sacha chua

I invited myself over to Quinn Fung's place for dinner. <laugh> She had a mac and cheese casserole, so I prepared chicken breasts marinated in red wine vinegar. I didn't get to marinade them for long enough, I think, but I could taste a bit of the tartness of vinegar. It worked out pretty well. I wonder how white wine vinegar would work with it?

I splurged on the Joy of Cooking book yesterday, and this was the first time I used it. The basic recipe for sauteed chicken breast called for the chicken breasts to be lightly salted, peppered, and floured. I added rosemary, too. I browned some butter and mixed in some olive oil on a skillet, then added the chicken breasts and cooked them for four minutes on one side at medium-high heat. Then I flipped them and cooked them for another three minutes. I was worried that I might've burnt the chicken because it was a bit black, but it turned out nice, juicy, and cooked through.

Level up!

Quinn's place is pretty nice. I like high ceilings. We had a lot of fun chatting after dinner, too, and she gave me several ideas for a few parties I'd like to hold sometime.

On Technorati: cookordie, cooking

Tags: cooking, cookordie by Sacha Chua
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I just picked up my mom's care package including pretty earrings and a wonderful, wonderful, scribbled-on notebook with dedications from my friends...

I feel so loved!

On Technorati: loved

Random Japanese sentence: ジャックは小猫を小脇に抱えている。 Jack has a cat under his arm.

Tags: loved by Sacha Chua
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Mike Tsang and I went to the Mediatheque at 150 John Street to see the International Dance Day Film Festival. Unfortunately, we only caught the tail end of the films. It was interesting listening to the artists talk about their work, though.

The Mediatheque is a totally awesome place. I watched a few animated shorts and experimental films. Mike made sure I watched Ryan, a deep piece about a famous artist who ended up as a Montreal panhandler. Excellent use of computer graphics to tell a very thought-provoking story.

I'll go back there by myself to watch some of the longer, deeper pieces. Mike searched for all the Philippine-related things, and I'm particularly looking forward to the documentary about Filipino migrant workers. Television can be somewhat insipid, but these on-demand documentaries, experimental films, and archived footage are certainly worth spending time on.

It's amazing, what's available for free...

Random Japanese sentence: あの猫をごらんなさい。それはブラウンさんの猫です。 Look at that cat. It is Mr. Brown's.

Tags: Uncategorized by Sacha Chua
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Written on 2006.04.23:

My laptop is in my bag. My power charger is in Toronto. Or at least that's the only conclusion I can reach, because. it's. not. in. my. bag.

And I _thought_ I double-checked that! Just because it's not in its usual place doesn't mean I packed it properly. A charger in hand is worth two in the dorm room.

I will get a lot of letters done this week. Okay, what are my choices?

• Stick with original plan. Go home on Sunday. Adjust my hotel reservations and check in Friday. Pro: More time to see Montreal. Con: Will feel guilty about research.
• Move plan back one day. Check into hostel Th night, check out Saturday, take train, work Sunday on paper.
• Leave on Thursday with everyone else. Cancel hostel, cancel train. Save lab money, save personal money, don't get to see Montreal. Don't feel guilty about research. Get to computer faster. No prob carryig stuff or getting home.

If I'm going to do this, I can do Montreal sunrises. Then I can return to Montreal when the weather is better, possibly with friends.

Okay. That sounds like a plan. Cancel hostel booking, cancel train booking after I talk to Shen.

Tags: Uncategorized by Sacha Chua
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Found this on the Toronto Linux Users Group mailing list. From Jonathan Coulton: CodeMonkey.mp3.

Sheer hilarity. I love geek music.

Tags: Uncategorized by Sacha Chua
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