yesterday on NPR, they were claiming NYC area was in a heat wave...hello, it's 90 degrees. 90 degrees in NY in the summer is very normal- it's odd, every year the definition for a "heat wave" seems to get lower. i remember a heat wave was 100 or above when i was a kid; maybe it has to do with the proliferation of AC. i know my housemates are all totally intolerant of the heat, while i am perfectly fine with a fan. they all grew up in houses with AC, while my family didn't bother getting AC until last year, and that was for our dog. still, it's kind of dumb to call around 90 a heat wave when the average temps in july are usually around 85!
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it's my birthday this week! yippeee i'm going to be incredibly old...a quarter of a century O_o  it will be interesting because it's my first birthday since i moved out...i wonder how bad my mother will be this year. (i have gotten things like 18th birthday card for my 20th birthday =__=  )  my birthday coming around is always slightly depressing since my grandfather died...me, my dad, and my grandfather have/had our birthdays close together, and me and my grandfather would often celebrate our birthdays together. i will just have to drink something in honor of him & lead everyone in a round of "zicke zocke zicke zocke hoi hoi hoi"
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i just finished the book "Napoleon's Buttons" which was totally awesome and has given me a bit of renewed interest in chemistry! there were so many interesting things in the book : 3

so it's long time no see, xanga land.
almost dying can sometimes be distracting...but i am still alive, though sans an organ. i didn't really want that organ anyway, but the emergency operation and the ensuing hassle of dealing with the horrors of flushing hospital were quite unpleasant.
lucky i've recovered enough to get cleared by the actually competent new doctor i saw to go on my vacation to puerto rico! ^_^  next time you see an entry from me, it will be full of picture of the lovely Caribbean! weeeeee! i am so excited to go on my first vacation in 8 years, and i actually get to go with two of my good friends which makes it even better >: D
all in all, today was a good day even if i accidentally spilled mutagenic dye on myself at work and had to strip off my shirt and wear my sweater in the heat wave and even if my extremely rude korean neighbors were extremely rude yet again today. why such a good day? because i leave for puerto rico in less then 2 days!!!!!
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i hope matt and james don't burn down the house while we're gone T_T

somehow i ended up at the giant nerd festival again this year...at least it's always amusing seeing the nerds running around in their costumes. except for the morbidly obese ones who think they should dress up as sailor scouts, and make you regret eating anything at all, and it never fails that there are some! (luckily i hadn't eaten yet!)
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this weekend ended up being pretty gastronomically oriented for some reason, but that's OK...went out with Ryan to this out of the way Thai place and got some of their delicious curry. i still haven't been able to figure out what they add to their curry that makes it taste so much different (and better!) from everyone else's. sadly our pleasant meal was marred by the fact that someone we despise was sitting at the table behind us, what an unlucky coincidence. the nice thing was he still looks really shitty ehehe ;)
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anyway, after i ran away from the nerds, i went home and ended up watching food network, which is a dangerous thing for me. i ended up making myself roasted garlic & asparagus tossed with peppercorns and tomatoes, fresh ciabiatta with chèvre, and endives with chèvre, candied walnuts, and balsamic vinegrette.
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then my greek informant called me for a sting operation in Astoria for a first-hand look at OTB greek culture. the galaktoboureko (a custard pastry) was as delectable as ever, however my first greek/arabic coffee..BLECH! the silty texture was not for me, so my spy gave me her frappe ^_^  my operative brought me to astoria park to examine the currents there, but sadly we had no evidence to dispose of in the fun currents.
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today i had the awful chore of washing my laundry and the 10 blankets on my bed, so i fortified myself with some french toast w/ strawberries, and vanilla almond tea. (if you haven't tried it, you should!) i made ryan some salmon & lemongrass soup, spicy sweet green beans, and peanut curry potatoes for dinner, and a tri-citrus gold cake to cheer him up because his back was hurting him. at least it kept me entertained while i was doing all that laundry (and i am still not done)
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tomorrow i am doing the final inspection at an apartment in northern queens...hopefully everything goes well, because i really would love to move out and get some well-deserved peace and quiet. the apartment seems nice from ryan's desciption- across from a park, by the water, driveway, hardwood floors, and a yard. wish me luck!