| | Art, Hiking, and RatatouilleSo, on the first Thursday of the month, bunch of my friends from small group went to Laguna Beach Art Walk and looked at some art pieces while drinking free wine. I had a nice ol' time, as we took our time really soaking in the artwork. It is always fun when you're not trying to see everything or rush anything. Trying to "see" everything, as opposed to "experiencing" is generally a common touristy attitude. I was reading this book (which I had gotten a while ago for $2 at Borders) called The Best American Travel Writing 2001." It generally said that we often go to another place (let's say, another country) purely as a consumer. We don't go there to learn or to "live" how people live. We often bring our junk with us and look at everything with our own set of "glasses," if you will. We go there to be entertained, not to discover. Downside of that is that you will usually come back tired and not very well rested. In fact, it probably was stressful. And, since you spent money on the trip, you feel a need to get everything out of the trip, which is understandable. I guess this would mean that the first thing you need to do is to not spend too much money on traveling. It could also mean not spending on expensive hotels or only hanging out in touristy places. Anyways, the book was saying that it's often about changing of one's perspective. It's also said one will notice how much similar people really are. Although that idea particularly wasn't overly applicable since I didn't particularly go to any place far, just hanging out with friends and soaking in the atmosphere was rewarding just from the social aspect of just hanging out within a different context (wherever that may be). As for the artwalk, it was good. I also did other things throughtout the month, such as a preview hike at Palomar Mountains, close to San Diego. Soaking in nature is also quite good.
Laguna Beach Art Walk
What made this art walk more pleasant than the previous ones were probably the fact that we took our time and knew we could be happy just seeing few things, but enjoying it.
 This is a two-floored nifty little museum.. |  Good breakfast places around here... |  Feeling the waves.... |  Hmmm... she looks available... |
Palomar Mountains....
This was a preview hike for the actual hike that's coming up on the fourth week of Saturday. I went with Dan and Dave to take a look at the trails first. It's a common thing we do for the hiking group so we know what to expect. Earlier this year was that big fire in this area, but it has grown back quite well so it's been looking good. It's noteable that the script for the comic I was given takes place in the forests, so this was a good way for me to take reference photos. As for my comic-on-the-side thing, it's purely based on percentage of profit, so I'm drawing it more for fun and experience than payment (for now).
 | This cedar is supposed to be 100 years old or so.. |
 Plenty parking over here... |  When I see stormdrains, I think of Stephen King's "It" |  The lake is extremely serene... |  There used to be a big fire early this year... |  Always go with people in the woods... |  Eating at Pat & Oscars in Temecula |
Making the French Peasant Dish
There was a housewarming party (Sharon and her hubby) to attend to, so I felt a need to make something a bit more unusual. As it turned out, I wanted to make something French again, and so, I decided to go for something of a recently popular French peasant dish.. Yes, it's none other than Ratatouille. One has to note that the Ratatouille that was shown in the Disney animation is actually a variation of the actual dish, which is normally not eaten by itself, but it's often used as part of a sauce or stew. Nevertheless, I had to try making it if only for the educational purpose to know how it tasted in real life. As it turned out, I noticed the real flavor is in the ingredients used. It tasted almost like a pasta sauce, but fresher and complicated. Quite interesting. I made sure all the vegetation (it's a vegetarian dish) were of good quality and they were bought from Whole Foods.
 Ingredients I used... |  Egglant grilled with garlic, then zuccini overlayed.. |  Then multiple layers of tomato, peppers, and cheese |  Cooked in the oven for 45 minutes or so... |  And, thar she is.... |  And, happy b-day to the birthday gals... |
 With the leftover ingredients, I used it for next day... |  ... for my Curry!!! |
 | I always go home for lunch between office hours... |
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| | Posted 3/17/2008 12:24 AM - 10 comments
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