Day 21 & 22: Orientation & Making Friends

Thursday was an awesome day because of the fact that it was my Graduate School Orientation at UMBC. I was really excited to go and make friends. It started at 2PM, so I wanted to get there around 1:45-ish to make sure that I would make it in time so I can mingle and try to make friends. I really want to make friends at UMBC since everyone that I knew graduated. I know two people one is working full time and the other is in his own Ph.D program... so yeah. I am trying to make new friends especially with the people in the Education Program.

I got there around 1:45PM, I thought it started at 1:30... so I thought I was late, but I checked in and got my name tag, I got papers and a drawstring bag from the GSA. I waited for the campus tour, but no one wanted to talk to me. I also realized that my last name was not write on the name tag. It was "Truing" so I went to the check in and asked whether this was a permanent thing. They apologized and said that they copied it from what I wrote my registration sign up. So it was me. I wrote my own last name wrong. After 25 years of having the same name, I still can not manage to write my last name correctly. Life Lesson: Always proofread everything you type, especially your name.

The orientation was great, I needed up meeting a few people and wanting to be more involved with UMBC's GSA. I met a few people in the Education Program, which was great. I even gave someone I met there a ride home. It wasn't until we got to my car that I thought, "I don't know this person very well. They could murder me." So I brought my cell phone to the front just in case. I think have a stranger danger problem, the problem is that I don't have stranger danger. I believe in people and the good within them. Luckily, the person I took him was a nice guy nothing bad happened and he even friend requested me. I panicked a little over nothing. Am I the only one that does this though? I want to help people in need as much as I can. I have been trying to be as nice as possible and I feel like sometimes that is crazy hard.

Friday was a very fun and chill day. I started to get ready to go home for the weekend. I was able to work at Brickz for Kids that day too. We were teaching Robotics which was super cool. The kids made a claw and programmed the claw to open and close. It was really interesting. I was talking to one of the instructors (who is 17 years old) who told me that I need to get a hobby and stop working so much. I told him in order to get a hobby I needed money. He suggested instrument, cooking and streaming TV. I laughed at the last two since I need to cook to survive as I stream everything. I guess when you are 17, you don't understand the struggles of life and there is the cushion of your parents and of home. Oh yeah, he even asked me if I was going to go clubbing. I SUPER laughed at that one. Hilarious. I wish I was back to being 17, I miss it.

After work, I made plans to eat Bon Chon with a sorority sister from Dallas who was in town for a residency interview. She didn't have a car and was in Downtown Baltimore so I offered to pick her up before we got dinner. Young met us there and we ate a large combo of soy garlic and some spicy with two orders of fries and kimchi. It was delicious. I got a coke since I knew it was going to be a long night of driving. After we went to Shilla's Bakery to get some dessert, but we were all too full to eat it. So we just sat and chatted. It was nice.

Today, MLK day, I went grocery shopping with my cousin Vicky to get a reign on my spending. I am happy to day I only spent $30 on a weeks worth of food. I was really proud of myself. I think she did really help me and the fact that I am not spending that much time at the house this week since I will be going to Georgia over the weekend.

Day 18: Why do my groceries end up costing so much?

I woke up around 10 since we had a late night of watching the Raid 2 and I had to facetime with my brother at like 10AM. The movie didn't end until like 1AM, my housemates were super tired after we were done watching. They seemed to like it.

I woke up to no real food that was good for me. So I made Shin Ramen Black with an egg (yolky) and a cup of kale. I then added some kimchi for more veggies, Sriracha, and lemon juice. It was pretty delicious. It just came to bite me in the butt later, much later. It was not pretty. Young actually came home and found me in the bathroom. Ramen retaliation. I love spicy but spicy does not love stomach.

I started to wash my sheets and clean my bathroom. I tried cleaning it with a dryer sheet since on Pinterest I saw that it would cut the cleaning in half. It was like the same but my bathroom smelled awesome and I didn't have to scrub since the dryer sheets were scruffy.

After showering, I went to Safeway to go shopping, and from my previous post, my groceries ended up being $118. I got about 43 items. I got lemons, tater tots, green beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, italian seasoning, string cheese, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, greek yogurt, hummus, cucumbers, baby carrots, berries, sweet onion, chocolate chips, brownie mix, cupcake liners, cool whip, frozen broccoli, chocolate sauce, oreos, sausage, panko bread crumbs, ground turkey, red wine vinegar, parsley flakes, chicken, and steak.

I think I get too much, I need to work on how much I get since I feel like I am sharing my food, which I don't mind. But I need to work on getting food for just me. But I feel like that is a selfish thought. I just need to work on actually getting things I need for that week. I think I need so much but in the end I only use about half of it.

After I put the groceries away, I started to work on making turkey meatballs which was going to be by meat for a couple of days. I used a large mixing bowl to combine ground turkey, italian seasoning, egg, salt, pepper, panko bread crumbs, cheese, cayenne pepper, garlic, and onion powder. I used my hands to make balls and baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

I don't think the cheese was a good idea since it oozed out. But they came out great and can be added to any pasta sauce. I like using tomato sauce with it. I also made about a liter of pesto sauce as well to finish off what was left of my kale in the refrigerator. I put the extra sauce in the freezer to save for a later date.

Young invited me to go to Zumba at Gold's Gym with her coworker. It was a ton of fun, this was the first Zumba class I took where instructors were white. It was fun, there were little to no Asians like I am used to at other Zumba classes. We even talked about going to an Xpose class that is free for a trial since it is a pole class.

We came home and realized that we left our IDs at the gym so we had to go all the way back to gym and get it. So we didn't get home until about 9 and started to finish making our dinner. We decided to watch Big Hero 6 while we ate. Young was able to finish making her food first, so I let her eat first. Once my stuff was done which was pasta, red sauce, and meat balls, I sat with Young to watch the movie. I forgot to turn off the stove, luckily Hyman caught it and turned it off. I didn't know at all. He didn't say anything to me until I asked though, which I thought was weird. I would have told myself something a long the lines of: "Hey Dummy, learn to turn off the stove!" Yeah I apologized a lot for almost causing a fire. I am just not the smartest. Life Lesson of the day: Always turn off the stove. 

Day 7/8: New Year's Eve Party

I came back to the house on the eve of New Year's Eve aka December 30th in the evening. Thank goodness my housemates were home because I had so much stuff it was like I was moving again. I brought a printer, my clean laundry, two pots, wok pan, two crates of clementines, case of Honey crisp apples, six water bottles, instant noodles, over the door hooks, laundry supplies, Ziploc bags, Sperrys, L.L. Bean boots, and Chromecast. I brought all these things back, but totally forgot important things like: trash can, sharpies, dry erase markers, and the most important thing I forgot was my laptop charge. As I am writing this, I am on 22% and going down. I am willing to risk it to update the blog.

I am so thankful for Young who helped me carry all my stuff in and organizing it in the kitchen. Hyman helped me bring the stuff from the living room to the kitchen. They are both great for helping me carry my things into the house and around the house. Hyman, Hyman's lady friend, and Young hung out in the kitchen for about an hour talking about our Christmases and mutual friends. Around 11PM, Hyman's lady friend went home and we continued talking until about 2:30AM. It was nice, I feel like they missed me.

On New Year's Eve, I woke up around 11AM. Young and I made plans to work out, go grocery shopping, and prepare for friends coming over for New Year's Eve. I started cleaning my bathroom when Young came upstairs to see if I wanted to work out. We did Turbo Fire's Fire 30 and a Daily HIIT work out that she had. It was intense, I am started feeling sore by that night. My legs were heavy and sore. After the work out, we got ready to go shopping at Safeway, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the liquor store.

I made a list of the groceries we would need for the tacos for our potluck party and my groceries for the week. The total for the groceries was $150, I really need to start rethinking what I need for food and stop buying like I am feeding a family. I am feeding me. At Bed, Bath, and Beyond we got cookie sheets, liquid measuring cup, and cooking utensil rest. I love those 20% coupons from BB&B, they never expire and you can use as many as you want during your purchase.

Around 5PM, Young was hungry and cooked us some lunch. As she was doing that I was prepping for the tacos by dicing the tomatoes. I was going to shred the lettuce, but as I was opening it I realized I bought cabbage instead of iceberg lettuce. So I had to go back to the store, which I did after making chocolate chip cookie batter. Young was nice enough to come back with me as I picked up bell peppers, cumin, and the much needed lettuce. It was about 7PM when we got back from the 2nd shopping trip. The guests were coming by 8PM, so I needed to get into gear cooking the tacos. Young made guacamole for the first time and she did a great job. The taco bar seemed like a great idea, I think that everyone enjoyed it and we have supplies for another taco night if needed or a burrito night. This was my first time making tacos. They all seemed to like it, I wish I gotten more taco sauce to mix in with the ground turkey.

We had about 4 people came over. They brought pasta dish, pie, and alcohol... lots and lots of alcohol. They seemed to like the tacos and pasta. It was a chill night of talking, listening to music and watching the TV once it was midnight. I didn't turn the TV onto the right channel so we didn't see the ball drop.

I kept making a joke to Young about how when it was 12:01AM everyone had to go, but they actually did leave by that time minus one closer friend. She stayed until about 2-3AM. Young and Lacey (our close friend and sorority sister) forbid me from cleaning the taco bar since they wanted a midnight snack. It took me and Young about an hour of on and off cleaning to get the kitchen back to where it was. It didn't seem like there was a party at all.

I hope that you all are having a great new year. Are you guys making any resolutions or goals? I am going to make goals for this year, but more about that tomorrow.

Day 5: Why Do Chipotle Patrons Touch My Hair?

I woke up around 9 and stayed in my room until about 10AM because I thought Hyman's lady friend Sarah was still in the house. I was actually a little excited for her to be around since I was going to have company throughout the day and I wanted to get to know her better. I heard that she was really shy and because I am clearly not I thought I would be able to break her of her shell and be friends. Sadly, she left around 11:30PM- 12AM the night before, I had just not heard because I was sleeping like a bear apparently.

After wondering the house for her shoes and pizza remains and coming up short, I started to cook some breakfast. I was going to make oatmeal, eggs, and bacon; but I thought I used way to much of the shared eggs. I think within the week I used 4-6 and there had been 10 before I started using them. I didn't feel right using them since I haven't contributed much to the community food which is eggs, bread, and now milk. I added the milk, but that was about it. Instead of a complex breakfast, I made udon out of laziness and curiosity, I wanted to see the taste difference if I cooked it purely on the stove top and now in the pre-packaged bowl. I liked it better stovetop way. As I was watching the Simpsons and eating, I received an email about my appointment to be fingerprinted by the Howard County Parks & Recreation Department which supports Brickz for Kids. The confirmed the appointment and provided me the address of where I need to go. I rushed to clean my pot and bowl, and rushed to shower. I didn't have time for make up or bowl drying my hair since it was 10:50 AM and the location was 20 minutes away.

The fingerprinting process took about 20 minutes, LaShae was really nice to me and we talked during the whole process. She told me that the results would be sent within the next couple of weeks.

After I had time to kill since it was only about 12PM, so I thought going to Bed, Bath & Beyond to look for oatmeal containers would be a good idea. The BB&B closest to my house in Severn is the one attached to Arundel Mills Mall. Wow, was it packed on Friday at noon. I could barely find parking, and the mall was so crowded. I ended up getting a container, scooper, and a candle for the kitchen. Sadly, the container does not even fit all the oatmeal that I have.

I started to wonder around the mall since I wanted to go to the Disney store. I haven't been in one for about 2 years, I didn't know which direction it was in so I thought it would be good exercise to walk around the whole circle that is Arundel Mills. I got suckered into talking to the Dead Sea Deja Vu II kiosk people. The guy was really nice, I don't remember where he is from but I know it is French and English speaking country. The company sent him to Arundel since he has been doing so well within the company. He has "expertise in skin care and health." He was a nice guy, I love/ hate the scrub products since they make me feel disgustingly dirty when my dead skin comes off. He told me to never use make up, I replied that I had to or I would look like a child. I am awful at these high pressure sales situations. I am terrible at saying no since I don't want to hurt people's feelings, and I am so easily conned. I am definitely the person calling into QVC or infomercials to get the newest and most innovative product. This sales associate was practically giving the product away to me since the price went from $200 per product to $100 for 4 products he used on me. I kept telling him that I could not since I could barely afford groceries and I did not have a paying job. He finally let me walk away when I promised to come back after I get a paying job and asked for his business card.

After that 20 minute encounter, I avoided all kiosks and almost all human interaction after that. The longer I stayed in the mall the more I realized I had no money to purchase any of the things that I wanted. But I wanted to circle back to my BB&B entrance. I was in the mall for about 2 hours, I didn't have to be back to the area for another 3 and couldn't stand being in the mall area, so I went home.

When I got home Young was already home from work, I was ecstatic for company. I said, "Young?" I didn't realize that she was trying to nap, but asked her if she wanted to watch Ultimate Spiderman. She did! We talked and snacked on Honeynut Chex and Cheez Its for about an hour and a half. I started to get sleep and offered for us to take naps and watch again after I get back from my dinner plans. She seemed down for it and sleepy too.

I took about an hour nap before my cousin called me to make plans for me to come over on Saturday around 3PM after I babysit and go home for Christmas week. I looked at the time it was around 4:30 and meet time was 5PM. It only takes about 8 minutes to get there so I took my time getting out of the door. I was meeting my college roommate of three years, Kathleen to catch up since I hadn't seen her since August/ September time. She was stuck in traffic so I didn't mind waiting. When we are together we reminisce, tell jokes, and talk for hours; this is the second time we have stayed at a restaurant until close. She is also currently living in a similar situation: in house with two other roommates (her's are just both female), the house owner is passive aggressive, and she gets along with both of them. We are paying around the same amount too. Somewhere in the middle of the dinner rush and our conversation, someone in line started to lean on the booth I was sitting on and leaning on my head. From their extra weight my head started to go forward, I started busting out laughing and Kathleen made jokes about how he wants to touch my hair. I wish I could say this is the first time someone has done this to me at this exactly Chipotle, but I cannot. Apparently people love my hair here and want to touch it.

I had been craving fruit and veggies since I moved in, so I went to Safeway to pick up a fruit cup, Suja juice, Chewy bars, and two boxes of Honey Nut Chex since Young and Hyman seemed to like ti so much. It is pretty sweet that 1. I found the Safeway (not Shoppers) and 2. that it is open 24 hours.

I got back to the house around 11PM, Young scared the crap out of me, and then we went upstairs to bother Hyman. Hyman was napping off his food coma and drinks from his holiday party and I was telling them about the man who was touching my hair at Chipotle. We migrated to the kitchen island and started talking (mostly me) about engagement rings, my college roommate's living situation, hemorrhoids, and dating situations. Hyman was making notes of everything I would hate in a man so he could "troll." He wants to tell the potential suitor that I really love everything I hate like a naked guy in only socks. Just why? But this conversation lead to me admitting to him how I was scared the night before of possibly hearing him and his lady friend having sex and how I didn't know how to react to the situation. But since he is going to troll me, I thought him I am going to get those New Year's popper and make a since like "YOU GOT IT IN!" and high five him and then girl the next morning. He did not like the idea. We stayed up until about 2AM talking but Hyman had to work the next day and I had to babysit at 9AM, so we went to bed.

What are some good troll/ prank ideas for housemates? I need ideas!

Day 2: Getting My Frak Together

Yesterday was a day full of... confusion and a mess.

I woke up from very little sleep due to a tow truck honking and honking at people. I went to bed at 2AM and woke up at 8AM. I think that it is going to take me some time to get used to the noises in the neighborhood. I might have to get ear plugs because last night was awful too, getting very little to no sleep.

I started off my day realizing that I have little to no food, and no food that would work well together. So, I had to eat instant noodles.

I spent couple hours looking online and playing around until about 11AM. I went in search of my furniture that I ordered online. I got a 4 cube organizer and a desk. They were super heavy, since I was already there I got moisturizer, batteries, body wash, and night cream. I really needed to get toilet bowl cleaner, and bathroom cleaning supplies, which I totally forgot about. I hate going to Walmart since it is always super crowded and full of WT's. So, I wish there was a Target closer to me.

After Walmart, I went to Shoppers down the shopping plaza, I thought my roommates shopped there all the time. So I thought it would be a great place for me to get some food. It was not... there was little to no food that I wanted, it lacked variety. But I managed to get some essentials: almond milk, cheese, pasta sauce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, yogurt dip, cottage cheese, cereal, pizza rolls, and greek yogurt.

I came home put the groceries away, and start to build my 4 cube organizer shelf. It took me about 20 minutes to get the parts out of the box, only to see that there was no instructions. So I had to call Walmart Customer Service for them to email the a PDF of the instructions. I put it together... kind of... there was two screws that would just not fit in the holes, they were a little off so I decided not to put them in..

I waited for my housemates to come home. I had a little snack of carrots with yogurt dip and some pizza rolls, while enjoying season 4 of CSI: NY. Young didn't come home until about 5, when she came up to my room to see how I was doing. So I asked her if she wanted to hang out by going to Target. She was down, so we spent about an hour touring Target. The trip helped establish my infinite love for Target, and how it was definitely worth the trip.

I got my cleaning supplies, Cheez Its, Velveeta Shells & Cheese, and Telestrations for my housemates. Young (my female housemate) got a bird, some organizer baskets, and a candle. We came home to enjoy some dinner. She had a nice dinner, while I was too lazy to cook so I had Velveeta Shells & Cheese with pizza rolls.

After dinner, we loaded up the Netflix to watch Marvel's The Avengers, which Young has never seen. Before we started the movie, Hyman came home to show off his "ugly" sweater which was pretty nice and eat dinner as we watched the movie. Young was really into the movie which was hilarious. The movie is pretty amazing anyways, and hilarious. Here are it's funniest moments via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXdYlKu3qZ0 

It was our first house bonding activity with me now that I moved in and it seemed to go well. I think they might not be ready how much time I suck up, and how needy I am.

But I ended the night with some Adventure time, bed time routine and facetime with my mom. I hit the hay around 11-11:30PM, and it didn't feel like it was enough.

Day 2 was wayyy better than my first day, way less embarrassing. What will day 3 have for me?