery with 10,000 Bhudda statues. It was pretty amazing. We walked up about 1,000 steps (again in the humidity). There were so many life-size Bhuddas lining the walkway. Some looked like Satan, some like Dumbledore, some like Magellan, some with very distinct Indian flare. We went to a whole bunch of different courtyards, saw lots of burning incense, gifts of fruit, etc. One room up at the very top had at least 10,000 small Bhuddas just in one room. They were doing construction at the top so we had to go down to hike all the way back up to another area. We also saw a family of monkeys jumping off a hut into a tree (pretty sure this is my first time seeing a monkey not in captivity-- pretty cool). It was HOT! We tried to hike up to a cemetery up at the top of the hill, but it got a little jungly and slippery and muddy. We didn’t see any other tourists at all and thought it would be best to turn around.

There was a mall near the metro stop, so we got McDonalds soft serve ice cream cones. They have never tasted more delicious. We have stopped at home to refresh from the hot day and then our plan is to go see the lights of the city and the light show across the Hong Kong Harbor tonight!