Concise, distinct thoughts

I put up an away message today with a concise summary of my thoughts and plans for the evening. Each thought or plan formed one short paragraph-like statement, and it seemed like such a tidy way of summing everything up:

i could use a cool glass of prosecco, but i’m warm enough as it is.
must do at least something productive for a while.
then must study for chinese quiz tomorrow, and get started on numerous other things.
let’s hope erik’s idea of a “time journal” will help me keep better track of where all my time goes. i might be overcommitted, but i also can’t give up any of my present commitments. so better time management is going to have to save the day (semester).

Then I realized it reminded me of Jaycine’s style. As a normal working adult as well as a busy new mom, maybe Jaycine has managed to find the most suitable style for quick but thorough journal updating. I don’t want to appropriate her style, but I envy its expediency.

However, I have been letting updates pile up lately.
Side note. I have just saved a very small bug from drowning in my cereal and soymilk. I lifted it gently out of the milk with my spoon and placed it on my napkin, where after a quick flutter of its wings to rid them of liquid, it flew off.
So, a quick summary:

Spring break
Spring break was good, too short. I went home for most of it, baked two beautiful cakes and broiled probably $30 worth of fresh wild salmon from Lunardi’s, did a lot of shopping but bought just a birthday present for Jennifer and a new pair of dance tights for myself, saw Sophie, did no school work at all.

Weekend
Erik and I bought and cooked beautiful food: tomato pasta sauce with veggie meatballs, creamy potato-leek-mushroom soup, pesto that was gritty the way I like it. Brilliant Erik also came up with a great way to help me get my time under control: a time journal, into which I write down everything I do, whenever I remember. Already it has motivated me to do Chinese homework after seeing that I wasted two-plus hours “tidying my desk”–playing Magic Inlay and cleaning the desk in between rounds!

Yesterday Erik and I went to dinner with my family at Caffe delle Stelle, as an early celebration of Shra’s birthday (7 April). I had crabmeat tortelloni again–not on purpose–and a nice glass of prosecco. Daddo didn’t like his beef, and Mommy said her lamb shank was just okay, but Erik and Shra liked their halibut and artichoke raviolis, and Al’s ziti baked in puff pastry was savory and yummy. Affogato for dessert was great again, but I didn’t think the semifreddo matched it. So if you ever go, just get pasta and the affogato.

Oh, and Erik is lovely because he knew a food term I didn’t. The restaurant provides pitchers of sparkling water to every table, but Erik and Al didn’t want sparkling water, so Erik asked the waiter if they could have some still water instead. I wouldn’t have known to ask for it that way.

After Caffe delle Stelle we went to see The Lion King, which was truly creative, much better than I expected. It’s playing at the Orpheum (which is across the street from Civic Center BART, how much easier can it get?) until September, so there’s no excuse to not see it. Erik and I plan to go at some point (he didn’t go to the show last night, just to dinner).

My family doesn’t like cities. They say they’re smelly and dirty and full of guaning: strange people (Shanghainese). Though my parents grew up in Shanghai and lived in San Francisco for years, after so much time in suburbia, they are now, by their own characterization, shangwuning, country bumpkins, alternately embarrassed at their own suburbanness and disdainful of the city. Shra takes their side, though there might still be hope for Al. 😉 Actually, my family is very classy and does fine in any setting as long as they don’t get to thinking of themselves as shangwuning. Mommy is, after all, the one who taught me that you can do anything and go anywhere as long as you act like you’re supposed to be there doing it. Anyway, these days I like cities better than anyplace else, at least to live in, so I can’t agree with my family’s opinion of cities.

currently: going to start my Chinese homework as soon as I write in my time journal what I’ve been doing

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]