So it's been way too long since I've posted on here. So sorry! To be honest, I've forgotten about this blog. Crazy huh? Well, I have my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites, then I have a blog for a class that I maintain a whole lot more frequently than this one (kkino708.edublogs.org).
Nevertheless, I graduate in 43 days! So hopefully once December comes, I'll be posting more regularly.
Just wanted to say even though this blog has fallen off the face of the earth, I haven't. Yet.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A column that never really became a column
As young children, my mom never wanted us to use the word “hate,” because of its strong and negative meaning that, as youngsters, we probably wouldn’t fully understand. So my siblings and I learned to say that we “didn’t like” something instead. That worked for a little bit, until I realized there were things that I could truly hate.
One of those things is casseroles. I absolutely hate casseroles.
When we were growing up, my parents had this philosophy where each of us kids had to try everything set before us—twice. Yes, not one bite, but two. This mild form of torture was supposed to ensure that we weren’t letting our mind say we didn’t like something before our taste buds told our brain it really was okay. That was probably a good rule to establish, and I’m not a picky eater today thanks to this philosophy, but everyone in my family knows when it comes to casseroles, I really struggle to get my fork up to my mouth.
My mom is one amazing and talented cook, so thankfully, casseroles do not make it onto our dinner table very often. Most of my experiences with casseroles have been either at potlucks or friends’ houses.
It’s always amusing to see the variety of casseroles—chicken and rice casserole, chicken and pasta casserole, green bean casserole, tuna casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole—the list could go on and on about all these one-dish-mix-it-all-together-mystery-meals.
You may be wondering exactly what types of casseroles I hate. Basically, any combination of creamed soup, meat, veggies, cheese or bread crumbs that is then assembled into a Pyrex pan and left to bake itself to death in the oven, or “until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.”
I never understood why one would concoct such a meal. I’ve heard it’s a good way to use up all those leftovers from the week. In my family, we still eat leftovers, but never in the form of casseroles. I’ve also heard it’s economical. Well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but I think there are plenty of other food choices that would be just as appealing to the checkbook as they are to the palate. And then finally, I’ve heard it’s quick. However, zapping something in the microwave for a minute sounds much quicker to me than waiting for a casserole to bake an hour at 350 degrees.
But before you conclude that I’m simply and ungratefully rambling on about food I don’t like, believe me when I say that I’m thankful for all the food that is set before me—I’m just trying to find a way to be thankful for something that I hate so much.
Kalyn Kinomoto
Column
Spring 2009
One of those things is casseroles. I absolutely hate casseroles.
When we were growing up, my parents had this philosophy where each of us kids had to try everything set before us—twice. Yes, not one bite, but two. This mild form of torture was supposed to ensure that we weren’t letting our mind say we didn’t like something before our taste buds told our brain it really was okay. That was probably a good rule to establish, and I’m not a picky eater today thanks to this philosophy, but everyone in my family knows when it comes to casseroles, I really struggle to get my fork up to my mouth.
My mom is one amazing and talented cook, so thankfully, casseroles do not make it onto our dinner table very often. Most of my experiences with casseroles have been either at potlucks or friends’ houses.
It’s always amusing to see the variety of casseroles—chicken and rice casserole, chicken and pasta casserole, green bean casserole, tuna casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole—the list could go on and on about all these one-dish-mix-it-all-together-mystery-meals.
You may be wondering exactly what types of casseroles I hate. Basically, any combination of creamed soup, meat, veggies, cheese or bread crumbs that is then assembled into a Pyrex pan and left to bake itself to death in the oven, or “until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.”
I never understood why one would concoct such a meal. I’ve heard it’s a good way to use up all those leftovers from the week. In my family, we still eat leftovers, but never in the form of casseroles. I’ve also heard it’s economical. Well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but I think there are plenty of other food choices that would be just as appealing to the checkbook as they are to the palate. And then finally, I’ve heard it’s quick. However, zapping something in the microwave for a minute sounds much quicker to me than waiting for a casserole to bake an hour at 350 degrees.
But before you conclude that I’m simply and ungratefully rambling on about food I don’t like, believe me when I say that I’m thankful for all the food that is set before me—I’m just trying to find a way to be thankful for something that I hate so much.
Kalyn Kinomoto
Column
Spring 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
What was that again?
My entire family is indecisive. The end. All my friends know just how indecisive I am. I've written a column about it. I've written a blog about it. This is my SECOND blog about it. This plagues me and my family everyday. Someone, please help!
Latest instance . . .
Day: Friday
Topic: Mini family vacation
Issue: To go or not to go.
Who would think a mini vacation would be so hard to discuss! It was Friday night after all (yes, make that 10 p.m.) and we only have until Sunday morning for this little vacay. My response from the very start was this: "I don't care, just make a choice and tell me to get in the car." Now, I had to argue this point in my column too, but this "I don't care" statement is not said in any attitudinal way, but clearly I-DO-NOT-CARE!
So sitting on the couch with this little family discussion. Where should we go? Do we get one bedroom at the hotel or do we get one bedroom studio at the hotel (is there that much of a difference)? Do we go to Portland, Seattle or Bellevue? Do we want to just chill in the hotel or go do something in the city? By this point, I was on Facebook chatting with friends.
Verdict made! Finally. Except now it is 11:30 p.m. I run upstairs to pack up, and because I didn't know what I wanted to wear for the next two days, I pack a week's worth of clothes. Great. Anyway, done packing and went to the car. Sat there for a good bit. I guess my family is a bit slow at packing, too.
We decided on a hotel in Bellevue (midway from my house to Seattle). Very nice hotel and very nice that our stay is free. Nice room, one bed, one pull-out, a kitchen, flatscreen, views, etc.
Next problem: battle of the snorers. This room is nice but kinda small (studio, remember?) so the parents' bed is directly across from the pull-out, only baracaded by the TV. Both parents and the little sister snore. I finally fell asleep after spending the night planning my road trip for later this month. Thankfully I was tired enough to stay somewhat asleep throughout the snoring.
Anyway, so this mini vacation with half the family has been fun so far. Well, I guess except for the fire alarms going off in the entire hotel this morning due to someone's ignorance of learning how to properly toast bread. Yep, burnt toast sent the entire hotel in an evacuation mode. Fun times!
Latest instance . . .
Day: Friday
Topic: Mini family vacation
Issue: To go or not to go.
Who would think a mini vacation would be so hard to discuss! It was Friday night after all (yes, make that 10 p.m.) and we only have until Sunday morning for this little vacay. My response from the very start was this: "I don't care, just make a choice and tell me to get in the car." Now, I had to argue this point in my column too, but this "I don't care" statement is not said in any attitudinal way, but clearly I-DO-NOT-CARE!
So sitting on the couch with this little family discussion. Where should we go? Do we get one bedroom at the hotel or do we get one bedroom studio at the hotel (is there that much of a difference)? Do we go to Portland, Seattle or Bellevue? Do we want to just chill in the hotel or go do something in the city? By this point, I was on Facebook chatting with friends.
Verdict made! Finally. Except now it is 11:30 p.m. I run upstairs to pack up, and because I didn't know what I wanted to wear for the next two days, I pack a week's worth of clothes. Great. Anyway, done packing and went to the car. Sat there for a good bit. I guess my family is a bit slow at packing, too.
We decided on a hotel in Bellevue (midway from my house to Seattle). Very nice hotel and very nice that our stay is free. Nice room, one bed, one pull-out, a kitchen, flatscreen, views, etc.
Next problem: battle of the snorers. This room is nice but kinda small (studio, remember?) so the parents' bed is directly across from the pull-out, only baracaded by the TV. Both parents and the little sister snore. I finally fell asleep after spending the night planning my road trip for later this month. Thankfully I was tired enough to stay somewhat asleep throughout the snoring.
Anyway, so this mini vacation with half the family has been fun so far. Well, I guess except for the fire alarms going off in the entire hotel this morning due to someone's ignorance of learning how to properly toast bread. Yep, burnt toast sent the entire hotel in an evacuation mode. Fun times!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Book Review
So those of you who have known me for any length of time know that I do not find reading to be a pleasurable experience. Well, I've been trying to change that. Not because I have so much time on my hands (although, I guess I do), but rather because this journalism thing has been good for me and you know what they say--in order to write better you need to read other people's writing.
This summer I've read five books (this is when Kara gasps, right?!). The most recent was "True Grit: Women Taking on the World for God's Sake" by Deborah Meroff. This is not a light read, in terms of content. It covers the personal stories of many women around the world, who for the sake of the Gospel continue to fight the good fight. Some of the stories and statistics were disturbing. Statistics on child trafficking, arranged marriages, abortions, etc. These statistics are very real, but it just seems unreal that things like this still occur at such enormous proportions in other parts of the world.
I've been blessed to live in America, I know that. But reading this book made me appreciate my life more. It made me think: even though I don't agree with everything in my family, at least I haven't been sold off to some stranger, never to see my family again. It made me think: even though sometimes I get tired at work, at least I can work a "normal" day. It made me think: even though sometimes I don't approve of our government, at least I don't feel like I have to run for my life to escape (yet).
When I first read the book, my initial thought was, "Man, there are lots of spelling errors in here!" But then, I looked at the copyright and it was from the UK . . . so many of the common spellings in our stylebooks are done differently. After I got over that, I enjoyed the read.
Overall, good book filled with serious content.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Bite of Seattle really did bite
So it was the long-anticipated day of my summer: The Bite of Seattle. I've been looking forward to it all summer because it is a festival involving lots of food, fun and sun. We planned to go right after church today and spend the day there before heading back north for church again tonight. This was truly an adventure and I almost cursed out my steering wheel. If this blog entry doesn't explain anything, just know that I realized today I'm very persistent. I really, really, really wanted to go to The Bite, and we eventually got there.
Bad thing #1: I forgot to charge the camera battery, so in the middle of church I plugged my charger and battery into the wall outlet in the nursery (I had planned to charge it while I was on nursery duty during Sunday School, but alas, I forgot to do that). We left church and got on the freeway before I realized I forgot to take my charger and battery out of the wall. No camera. Great. So we decided to come home to use Dad's camera. Problem solved . . . kinda.
Bad thing #2: Horrible traffic. Nobody had to tell me there would be bad traffic, but there was SO much traffic. We were going to park at my grandparents' house and take the new Link Light Rail down to Seattle Center, but we thought we'd try a parking lot closer to the Center. Bad idea. Circled around multiple blocks multiple times.
Bad thing #3: Low on gas. Yep, I didn't realize we were so low on gasoline until we got ourselves lost. Read on.
Bad thing #4: Lost in Seattle. This has never happened to me before--I've never gotten myself lost in the city before but today I got myself completely lost. I made ONE wrong turn and ended up on a road (Aurora) that has no option to turn around. So from Downtown we went . . . driving, driving, driving. More driving. We passed over Lake Union. We passed Queen Anne. We passed Woodland Park Zoo. We passed Shilshole Bay. We passed Ballard. We passed Phinney Ridge. We passed Green Lake. I knew we were going the WRONG way, but there was no way I was going to turn around and find which way we were supposed to go. I thought for sure there would be a freeway entrance soon. I was very wrong. I have no idea what road we ended up on, but it EVENTUALLY got us to somewhere in Seattle and I spotted a sign that said "Seattle Center." Wonderful! Finally (like 1.5 hours later, finally). We followed the sign and eventually saw the Space Needle in near distance. You see, if you can spot the Space Needle in some sort of eye-shot, you can normally find your way back to Seattle Center.
So finally after we got back to Seattle Center, the parking lot had some spaces open (the whole mess we got into started after the parking lots all said "full" posted on signs). We paid the $12 to park then we walked across the street to the festival. Finally!
We walked around through the mobs of people and scouted out places we wanted to try. The weather was really hot, so there were lots of people out and about everywhere. We tried some fried calamari with Greek sauce. It was great! Then we stood in line for some Filipino BBQ chicken on a stick. Again, very yummy! We made our way to the Snoo booth. I'm on this kick for frozen yogurt, so we had to get some. Also good! We took advantage of the free water stands and kept walking. Snapping pictures here and there. You know, it's the Asian in me to snap pictures of everything (especially the Space Needle). Our last stop was this Vietnamese stand where I got some fresh spring rolls. They were pretty good, not as amazing as I thought they'd be, but not horrible. I wanted to go all-out and try lots of things, but I had to remind myself that I'm trying to pay of a school loan so I can't be spending tons of money.
Overall, it was a good experience. I was really ticked on the way there and especially when we got lost. I'm definitely doing this again, but hopefully next time we can go with friends. And note to self: I am NOT going to park near the Center next year. Metro, here I come!
Bad thing #1: I forgot to charge the camera battery, so in the middle of church I plugged my charger and battery into the wall outlet in the nursery (I had planned to charge it while I was on nursery duty during Sunday School, but alas, I forgot to do that). We left church and got on the freeway before I realized I forgot to take my charger and battery out of the wall. No camera. Great. So we decided to come home to use Dad's camera. Problem solved . . . kinda.
Bad thing #2: Horrible traffic. Nobody had to tell me there would be bad traffic, but there was SO much traffic. We were going to park at my grandparents' house and take the new Link Light Rail down to Seattle Center, but we thought we'd try a parking lot closer to the Center. Bad idea. Circled around multiple blocks multiple times.
Bad thing #3: Low on gas. Yep, I didn't realize we were so low on gasoline until we got ourselves lost. Read on.
Bad thing #4: Lost in Seattle. This has never happened to me before--I've never gotten myself lost in the city before but today I got myself completely lost. I made ONE wrong turn and ended up on a road (Aurora) that has no option to turn around. So from Downtown we went . . . driving, driving, driving. More driving. We passed over Lake Union. We passed Queen Anne. We passed Woodland Park Zoo. We passed Shilshole Bay. We passed Ballard. We passed Phinney Ridge. We passed Green Lake. I knew we were going the WRONG way, but there was no way I was going to turn around and find which way we were supposed to go. I thought for sure there would be a freeway entrance soon. I was very wrong. I have no idea what road we ended up on, but it EVENTUALLY got us to somewhere in Seattle and I spotted a sign that said "Seattle Center." Wonderful! Finally (like 1.5 hours later, finally). We followed the sign and eventually saw the Space Needle in near distance. You see, if you can spot the Space Needle in some sort of eye-shot, you can normally find your way back to Seattle Center.
So finally after we got back to Seattle Center, the parking lot had some spaces open (the whole mess we got into started after the parking lots all said "full" posted on signs). We paid the $12 to park then we walked across the street to the festival. Finally!
We walked around through the mobs of people and scouted out places we wanted to try. The weather was really hot, so there were lots of people out and about everywhere. We tried some fried calamari with Greek sauce. It was great! Then we stood in line for some Filipino BBQ chicken on a stick. Again, very yummy! We made our way to the Snoo booth. I'm on this kick for frozen yogurt, so we had to get some. Also good! We took advantage of the free water stands and kept walking. Snapping pictures here and there. You know, it's the Asian in me to snap pictures of everything (especially the Space Needle). Our last stop was this Vietnamese stand where I got some fresh spring rolls. They were pretty good, not as amazing as I thought they'd be, but not horrible. I wanted to go all-out and try lots of things, but I had to remind myself that I'm trying to pay of a school loan so I can't be spending tons of money.
Overall, it was a good experience. I was really ticked on the way there and especially when we got lost. I'm definitely doing this again, but hopefully next time we can go with friends. And note to self: I am NOT going to park near the Center next year. Metro, here I come!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Whoever said it rains 90 days out of the year in Seattle was . . .
on crack! Seriously.
It does not rain 90 days out of the year here, but even if it did, it rains normal rain--none of that sideways, monsoon or flash-flood stuff. And the rain here is refreshing. Laugh if you want, but it's true.
Just a couple of weeks ago, our attempt at breaking the most recent no-rain-streak ended at 29 days. Not bad, huh? This week has been in the high 80s and sunny!
So for all you who are skeptics about visiting Seattle, come! Just believe me: it doesn't rain all the time. And we don't use umbrellas . . .
It does not rain 90 days out of the year here, but even if it did, it rains normal rain--none of that sideways, monsoon or flash-flood stuff. And the rain here is refreshing. Laugh if you want, but it's true.
Just a couple of weeks ago, our attempt at breaking the most recent no-rain-streak ended at 29 days. Not bad, huh? This week has been in the high 80s and sunny!
So for all you who are skeptics about visiting Seattle, come! Just believe me: it doesn't rain all the time. And we don't use umbrellas . . .
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Independence . . . from what?
Today is the 4th of July--everyone knows it. But as I hear the continuous bursts of fireworks around the neighborhood and think of the BBQs and various other events of the day, I wonder: have we gotten away from what this holiday really means?
Do we really show our patriotism when we spend our three-day (or four for some) weekend blowing up fireworks, stuffing our faces with more food than some people will ever see in their lives, and spending time with our family and friends? Sure, I love doing all of the previously mentioned things, but really, does that show patriotism?
What am I celebrating? I need to remind myself that even with problems in society, with a government I might not agree with, with various family issues, that I am blessed to live in America.
So tonight, when the big firework shows begin, I'm going to try and remember why we really celebrate.
Do we really show our patriotism when we spend our three-day (or four for some) weekend blowing up fireworks, stuffing our faces with more food than some people will ever see in their lives, and spending time with our family and friends? Sure, I love doing all of the previously mentioned things, but really, does that show patriotism?
What am I celebrating? I need to remind myself that even with problems in society, with a government I might not agree with, with various family issues, that I am blessed to live in America.
So tonight, when the big firework shows begin, I'm going to try and remember why we really celebrate.
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