For some reason, I’m always in a hurry, or at least, I like getting lots of tasks done as quickly as possible. Needless to say, I have that mantra when it comes to preparing meals. There are days when I’ll humor myself by making pie crust from scratch, and there is never a day when you will catch me using canned pasta sauce. Anyway, the point is I like things fast, and it’s even better when I have the ability to multitask. That’s why this version of tiramisu is one of my favorites. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and at least about an hour to set/ refrigerate, leaving you time to run errands, study, go to class… you get the drift.
Ingredients:
8 oz. mascarpone cheese (1 container)
8 oz. Cool Whip (1 tub)
2 large tablespoons Nutella
24 lady fingers (1 package)
100ml Baileys (1 Baileys Mini)**
1 ½ cup espresso or strong black coffee
1 or 2 Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips (optional for shaved topping)
Directions: read more…
For those who are unfamiliar with the LSAT, it is essentially made up of 5 sections: 2 logical reasoning sections, 1 reading comprehension section, 1 logic games section, and 1 unscored experimental section. So by doing a little simple math, logical reasoning makes up 50% of your score; if you do poorly, then you’ll be SOL (no law peeps, not statute of limitations…)! According to PowerScore’s Logical Reasoning Bible, the most difficult type of problem within the section is the assumption question. Granted, your particular exam won’t have an entire section dedicated to assumption questions, but it’s still an integral question type to grasp because other question types build upon assumptions, i.e. weakening and strengthening questions, but I digress…
The basic task of an assumption question is to bridge the gap between the evidence and the conclusion, and you’re probably thinking, “Well, gee, how can it be that hard? We already do that almost every minute of the day!” It’s true, thus making it difficult; the difference between the LSAT and real life is that in real life we don’t have to figure out the purpose of the author’s argument or understand his mindset; we’re usually our own authors. Additionally, in real life we usually don’t have to deal with concrete evidence; facts can change.
Let’s take a look at this ridiculous scenario as an example: read more…
Mandarin Monday was started to help me remember the Chinese I was regretfully slowly forgetting. By informing others and writing about vocabulary, phrases, and grammar along with tidbits about Chinese culture, I hope to not only relearn the language but also help others learn as well. I welcome questions and criticisms if you find that my grammar is incorrect; contact me in comments or my e-mail: ssliu@uh.edu. Thank you!
I’m going to interrupt our scheduled programming (survival expressions and questions to ask for and on a date) to bring you the MANDARIN MONDAY HOLIDAY EDITION! Sorta. I dropped the ball and forgot the Christmas sayings, but there’s always next year!
祝你新年快乐!
zhù nǐ xīn nián kuài lè
祝 wish 你 you 新 new 年 year 快 乐 happy = I wish you a happy new year!
“Happy” is a two-character word. In Chinese, there are a lot of joint words like this. Sometimes, each word will mean something completely different if standing on its own. For example, 快 means “fast,” and 乐 is typically associated with “music.” I guess in this case, if you like mnemonics, you could say fast music makes people happy? Or fast music is generally associated with happy things? Haha you get the idea; I quit. read more…
Mandarin Monday was started to help me remember the Chinese I was regretfully slowly forgetting. By informing others and writing about vocabulary, phrases, and grammar along with tidbits about Chinese culture, I hope to not only relearn the language but also help others learn as well. I welcome questions and criticisms if you find that my grammar is incorrect; contact me in comments or my e-mail: ssliu@uh.edu. Thank you!
大家好!
dà jiā hǎo!
Today’s lesson is a continuation of last week. To schedule appointments and be punctual for them requires you to know how to tell time, right? read more…
Mandarin Monday was started to help me remember the Chinese I was regretfully slowly forgetting. By informing others and writing about vocabulary, phrases, and grammar along with tidbits about Chinese culture, I hope to not only relearn the language but also help others learn as well. I welcome questions and criticisms if you find that my grammar is incorrect; contact me in comments or my e-mail: ssliu@uh.edu. Thank you!
大家好！很久不见。
dà jiā hǎo! hěn jiǔ bù jiàn.
大 big 家 family 好 good 很 very 久 long time 不 no 见 see = Hello everyone! Long time no see.
Actually, it’s not that long; it’s only been a week. Last Monday, I left off with introductory greetings. The next few lessons I will go into more basics, such as places and numbers so you are able to keep those appointments you scheduled throughout your week! Today’s lesson: Numbers and Dates. read more…
Since the summer, I’ve been researching Chinese environmental laws, and I came across a few documents that were only available in Chinese. After a few years studying Chinese in high school and college, I was frustrated that I was only able to read a few sentences without the use of a language translation dictionary, and even more frustrated to realise that there were some words in the files that I should have known because I had already learned them in school!
So I need to brush up on my Chinese writin’/ readin’ skillz, especially considering my future career plans… And since I learn best when I’m teaching or discussing what I know with other people, I thought I could do it through this medium and call it Mandarin Monday.
I’ve come across a lot of other sites that teach several lessons of basic Chinese, complete with pinyin, vocabulary with sentences, and pronunciation audio files. I’m not sure how I want to go about utilising/ handling Mandarin Mondays yet since this is a rather impulsive decision, but I would appreciate feedback and welcome any questions. My e-mail is ssliu [at] uh.edu for anyone who wants to contact me privately.
Sidebar: I am using simplified Chinese for a variety of reasons; the most important one is that it’s less difficult to write, if you choose to practice doing so. Besides, most people learning the language nowadays (excluding Hong Kong students) are using simplified characters anyway. There was also a recent article about simplifying the already simplified, but I’ve misplaced the bookmark, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Without further ado, I present a lesson in Greetings. read more…
Just look at this ridiculous piece of garbage for an advertisement. I cannot even believe this bullshite of a program/ website exists for public consumption. Don’t ask me where I came across it because I have the memory of a goldfish, but if I remembered, I would link it here. Truf. Anyway, there’s several reasons why this advertisement makes me angreeee: 
First, there’s absolutely no respect for privacy. Understandably with the current state of technology, everything on the internet is pretty much public forum, and there’s no expectation of keeping anything hidden. Even if you decide to post something anonymously, if the content is the slightest controversial, people will want to know who is behind the mask. But seriously? Pin-pointing a person’s approximate location is taking a bit too far, don’t you think? For Creepazoid who wants to know who you are, they can get your home and work addresses, names of family members, and any telephone numbers that may be linked to you, possibly including mobile phone numbers. A few key strokes and a click of a mouse on Google gives you a wealth of information, and to know that one of those listed phone numbers can let said Creepazoid come and find you? I don’t know. Maybe I’m more than a little paranoid, but there are people who actually put in that much effort.
Second, it says “See where your boyfriend REALLY is!” With the acknowledgment of the GLBT community, most Americans still link “boyfriend” with “girlfriend.” It’s basically directing this at women. And let’s just get this straight – women are not the only ones who want to check up on their significant other. Women are not the only ones who can be possessive and clingy and emotionally insecure. I have known more than my share of men who cannot handle their emotions, whether it be sensitivity or jealousy or something else.
Third, “See where your boyfriend REALLY is!” is practically putting a loaded gun into every not-sure-about-their-relationship person’s hand. Just type in your SO’s mobile number to find out if so-and-so is cheating! Having the fear or suspecting your partner of cheating is not, most of the time, because he or she is actually doing the deed. However, it does signal that there is a problem in your relationship, and you need to discuss this with your partner instead of playing mind games with yourself, contemplating every possible option in the universe. Because at the end of the day, your guess is just that… a guess. Constantly feeding into your fear with a multitude of hypotheticals is not going to resolve your issue.
Fear is conjured because you don’t know and cannot control the results. Fear is conjured because you are unsure of yourself. And if you’re letting this fear of being cheated on gravely tempt you into checking out and actually using the product this image is advertising, your focus is SERIOUSLY in the wrong direction.
I think this is actually the very first time I am posting a Fashion Friday post ON Friday. Unfortunately, I am not updating with more rules and ideas on what and what not to wear. Instead because I am SO PUMPED about my birthday pubcrawl tomorrow night and because I’ve tweeted about my event outfit and what to do for my outfit at least five million times in the past couple of days alone, I thought I would let you know what I’m gonna roll out with. (Isn’t the kitty so cute? I likes da lolcat kitties..)
The following gallery of pictures basically make up the outfit I’ll be wearing tomorrow evening. If you click on the individual photos, there’s a ‘description’ of where I found it and the price. If you click on that description link, it will take you to the web page where you can purchase it! Then you’ll notice little snarky comments I made on every piece – how it differs from mine, how mine is more awesomer, etc etc.
Before you go on your merry way to explore the awesomeness that is my birfday suit, this spicy black number was a contender… until I tried it on in the dressing room. Ladies, BEWARE. This thing is mofo’in omg see-through like whoa!
You’ll notice that I didn’t add a necklace or earrings to this set. Because my dress has a detailed, beaded neckline, you’d want to stay away from necklaces at all costs because that beadwork will ultimately become your necklace. As for earrings, I ended up with a mid-dangle earring because I didn’t want it to clash with my neckline necklace. Something like this would definitely work.
Anyway, of course I will post pictures of the ensemble later! But next week, I’ll return to our regularly scheduled program. 
Have a great weekend!
Three months ago, I was losing my mind at an incredible rate. Think about how fast bacteria spreads. Then multiply that times infinity. I was drinking at least one cup of coffee or a Monster/ Red Bull a day. I didn’t sleep until 1am, even though I had to wake up at 8am the next day. (I know, I know.. What a retard, at least you still get 7 hours a day! Yeah…) My skin was suffering horribly from the stress and lack of sleep and the horrible diet. I actually lost some of my precious strands of dark brownish/ auburn hair because I was going insane over the LSAT.
Then it was as if some kind of lightning struck my brain to where it made me nonchalant about the whole matter. Three weeks before the exam, I was reviewing questions, but it didn’t matter as much to me if I had gotten a few of them incorrect on the Logical Reasoning sections. Throughout the remainder of the time before and during the test, I was completely calm. I was in a state of numbness.. A disconnect. Perhaps even apathy.
It’s been three weeks since the LSAT, and throughout that time, I was just cruisin’. I was happy to be done with that horror – for now. I caught up with some long overdue telly episodes. Read a few chapters of the books I had laying around my place. Went out with my friends every other night. I’ve been having a grand ole time, really. Until this week. Because we were going to get our scores back. So was that strange, semi-quiet period just a calm before the storm? I feel exactly the same way I had four months prior. There were rumours going around that we’d get our results back today, and I’ve heard that some indeed have gotten their’s back today. LSAC listed they’d be available on Monday, but a lot of people are crossing their fingers for tomorrow.
I’m not sure if I want to cross my fingers. Because I’m not sure if I want to know my score… What if I do get the dreaded 130 and have to relive that nightmare all over again?
I had originally wanted to debut a new ‘Reviews’ series into my blog because just like everyone else I have opinions about this-or-that band/ movie/ book. I was going to start with discussing this awesome music genre and leading to a review of my weekend spent in Austin for Austin City Limits, but obviously that’s not happening tonight. Instead, you’ll get something I’m going to call “Things I’m Feelin’” because it’s not really a review; it’s more like shining a light on certain things I’m particularly diggin’ at the moment. So without further ado…
Every once in a while, we get impressed by something produced in the entertainment industry. We watch the pilot episode of a telly show, think it amazing and wait as long as a month or more to finally witness the premiere. Then there’s the song you hear on the radio. A single where you can definitely move your hips along with the beat, or if you’re super rhythmically challenged like most people I know, you can at least bob your head up and down to the sound. It’s so wonderfully orchestrated, you think, or this dude’s rap is so intense and so sick that you have to see what the rest of the album is about; you can’t wait to get your hands on the album when it comes out in a few days on iTunes. read more…
