My Trip to the Courtroom

In the past, I didn't really fight traffic tickets because 1) they're usually speeding ones and numbers don't lie, and 2) I never thought it was worth it. But when I got a tix last fall for not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, I had to attempt to fight it because that would have been point #2 on my record. Yes, 2 points, I know. I got a speeding tix by Venice and Crenshaw back in fall 07 (it was a speed trap, grrr) and did traffic sch for that, then in summer 08, I got another speeding tix on 101N (up by SLO) where 65 is the speed limit (I was going 80 while Jerry was napping). Now that we've established my terrible track record for getting caught, let's move on to violation #3.

I take the same route to work everyday and while there are crosswalks, there are rarely pedestrians. So picture this: I'm going northbound in lane #1. Southbound, both lanes have steady traffic. At the west end of the crosswalk there's a frozen yogurt place. People like to hang out there and eat their treats. So one day, I'm driving through the crosswalk and I get pulled over for not yielding to a fat lady with ice cream. (My words, not the officer's.) He says that since I was the first one in the intersection, I should have stopped. Bleh. There's no point in arguing. Plus I'm not sexy enough to flirt my way out of it. So I took my tix and went on to work.

Fast forward to when I got the letter telling me how much I owe. It was $189, which isn't too bad compared to other tix, but since it was going to be a potential point #2, I had to fight it. Jer's cousin recommended using ticketbust.com. I don't recommend it. They are hella unprofessional and uncommunicative. Also, the defense they wrote in my favor was really weak. There was also alot of confusion with due dates and the court not receiving my payment. They were going to fine me $600 bucks! I was pissed that ticketbust neglected to update me, leaving me to figure out everything on my own. When I called them to get my refund back (since my written was denied), they said they were going to give it a second try, this time by trial. So I guess they did the paperwork for me, but I had to prepare for court on my own. They didn't even bother to tell me when my date was and how to prepare for it. If they had a yelp listing I would totally leave them a bad review. I gave them $150 bucks plus a $100 court filing fee. What a waste, I'd recommend doing it on your own. Don't go for a middleman, no need.

Okay, anyways, now fast foward to the night before my court date. Jerry was really helpful in doing printouts for me to show my case. The plan was to demonstrate that with me being in the NB lane, I can't always tell if someone has an intention to cross. Plus, if he/she were planning to cross, then the cars in the southbound lanes need to stop first! Since I saw the SB lane traffic going through steadily, I didn't think she was going to cross. Plus she was busy eating. We had google maps pictures and everything!

So the morning of I showed up along with everyone else. Quite a few officers were there too, I was so nervous while trying to scan the room, hoping that I wouldn't see my officer. Some ppl were really prepared like me, others had no idea that they should have prepared anything. Some people had an attorney or lawyer (I dunno the difference?) show up on their behalf. At first we're all outside in the waiting area and then they finally have us file into our respective courtrooms. There's alot of waiting inside too, this is a great time to people watch, but if you were nervous like I was, then you'd be flipping through your notes constantly and silently rehearsing in your head. So the clerk brings the paperwork in and after that the judge comes in. The judge that I had was a really nice and smiley lady. Not at all mean looking or intimidating. She had on lots of chunky jewelry, a bright colored top under her robe, and beach hair. This whole time, officers kept coming in and I kept hoping mine wouldn't show up. FINALLY, she does roll call. It's nervewracking b/c officers could come in anytime and if they do, you're hosed. The judge calls your name and then calls out the name of the officer. If she calls your name and your officer is not there, you're free to leave. If she calls your name, and your officer is not there in the room, but is there in the building, the security person will alert her, and you're still hosed. Soooo, before she called my name, she had called other ppl who had the same officer as me. LUCKILY, he hadn't shown up...and when she finally called my name, I seriously let out the sighs of all sighs of all reliefs. He wasn't there. (But he sure likes to pull people over. There were at least half a dozen other people before me with the same officer and who knows how many after that!) Needless to say, I didn't bother to find out.

And then I drove to work.

And then I got my refund.

And that my friend, was my trip to the courtroom, or how I escaped hiked insurance premiums.

Anyone else able to beat their tix?

Scoops Ice Cream

I've heard this place for a while now and finally I got a chance to try it. Sooo HYPED!!!!

Hmm, kinda pricey...the flavors better be good.

Colorful, but I like Yogurtland spoons better.

Hmm, basic flavors...not really unique. You can see cookies n cream, pistachio, chocolate, etc. I was looking forward to some of their combination sorbets such as peach/pink grapefruit, and flavors such as thai iced tea, almond honey, etc. I was disappointed in reading the signs for some of the flavors only to find out that they were sold out. It was also only 3pm in the afternoon and the hours were 12pm-10pm for that day.

But it was a hot day and we had just done a hike so I wasn't really picky. The brown bread flavor was good. I don't remember anything else.

I'd say this is a skip. I would actually prefer Fosselsmans over Scoops (b/c the couple times I've been there they didn't run out of flavors) and I'm not even a huge fan of that place either. My all time favorite place is the Chinatown Ice Cream factory, but that's in NYC. (The black sesame ice cream is DELICIOUS!!) But now that we have our own ice cream maker, I'm looking forward to concocting our own interesting flavors. Entries on that later!

Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

(parking sucks b/c its next to LACC)

What's your fave ice cream place? Any unique flavors u love?

Scammers

Jerry's mom is trying to get rid of a rug so she put an ad on CL, complete with pictures.

She got a response:
From: terry douglas <terydouglas@gmail.com>
Hi,
Thanks for the quick response and I will be happy to make an outright payment for the Item. Kindly get back to me with your name and address so as to get your check sent out and i will have my mover pick up from your location as soon as we are done with the payment.

Terry

Luckily, she emailed us before giving away any contact info. Lots of red flags came up- the person didn't want to look at the rug before buying, "terry" is spelled differently in the email address, "outright payment" sounds shady, capital "i" for Item, etc etc. We told her it sounded like a Nigerian scam, or maybe that person wants to scope out the house to rob it later on. Totally shady!

Jerry's funny:
mom, this guy is a fraud. i think he's a nigerian scam dude. i emailed him "hi terry" and he responded back with the same generic form letter. just ignore him, or unless there's someone you really hate you can give terry their address.
Jer

Anyone else with scammer experiences?

A recent one comes to mind:
http://consumerist.com/5133625/no-you-should-not-give-nigerian-scammers-150000-to-claim-your-inheritance

Umami Burger

Simple and small menu, I like not having to sit there for 15 mins b/c I can't decide what I want!

Jerry's special, I forgot what was in it but he really enjoyed it

The fries were excellent...I think if you pieced them together, it'd be the size of a whole potato

My triple pork burger. Tasty. Not to be consumed everyday.

Time for a nap!

The fifth taste.

Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 931-3000

www.umamiburger.com/

Pricey, but a pretty tasty treat. I'm a bit too old to be eating such rich foods all the time, but I was pleased with this joint and will recommend it to anyone who's looking for a diff twist on a burger. This place is not that great for large groups. Their lot is small but La Brea has plenty of metered parking. Has anyone else been to Umami Burger? Thoughts?

Another mile"stone"

Hehe, I know that's kinda lame. But I'm excited to say that we finally picked out a loose diamond (after seeing many through the sarin machine, the hearts and arrows viewer, and of course the loupe), and designed my setting. I'll blog about the experience of getting to design it in more detail as well as the specs after I um, get it (which is up to Jer, ha!). We are going in to see the wax mold next wk, but I don't anticipate making any drastic changes. Very exciting!

Here's a cute story about the place we went to though:

The owners are brothers and they have this dog that likes to roam around to greet customers, or to just chill on the sofa. When we came in for our appt, she was walking around, chewing on this bright pink rubber toy shaped like a ring. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her! It was super cute and so appropriate for the type of setting we were in.

Lemon Tart

I finally conquered my first lemon tart! My cousin gave me a whole bunch of lemons which smelled so fragrant, mmm! I used a recipe from my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook which I love. I was getting tired of googling recipes and getting a zillion diff versions and not knowing which one to choose. Sometimes, I just like having a simple and tested recipe which I can later adapt other ingredients/techniques once I get the basics down. This lemon tart is a great example.

Ingredients (not all is shown)
For the crust you'll need:

• 1 egg yolk, large
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 tbsps butter, cut into pieces, chilled

For the filling:

7 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup lemon zest
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp heavy cream
pinch salt

To make the tart crust: Whisk together egg yolk, cream, and vanilla.

It will look like this!

If you have a food processor, mix together flour, sugar, and salt, or you can mix by hand.
Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture. If using a food processor, pulse using short pulses, about 15. If doing by hand, cut butter into flour using a pastry blender or your hands. I just used my Kitchenaid, it was fine.

Add the egg mixture to the flour/butter mixture, until the dough comes together. I love that moment when dough totally comes together! :P

Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6" disk. Wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Let chilled dough warm slightly at room temp and roll out to fit 9" tart pan. Freeze the tart dough in its pan for about 30 minutes.


I like the crimpy look, hehe.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375oF. Press a large sheet of foil into the bottom of the tart, and fill with beans or pie weights. (As you can see, I used pennies, just as good!) Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and weights, bake until the crust is golden, about an additional 5-10 minutes.

While crust is baking, prepare filling. In a stainless steel sauce pan (large), whisk together eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Whisk in lemon juice, zest, and salt. Add the butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens to a thin, sauce-like consistency, about 5 minutes.

Strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer, immediately. Stir in heavy cream. (Now I finally figured out why the recipe asks for 7 egg YOLKS, and not 7 EGGS. Because all that white stuff forms. Duh!)

Pour curd into still warm crust. Bake 10-15 minutes, the center should jiggle slightly.

Transfer tart to cooking rack and let cool to room temperature.
Serve, or chill. Best if eaten within several hours. Or right away. Note to self, do not start baking projects so late because by the time you finish, the lighting will suck b/c there's no more natural light and you'll have to adjust the white balance yourself. Still looks tasty even in fake light though, huh? :P



I'm submitting this recipe to Weekend Wokking, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks to celebrate the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient. This month's secret ingredient is LEMON. The host for June is Wandering Chopsticks. Do check her blog for the lemon round up with various recipes.

"Homeless People Take a Shower in This!"

I had a really weird conversation today while walking to the Washington Monument. This is after seeing a lady pick up her dog to drink out of the water fountain:

Me: Hey that's not very sanitary! (half to the lady, half to Jer)
Her friend: You're not very sanitary!
Me: (Looks at Jerry in disbelief, what did she just say?!)
Me: Would you use your dog's toothbrush to brush your own teeth?!
The lady: Homeless people take a shower in this! (she basically screams this at our backs while we're walking down the path and everyone in the vicinity can totally hear her, haha!)

Jer and I looked at each other and were like WHAT?! Did they really say those things? And since when is it cool to let a DOG drink out of a HUMAN water fountain? That's why they invented dog water dishes and didn't make water fountains at dog level. Sheesh.

So anyways, though I really like dogs and we will probably get a family dog(s) someday, I will never quite understand why some people treat their dogs better than children. Clothing, pet insurance, and drinking out of a water fountain? Sanitary or not, lines have to be drawn.

Some People Apparently Have Too Much Time

I admit, I'm not always productive. Sometimes I do really un*EARTHQUAKE* literally just happened while I was typing! So close to us too: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.9396+-118.3378(M5.0+-+GREATER+LOS+ANGELES+AREA,+CALIFORNIA+-+2009+May+18++03:39:36+UTC)&f=d&t=h&hl=e&ie=UTF8&ll=33.9396,-118.3378&spn=1.99605,4.493408&z=8&iwloc=A

We grabbed jackets, went outside, called our mommas and then went back in after chatting with the neighbors who came out barefoot haha.

Okay back to blogging.

I was about to say that I do some really unproductive dumb things, but this has got to be one of the worst waste of times that I've ever seen:

Jeanie sent you a message.

Subject: Finding all Jeanie/Jeannie Nguyens' on Facebook

"Hi I'm Jeanie Nguyen from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. My name is like yours' except it has only one 'n.' It's close enough. I just thought of a creative idea and it's to add all the people whom share both my first and last name. Well, I guess it's sort of retarded too. I came up with this idea because there has only been one person whom shared my first name and a ton whom shared my last, I mean our name. What's great about facebook is that it enables us to find anyone. Before I add you as a friend I wanted to send you a message instead. You don't add me if you're not into this idea. It's all for fun!"

Really? You have nothing else to do but add people with your name on Facebook? As a "friend"? Totally killing the meaning of "friend."

So I actually did respond to her. I said no thanks and that I was planning on changing my name anyway. Haha. I suppose this is also a waste of time, to blog about it, but I just thought it was so ridiculous that I had to share. Facebook can be a good tool to reconnect with people, but the social networking line has to be drawn somewhere!

Anyone else have dumb facebook stories to share?

Whirlwind

1. I got a job! I'll be continuing my position at Cedars-Sinai, but on a full time basis. I feel super lucky, but I know it was also my hard work that landed me the position. Yay for health insurance and 403(b)! I actually started 3 days after I got the offer, so I had to adjust pretty quickly. I've been knocking out pretty early each night, so not that much time to visit or write blogs lately.
2. I passed comps- the final step! I officially have my degree now though the ceremony is not until June. I can officially add MPH after my name, hehe. Now I'm going to focus on paying off my loans, my goal is to avoid paying interest. OMGAWD, I'm a working professional!
3. I have a lousy commute again, but no complaints. I'm just trying to get used to driving everyday again. I've found some short cuts that do shave off some time, so thank goodness for that! I don't claim to have the worst commute though. I admire ppl who really don't have that many choices for their commute, but they suck it up and do it w/o complaints.
4. We don't want to make a habit of eating out now that both of us are working, and we don't want to make excuses for not cooking because we're too tired or b/c we get home late, so we're going to start spending some part of our Sundays stocking up the fridge for the week. I still do enjoy dining out, but exploring new joints are best left for leisurely weekends. I prefer home-cooked nutritious meals to keep me going throughout the week. I do work in a nice area with lots of restaurants, so maybe once in a while I'll treat myself to a lunch out. I've already tried Joan's On Third- pretty tasty but pricey!
5. No matter what, I will not use work as excuse for not continuing our workouts. It's so easy to fall in that trap, so I want to maintain my habits early on, while I'm still trying to establish my weekday rhythm. I'm determined to be fit for Half-Dome and all of our other outdoor adventures. One thing that I think I'm going to try is to take a short walk during my lunch break, even though it's much easier and lazier to just stay inside. I need creative ways to incorporate physical activity in my day, now that I'll be sitting at a desk for a third of my day, and sleeping for another third.
6. We are going to DC and NYC in less than 2 weeks so we need to get into major planning mode! It'll be my last vacation for a while, until I pass the probationary period and accrue enough PTO. My boss was okay with me going on this trip b/c we had booked it months in advance. I'm very much looking forward to it!

That's pretty much my life right now...once I get used to budgeting my time for various activities like working, cooking, exercising, and trip planning, we can go back to doing some more house remodeling- I still really want to stain the banisters!

This Was Just Too Funny To Not Post

(Taylor Swift's pop version of Love Story is in the background)
Jerry: I know what I want to Youtube next! A Jonas Brothers song. I've never heard of any of their songs.
::types::
Jerry: I wonder what their most popular song is?! (while humming along to Love Story)
Me: Did you find it? Are you at wikipedia?
Jerry: Yeah. (Laughs) I can't believe I'm wikipedia-ing Jonas Brothers. Okay, it's Burning Up.
::types::
Me: Do you like it?
Jerry: Hmm. (Bops his head along)

Omg, I can't believe he is bopping his head along to Jonas Brothers.

...

And is now youtube-ing another Jonas Brothers song.