| | I am taking a page from Emily's book and starting to post in a different blog. Please update your feed readers and find me here. | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment   |
| I'm leaving tomorrow for North Carolina! It's the first baby step in the trip that will end with Martin and I being MARRIED!
To celebrate, I'm going to take a page out of Emily's book and start a new blog, on a non-LJ site. Sort of like a fresh start kind of dealio. I have a lot of blogs, it seems, and I keep up with none of them. But perhaps my fresh start will inspire me. I think I'll kick it off after I'm married. :)
Everyone keeps asking if I'm excited and the answer is: yes. Period. But also very, very nervous. Not nervous about getting married to Martin, but more nervous about standing in front of approximately 110 people. I have dreams about crying ... or laughing hysterically out of embarrassment ... or radiating enough heat to turn as red as a watermelon ... or all of the above.
I am not sure how the timeline of our wedding will even work out! Martin and I aren't doing a lot of traditional things you'd see at weddings ... like having a wedding cake. Or a first dance. We'll still have desserts and dancing, but none that say "NOW look at us!" Will that affect the flow of a wedding? Will people be confused when we hand them raspberry sorbet as they ask where the somewhat-dry cake is?
Now that it's only 2 weeks away, all sorts of doubts are hitting me as to the decisions I've picked. Everything is always pieced together based on things you like ... what if the pieces don't work well together? It's sort of like having a huge band, each instrument clamoring for your attention. That's what I worry about. Will everything not make sense when added up to make a whole?
Every time I start to worry, I've been trying to take comfort in the things I have no doubts about:How wonderful and supportive our wedding party has been. How yellow and gray (my favorite color combination!) plays a big role. How excited I am about the food our caterer is serving. How, even if everything is freaking-awful at the wedding, I'll still have a fabulous end result: marriage to a wonderful, amazing man!
But I still hope people won't find our wedding a disappointing event! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| I talked to my dad the other day and he said that my uncle's chemo has been successful. YAY! :) His health has improved enough where he can once again eat solid food and has even gone back to work, which my dad said has been a great morale booster for him, since he's once again around familiar faces.
Also, Grease 2 is on Hulu. I am totally watching this and channeling my childhood. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| HEY guess what. After almost 2 years in our first place in California, Martin and I moved! It wasn't much of a move, considering our new place is a mile from our old place (so says Google Maps!). There are some things I miss about our old place but lots I like about our new place!
For example:
1- Our kitchen sink actually has water pressure now! And our sink is bigger. Dishes can now be cleaned with ease, weeee.
2- Our washer / dryer capacity is omg huge. No more washing three shirts at a time, no siree. Perhaps I will create a new sport? Speed washing.
3- There is more light, for the most part. It's probably just the sunlight we get is bouncing off the MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WHITE that is present in our apartment. Either way, I'm lovin' it.
4- Shelves in the closet. What a novel idea. I can finally fit Martin's endless collection of free t-shirts in manageable piles!
5- Kitchen appliances not from the 70's! You can actually now see the back of the fridge, thanks to the magic of DRAWERS.
6- We now live right on Mountain View's downtown strip. Coffee! And pizza! Before I can blink, if I so choose. (Oh. One day, I will CHOOSE).
And this is just what I can think of off the top of my head! True, we sacrificed closet space and my little toes freeze in the morning thanks to the hard, unforgiving tile in the hall and kitchen.
It's the little things that keep you goin'.
Oh, also I found out there's a Papa Johns right around the corner from our new place. Of course, this is completely unrelated to our new location but yay! They were always my favorite chain pizza place and for some reason, I thought they were out in the middle of nowhere (Santa Clara - ha!) with no delivery options. Turns out, they were < 2 miles from me this whole time. What pizza should I get first? Should I get it tonight? Or fro-yo? Decisions.
Also, this is unrelated as well, but I had been using a laundry detergent that touted itself as extremely eco-friendly, which I think is why I picked it even though it was way expensive compared to other detergent. I happened to be reading online that it doesn't get your whites very white. I looked at my whites and thought they looked rather fine. I mean, they were certainly whiter than, say, blue, right? Or this beige-y color I compared it to.
Then - ohmydear then - I ran out and hastily grabbed some random detergent from the grocery store that definitely did not tout itself as extremely eco-friendly. And guess what - it makes a difference. Oh, my, does it. My whites are now sparkling. The difference is clear - eco-friendly is awesome until you realize all your whites are an off-tan. Ecru, if you will.
So I guess that's been my first update in awhile. Did I make it worth it? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Security: | | | Time: | 04:38 pm | | Current Mood: |  pensive |
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| I am currently in North Carolina, sitting in my parents' bonus room watching Beauty and the Beast. I really like it when people spontaneously burst into song.
My cousins, aunt and uncle left earlier today. It was a reunion, of sorts, though the reason for the get-together was very sad. Recently, my uncle was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and the outlook the doctor gave was very, very grim. When I found out, I started crying and couldn't stop for a long time. I felt devastated. I think it was a combination of things. I felt helpless, stuck clear across the country from my family. It made me wonder how I would react if something like this had happened to my parents. I hated the thought of being so far from them, if something were to happen. And I could hear how torn up my father was. It's never a good feeling to hear your own parents crying.
Everything is a lot better now, though. They've started doing research and there is hope that it's not as grim as the doctor first thought. And it's served as a wake-up call of sorts to my parents, who were never into proactive checkups. I hope only good comes of this. I hope my uncle gets better. He can't really eat and he is so thin now. I feel like I am firmly entrenched in denial now. He will get better because he HAS to get better, no other option. I can't imagine any other outcome at this point.
So, that is why I am in North Carolina now. I haven't seen my cousin in a couple of years, at least, so it was nice to see them, though we've never been particularly close so conversation sometimes became stilted. And it's always nice to see my parents and be back in North Carolina. | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| This past weekend, Martin and I went up to Tahoe with a large group of people. I'm never a fan of the cold and even less of the idea of hurtling myself down the side of a downward sloping mountain on a device designed to move you over snow as quickly as possible, but I had a great time learning how to cross-country ski with Martin. The verdict: it's hard. And it makes you very sore the next day.
I wasn't able to make eight dishes for dinner, on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, like my mom was insisting. That'll be something for this weekend, hopefully, if I can even think of eight separate dishes to make.
On Monday, I was summoned for jury duty, it was my first time ever. I walked into the room and sat down. Then they announced that the case I was assigned to had settled, and I was free to go. Yay! Easiest jury duty, ever.
Current song stuck in my head: Poprocks and Coke, by Green Day. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Upon entering HR Block to start filling out my taxes, I was greeted with this somewhat silly message:
I also googled "assosiated" to see if that was an acceptable spelling of the word (sort of like color versus the British colour). So far, this does not appear to be the case. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| This was my favorite dance routine from So You Think You Can Dance:
I found it again on YouTube and it put a big ol' silly grin on my face all over.
And this is the song I have stuck in my head: Bang! Bang! by the Knux. I know, I know, as always, I'm 8 months behind everyone, music-wise. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| | Security: | | | Subject: | 2008! | | Time: | 04:50 pm |
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| When I look back at 2008, I will think:
- This is the year Martin and I got engaged!!!
- The election sure was interesting. To say the least. The very very very least.
- So many weddings and engagements! Amour ... is in the air!
- I traveled to Austin, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma for the first time. They were all great!
- Martin graduated! So proud of him. :)
- I turned 25, now officially closer to 30 than 20. So old.
There is probably so much I'm forgetting too. :) I am thankful as always for my family and friends.
Even though so much happened in 2008, I am so excited for 2009 because Martin and I are getting MARRIED! Yes, we just put down the deposit on Duke Gardens so everything is hunky-dory official. After we get married, everything will be so nicely spaced out:
April - Martin's birthday
July - Melanie's birthday
September - <3 anniversary <3
December - HOLIDAYS!
So you see? Nothing will ever get overlooked because each gets its own distinct month!
Also, in April, we are going to Hawaii, which I am super excited about. I've always wanted to go. We're going to Kauai, otherwise known as the Garden Island. It promises to be not too touristy and very scenic. I can't wait! If you've been, please share your must-sees. :) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I use Twitter now. Here I am! I didn't think I'd get into Twitter, but I did. I think it's because my entries here were just a bunch of random thoughts, all pushed together. But Twitter lets me post them quickly, without feeling inadequate for only having a small update. I have since learned I have a lot of random thoughts and observations. I don't even post them all on Twitter either (thankfully for most, I am sure).
Wedding planning appears to be going swimmingly!
I am having a great time being back on the East Coast. If you are in NC, let's meet up! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Matt loaned us all three seasons of Dexter and I have been watching it all. the. time. I am truly addicted. I am almost through season two and have enjoyed every delicious second. I can barely take the suspense!
Today, I bought sugar cubes for when I drink tea. I like how it's already conveniently portioned out for me. Go you and your bad self, sugar cubes!
I leave for NC next Saturday, weee! I have been trying, without much success, to line up meet-and-greets of the various places that Martin and I are considering gettin' hitched at. The three-hour time difference is one big downer.
Though I am relieved to (hopefully!) cross something off of our wedding planning list by finding a venue, I am the most excited about seeing my family and friends. I will be on the east coast for a good 2.5 weeks, though the time between Christmas and New Years will be spent up in NYC visiting my extended family rather than good ol' North Cackalacky. I think I am missing the annual New Years party this year because of it, a fact that moderately devastates me. I look forward to this tradition every year.
Christmas time is here! My very favorite time of year! Let's sing songs and drink too much hot chocolate! | | comments: 8 comments or Leave a comment |
| And since we are a-headin' down memory lane, here is a picture that Martin photoshopped while in college. He loves vintage war propaganda:
And this is one of the first pictures I ever saw of Martin's brothers, Marcus and Matt:
What do I like about it? Is it their brotherly camaraderie? Their flushed, slightly toasted expressions? The fact that they so unabashedly wear pink and purple and then pose in a picture TOGETHER?
I'm going to go with all of it.
Speaking of, the first time I ever met Marcus and Mattias, it was for Martin's surprise birthday party. Marcus came in and started talking to Martin, in Swedish. Rapid-fire conversation ensued. And, throughout the whole thing, tongue-in-cheek translation was provided by Mattias. It made me laugh. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| This is me and Martin shortly after we started dating:
I have an older picture but I look at myself in it and cringe. Ain't no one gonna see that picture for a pretty damn long time. If ever.
And this is me and Martin fairly recently:
I wish I could tell past-me things like how awesome conditioner is. And how I should have switched to contacts a long time ago. But I guess I should focus on good things instead. :) Like how Martin has always been there for me and how relatively stable and relaxed our relationship has been. So I will!
The night Martin proposed to me was one of the happiest moments of my life. I hope I can always remember that giant burst of joy I felt when he pulled the ring from behind my back. It was like my heart was exploding, filling my whole body with shiny beams of warmth, and I couldn't do anything to hold it back.
PS. As I was sorting through old photos, here is something I found:
I apparently am a virtual pack rat as well. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| Excesses of Halloween candy got to Martin and we spent our Sunday holed up in our apartment. Martin did boring coding stuff and I cleaned, cooked and washed clothes. If you asked who was the most productive, we would each vote for ourselves.
Crazy to think Election Day is only 2 days away!
Does anyone watch How I Met Your Mother? Was anyone else totally blown away / also kind of pissed by the last episode? I mean, REALLY guys. WHO IS THE MOTHER. It's been years now, we deserve to know!
I am ready for bed, but keep forgetting that it's actually an hour earlier than what I think it is. We never got around to changing our bathroom clock from the last DST, only the living room one. So now we have only one clock to change. Two, if you count the microwave.
The other day, I read that it has been 10 years since Britney Spears came out with "Baby One More Time." What a freaking weird thought. I can even remember the first time I heard it. It oddly echoes Martin's experience: in a minivan, being driven somewhere by a parent. Only his reaction was "Wow, this song is awesome." And my reaction was "Why does Lara Hamilton keep slapping her butt as she sings this?" | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| This Also Made Me Laugh Until I Cried, especially this paragraph:
At first all I could do was blink at it and wonder, "Am I the only one who sees a giant wang?" I looked at my wife. She was blinking at the cake. An awkward silence and a few stammered sentences later we established that we both saw the same thing. A fireman holding an immense, dripping wang.
This is especially notable because when I read this paragraph, I started cracking up really hard during an especially tense scene involving Jenny (my least favorite character) on Gossip Girl (yes, it's embarrassing and I faithfully watch it every week WITH MARTIN). It doesn't make me hate her less, but it helped me get through that scene without groaning over Jenny's general stupidity. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| In case you were wondering, here is what a Martin and Melanie date night consists of:
- Burgers at In N Out
- Deciding to rent a movie from the iTunes store
- Playing tennis while said movie downloaded
- Watching a Will Ferrell movie (Semi-Pro)
It was a good night. :)
This afternoon, we ate dim sum with Mark and Emily and it was delish! Makes me want to go to dim sum much more often. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Earlier this week, Martin said we should have a Date Night this weekend. A date night! So exciting! Last night, we were talking about what to do on our big date night. I completely blame How I Met Your Mother, whose episode on the most perfect of burgers made me crave, funnily enough, a burger. When I expressed interest in eating a very good burger, Martin immediately said "In N Out!!"
Then it made me think of how many times Martin and I go to In N Out on our "dates." My birthday sprang immediately to mind. We very rarely go to fast food places, but when we do, it is always, always In N Out. How about that.
What should we do after burgers have been consumed to round out our date night?
This morning as I was eating breakfast, I reached for something to flip through and my hand closed around a Crate and Barrel catalog that had been sent to us. The first few pages showed lots of Thanksgiving-themed things, which made me realize that Martin and I really have no plans at all for Thanksgiving. We're not going back to NC and so should probably figure something out. If left to my own devices, I'd cook up just rolls and stuffing, my very favorite parts of Thanksgiving. And maybe attempt a hand at a pot roast. When I ate Thanksgiving dinner with my family, I actually wouldn't eat any turkey on the big day, just my dad's pot roast. Mmmm. I miss that pot roast. Or perhaps it's the memories associated with said pot roast that I miss.
What are your Thanksgiving plans? | | comments: 6 comments or Leave a comment |
| So, I dropped some big news in my last post! Then I decided that I should have really put the wedding planning blog on wordpress, because I already have a wordpress blog. Excitement tends to cloud my brain, you see.
So I was sitting there, thinking "Man, this sucks, now what I am going to do, I can't ask everyone to re-post their totally awesome comments. But I love their comments!" Then I realized Wordpress has an import function. So I imported all (two, wow!) posts and all (wonderful!) comments and it was easy peasy.
Yowzas! Thank you, Wordpress.
The wedding-y blog probably won't be too active for awhile. I am going to put a picture of the ring up there, since a couple of people asked. Then there's not much to report, planning-wise, until December, which is when I plan on going around and looking at venues in Raleigh.
Anyone who has planned or helped plan a wedding in the last 2 years should send me checklists. Because I am really at a loss on what to do. | | comments: 11 comments or Leave a comment |
| Sleep, Part 2
Whenever I travel back to NC, I have difficulty in the first few days adjusting to the earlier bed time. But in addition to that, I also wake up (willingly) much earlier than I do normally. In June, when I came out, I would often wake up at 7 and start my day. Whereas in CA, Martin has to practically drag me from the bed at 8am on work days.
Does anyone else experience this when traveling east? Or traveling at all? Perhaps it is a product of that "new environment" feeling. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Treadmill. 4.75 miles, 46:47.
I have not been sleeping well since coming back to NC. And also since before, but I partly attribute that to my cold. Either way, I lay down and then ... nothing. Just staring at the ceiling. I am starting to think it might be the thin, lumpy pillows my parents insist are comfortable. Or something.
Either way, I have been pretty freaking tired. I have delightful circles under my eyes to carry the point home.
Last night, I tried to go to sleep but kept feeling this odd tingle in my left foot. I tried to ignore it and sleep anyway but like that feeling that insists you have to go to the bathroom right as you're about to snuggle under the blankets, I could not. So as the hypochondriac I am, I surfed the internet for clues and came up with explanations like "nerve pinching" and "slipped discs" and MS. Not a helpful inducement to my sleep. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| I've been sick the past few days, which really sucked. I'm mostly better now, thank goodness. Just in time for biscuits and sweet tea.
And speaking of, I am in NC! It will be a whirlwind trip for sure. How is there never enough time to do all the things you want? Tonight, I caught up with my parents for awhile and then set up my new Macbook. :) It's so shiny and purty.
On the agenda for the next few days:
Hanging out with Jordan, Manveer and Stephen. Maybe all together. Maybe with Martin. Maybe not!
Bonding time with my parents.
Helping Amy if she needs any. (Capable Amy never needs help!)
A rehearsal dinner!
A rehearsal wedding!
Then, a real wedding!
Dancing? SAY WHAT.
And suddenly, it's Sunday and Martin and I fly out nice and early (8am, anyone else headed out that day?). I have a need for some Goodberrys and some damn good biscuits ... oh okay and some sushi from Waraji. Anyone game?
PS. The quality of the flight was decently good. No delays (that hasn't happened in awhile) and a giant pile of work awaiting me kept me absorbed and not-bored. Perhaps I should constantly have a pile of work to slog through when traveling? | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Treadmill. 4.5 miles, 45:08.
I definitely feel a difference in my thighs when I run on a treadmill versus when I run outside. Namely, when I run on a treadmill, I feel like I could go forever, probably because there are no hills and dips to go over. Whereas, when I run outside, my thighs are always burning after I stop.
When you run, do you run for speed or distance? I used to aim for an 8 minute mile but I've kind of given that up. Instead, I'm trying to gradually build towards 6 miles at a 10-minute pace. Once I get up there, I think I might try to whittle down my time.
When I run on the treadmill, I play this little game. I don't know why I don't do it when I run outside, but I don't. Probably because the metrics aren't so easy. :) I start out at some pace for 1/4 mile, then increase by .5 for 1/4 mile, drop by .4 for 1/4 mile, rinse, repeat. I find I feel better after the run than my old style, which was to increase by .1 every 1/4 mile. I'm sure there's some logic in it but I like knowing I can run fast for a bit but that I can also stop after awhile. That whole "light at the end of the tunnel" dealio, I suppose. :)
This might be kind of gross, but both Emily and Kjersti have alluded to it so I feel pretty okay saying it too. One of the best feelings I have about running is afterwards, when I've finished and I feel this huge ball of heat just radiating from me and sweat pushing off of me as a result. I like it because I feel like I've worked hard. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I have a not-so-secret weakness, known simply as Double Stuff Oreos. At any given time, I have a pack of these "hiding" in our apartment. I say "hiding" because I stick it in the same cabinet every time and Martin finds them whenever he's feeling like a sweet bite after dinner. Then he tells me not to buy them anymore, because he ends up eating half the pack in one sitting. I always agree but if I happen to be at Safeway and see them on sale ... well, I can't resist those chocolate-and-cream pockets of goodness. And this is why there are always Double Stuff Oreos in our apartment.
This segues nicely into another topic I wanted to discuss and that is, how I grocery shop. I am a pretty inefficient grocery shopper, but I love it. It is one of my favorite errands to run. I don't know why, but I like slowly walking up and down the aisles, thinking about what I can make with the food in the aisles. I even have a general routine that I follow.
It starts on Sunday, when I get up to go to the FM with Michelle. Since we try to avoid the crowds and get the best produce, we go at 9:30am. This means my only day to sleep in is Saturday. For that reason, I like when things don't start early on Saturdays - it's my one day to leisurely wake up and do whatever I want.
I try to get all my vegetables for the week from the FM but can't always, as there are certain things the FM doesn't sell. Some examples that quickly come to mind are avocados, good quality onions and potatoes, tomatoes on the vine, mushrooms that aren't insanely overpriced, figs (haven't seen them yet) and cherries (the season went away very quickly). I sometimes even buy beef, salmon and honey at the FM, if the mood strikes. Every week, I also try to buy an item I don't or rarely cook with.
Then, on Wednesday, I go to the grocery store to pick up anything I missed. There are three within a mile of our apartment: Whole Foods, Safeway and the Milk Pail, which advertises itself as an open-air European-style market. The Milk Pail is awesome because they have really nice produce and an amazing cheese selection for cheaper than Whole Foods, but it's little and doesn't have the best selection (the selection it does have is great though!). Safeway has Oreos ('nuff said). And Whole Foods has lots of stuff without high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils. The Safeway and Milk Pail are across the street from each other so I generally evaluate a list of things I want to pick up and will decide between either Milk Pail / Safeway or Whole Foods.
Wash, rinse, repeat. And that's my routine.
And another random thing about me: I don't like buying tomatoes not on a vine. I don't know why I'm inherently suspicious of un-vined tomatoes, but I always buy vine-ripened tomatoes where they are still actually attached to something green. What can I say, it's the OCD in me.
Aren't you glad you know about my grocery buying habits now? | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| I will go ahead and make a warning: this is going to be one disjointed post.
Yesterday, while coming back from grocery shopping, I saw a car with the license plate DNR MEE. While I debated the meaning of said plate, it then turned into the senior center around the corner from our apartment. The license plate suddenly took on a very ominous meaning.
We are over halfway through our Toro-watching week. Toro is such a good-natured puppy that is it fairly easy to watch him (except when he gets whiny and we're not sure why he's whining). A week with Toro is very different from a weekend.
For one, on weekends, Martin and I take him almost everywhere we go. But on weekdays, we do things like go to work and it gets harder to take Toro with us. I don't know how Mark and Emily manage to leave for work in the mornings, as I take one look at his big brown eyes and feel so guilty for leaving!
And another, I can't believe that Mark and Emily aren't eternally sleep deprived. Toro wakes us up promptly at 6am. I think it doesn't help that he refuses to use the steps we rigged so he can easily get in and out of bed. On the other hand, he keeps Martin from squishing me into a corner by standing firm in the middle of the bed. I am going to sleep forever the first night we don't have Toro.
And another other, Toro's love for Martin is more pronounced since he sees Martin less. I feed him and take him out and walk him, but then Martin waltzes through the door at 7pm and starts to play with him and suddenly it's wagging tails and excited yips. Where's the love, Toro?!
Spices - do you believe they have a shelf life? Do you replenish your spice supply even if you have not finished using them? Thoughts?
I made carrot cake last night. The first time I made this cake, I was totally gung-ho "YAY CAKE!" This time around, I can't even decide if I like it.
Last night, I made Taco Salad for Martin and I. I usually use fresh tomatoes but the last time I made Taco Salad (about two weeks ago), I didn't realize I didn't have fresh tomatoes and used canned. And wow. Canned diced tomatoes taste not-so-great. I should have known not to use them, as I don't actually use canned diced tomatoes for anything and was wondering how they even made it into my pantry. But my Taco Salad wanted some color and so I tossed them in. And now I know not to do that ever again.
The End. | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
| This weekend was a pretty great weekend. On the scale of sucky to super-duper-omg-amazingly-awesome, I would say it was really only lacking one "duper" and that is because everyone had to leave to go home, most of them on Sunday.
When trying to think of a quick run-down of my weekend, it is amazing how much of it returns back to food. Let's start: Rehearsal Dinner. Dim sum and donuts with peeps. Wedding. Wedding dinner, with still more peeps. Denied the amazing chocolate cake. Brunch at Tara's. De Young museum. The freezing beach. Burning cardboard. Relaxing in Mountain View. Brunch with peeps. Sausalito wine tasting. Sushi at Zushi Puzzle. Last of the stragglers leave and boring normal life takes a tiny step forward.
All in all, a really great weekend. :) I was so happy to see everyone. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| 
Congratulations, Mark and Emily!
26 July 2008
Here are some of my favorite wedding photos from my set:
           | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Has anyone else seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog? It's super cute! And it has Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion, the really awesome guy from Serenity and Firefly! Oh, and it's directed by the same guy who did Serenity and Firefly. Go watch it! And post thoughts and reactions here!
Uh, and do it soon, because apparently it's being taken down midnight July 20. Crazy! | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| Yesterday was a great day!
For my birthday, Martin organized a cookout and many of our friends were able to make it! It was great to see everyone and hang out with everyone together again. As a bonus, Andrew and Emily were in town from North Carolina and were able to make it as well!
My favorite parts were seeing everyone again and the ice cream cake. I think I was so happy to see everyone that I could barely eat. :)
Ben's banjo playing was off the chain. Andrew kicked butt at the grill. Kjersti made the best zucchini bread! Martin makes a great party organizer / putter-together-person. And everyone was the best company. :) As you can tell, I had a great time! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| | If you want to be really depressed, go here. It'll basically tell you how every beauty product you use, no matter how natural it claims to be, contains moderate to high level carcinogens. | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
| Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! I really appreciated it. :)
So now I am officially 25. Yikes!
Everyone keeps asking what Martin did to commemorate the day (and if he even remembered!) so I thought I would write up a quick summary of my day. :)
First, I was woken up after midnight to a text message wishing me a happy birthday. That made me realize that Martin was not the first one to wish me happy birthday. When I told him that, he tore himself from his computer long enough to quickly kiss me and then returned back to his computer, telling me to go to bed.
Then, later, I was pushed out of bed, as Martin had stayed up until 230am launching new features for Buzzillions last night and wanted to maximize sleeping time. The Swedish tradition is to wake you up with song. There were no songs coming from the Swede next to me.
The day before, Martin had hinted at coming home early but that he wouldn't be home RIGHT at six because he had to go "do something." I was in a tizzy. What could something be! Was he picking up flowers? Really nice wine? Dinner?
At around 6:45pm, the door jiggled and Martin walked in with ... new glasses. He hadn't told me because he thought I wouldn't let him go pick them up. I diligently searched bags and pockets but no other surprise was to be found. Martin then announced he'd tried (and failed) to get a Wii and MarioKart so instead he was going to give me the Macbook I'd been thinking about buying for awhile. So romantic.
Then we went to In and Out, because I wasn't too hungry and didn't really feel like anything. Afterwards, we got some donuts and Tara and Arun dropped by.
And that is how the day I turned 25 went. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Security: | | | Subject: | Music | | Time: | 02:57 pm |
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| I just found out one of my all-time favorite songs is now in the Wal-Mart national ad campaign. That makes me so sad, for some reason.
When I was younger (about five), my dad made me a tape of "my favorite songs." He said these were the songs I first learned how to sing as a girl. I can still remember some of the songs that made the cut:
You're No Good, by Linda Ronstadt
You're So Vain, by Carly Simon
Light My Fire, by the Doors
And my very favorite at the time:
I Heard It Through the Grapevine, by Marvin Gaye
I remember listening to that tape over and over. I'm surprised my parents didn't strategically drop it and then run over it with their car.
I still like all of them, probably prompted by the strong memories attached to them. Sort of the way, when I hear a classic rock song, I think of family road trips growing up. My dad had taped a Top 500 Classic Rock Songs countdown and we played it every time we drove up to New York, until we bought a CD burner. I can never listen to Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones without getting a little nostalgic.
Finally, here are some of my all-time favorite songs, ones that have stood the test of time and overplaying, in no particular order:
Brandy, by Looking Glass
Happy Together, by The Turtles
Smooth, by Santana
One Headlight, by the Wallflowers
Motorcycle Drive By, by Third Eye Blind
In My Life, by the Beatles
Under My Thumb, by the Rolling Stones
Dancing In The Moonlight, by King Harvest
And in a few years, if I still like it, this song will be added to the list:
I'm Moving On, by Rascal Flatts
What songs bring back strong memories for you? What are your favorite songs? I want to know! | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I officially hate Apple's MobileMe. Officially!
Martin installed it after getting his iPhone. It's supposed to keep our stuff in sync. Instead, all it does is delete all my contacts and nag me with syncing messages and alerts. Then delete more stuff. Annoying! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Does anyone have problems when trying to buy pants? I find I run into two big problems when it comes to pants:
1/ Height-wise, I am somewhere between a petite (30") and regular (33", usually) inseam.
2/ Width-wise, I feel like my waist-to-thigh ratio are not "normal" proportions. Anything that fits perfectly in the waist is always way too baggy for my thighs, leading to the baffling question, "Which area do I fit my pants to?"
I used to buy regular inseam pants and then never wear them because I own / wear mostly flats. I never felt like wearing the heels needed to prevent my pants from dragging on the ground ... so I would never wear dressier pants.
But now I've corrected this. First, I've embraced the fact that I love to wear flats and rarely wear heels so I've tailored my pants to reflect that (before, I would fret about tailoring them to become too short). And now, most stores have a short (31") inseam, which seems to be just about right in allowing me to wear flats without my pants brushing the ground or becoming high-waters when I sit down without having to be tailored.
The second one, I still have no easy answer for. Obviously, I don't want to look like a sausage squeezed into some pants. But I don't want my thighs to look like they're swimming in fabric (it also tends to emphasize my shortness / make me look stumpy-fat). I find the best option for me are straight-legged pants that brush the ground in bare-feet. And you would not believe how hard it is to find these kind of pants!! Seriously. I never know what pants will work and what won't. So when I finally do find pants I like, I practically weep for joy and buy five of the same pair.
Emily and I were talking recently about how our tastes in clothes have changed since college. I know on my side that I have cut 3" inseam shorts, mini-skirts, tight pants and, really, tight anything from my wardrobe. Part of the tight part probably stems from the fact that I've gained weight but never took time to clean out my closet. Going through my closet has been so depressing, as I realize that I've grown out of some of my old favorites or things that I practically never wore and now no longer fit (unrealized potential!). Sometimes, I wonder why I even bought something to begin with. I look back on how I must have looked 2 - 3 years ago and just cringe. Why! Why did I have such horrible taste!?
So, now that I've gotten that off my chest, how do you feel your fashion sense has changed in the past few years? Do you look back at yourself and have the same reaction as me? Or were you fashion-forward, brave and always classy (lucky duck!)? | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| "I had a really weird dream."
This is actually something I say on an almost-daily basis to Martin after he comes back to the bedroom after showering. I'm usually quite groggy but I hear him opening dresser drawers and I blurt it out when I sense he's near.
Sometimes, I say "I had a bad dream," and I get up to hug him and bury my head in his chest because the bad dream made me sad / scared / feel bad.
Invariably, the next step is me describing my dream to him and he either rolls his eyes (weird dream) or tells me to not worry (bad dream).
Last night's dream was an eye-roll kind of dream. I dreamt we were flying somewhere only the plane was the width of a big room and not a normal plane. Everything was also really white. There were only two seats left (a la Southwest, perhaps?) and one of them was first class. Martin made me sit in the regular seat while he went to sit in the first class seat. I cried because the person in the seat next to me was mean and Martin was far away.
When I told Martin, he said my dream made no sense because he would never book a first class seat and why would there not be two seats for us together? I think he missed the point. :)
Or maybe I am missing the point? Dreams are very weird things. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Frisbee Thrower #1: Have you ever heard of a frisbee game called ultimate?
Frisbee Thrower #2: No. What is it?
Frisbee Thrower #1: I've never played it but it's this frisbee game that big nerds are really into.
Santa Cruz, CA | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I have this really bad email habit. I am an email addict and I constantly check my email throughout the day (now my "I just got your email!" excuse will never fly again but those are the breaks. I came here to share). On some days, "constantly" means "obsessively."
But I always take a couple of minutes to think about how to respond before firing back a return email, even if the email is "What are you doing for dinner tonight?" And, way too often, that means that "a couple of minutes" drifts to "a couple of days" to ... well, you get the idea.
Then I will suddenly realize that I am way behind and send out a bunch of emails all at once.
As I fired off the latest round of emails, I couldn't help but think about this quote that I read:
Email is such a funny thing. People hand you these single little messages that are no heavier than a river pebble. But it doesn’t take long until you have acquired a pile of pebbles that’s taller than you and heavier than you could ever hope to move, even if you wanted to do it over a few dozen trips. But for the person who took the time to hand you their pebble, it seems outrageous that you can’t handle that one tiny thing. “What ‘pile’? It’s just a pebble!”
- Merlin Mann from Here Comes Everyone by Clay Shirky | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I came back to a bunch of barely alive herbs. :( I have been trying to nurse them back to health for the past week but I think I should just admit defeat. Rosemary (good ol' trusty doesn't-need-a-lot-of-water rosemary) is happy and healthy again. But my dill, oregano and basil are on their last leg and I can't seem to perk them back up. I guess it is time to go get new herbs.
The lesson: Never trust Martin to tend to your plants. Because he won't.
Also, I've started to actually share items on Google Reader now. And I like reading items from other people, too. So if you use Google Reader and share things as well, let me know! | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Went down the hall to get my toothbrush and noticed my brother's door was open. And loud music was playing. At 12:30am. With both parents trying to sleep. And where is my brother? Downstairs, watching television, which you can hear from upstairs. He is full of win tonight.
Tomorrow, I am meeting Quinn for breakfast. Some people might remember him as my fellow EE buddy in undergrad. I wanted to meet while I was in Raleigh so I could give him his wedding gift in person. Tonight, he emailed me and said that Sarah Lynn (his fiancee) is also coming along. I am nervous. Though Quinn and I have known each other since freshman year of college, I've only met her once, briefly, in passing. I am hoping she will like me. I am hoping they will like their gift.
Anyway, because this is kind of a somber post, I thought I would leave with a bang. Or at least a small eye roll. :)
Courtesy of Overheard Everywhere:
Professor: The Swedes. They look at the glaciers, go inside, watch a Bergman film, have a heavy drink, then have some sex in the sauna, but ultimately that is unsatisfying, so they kill themselves.
Also, Jordan watched 2 hours of So You Think You Can Dance with me tonight. It was the final audition show. All I can say is - more dancing, less talking, KTHX. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Tuesday
115pm: Another restaurant I can cross off my list: Waraji. So. Freaking. Tasty.
554pm: Leave to meet Martin's sister at Borders, in Cary.
612pm: Marvel at the traffic on the beltline which, while significantly slower than non-rush hour speeds, still manages to not turn into stop and start traffic. Chalk up a point in the North Carolina column of awesomeness.
613pm: Recall brutal trips home from Cisco on I-40. Subtract point and call it even with California, traffic-wise. Doesn't matter. North Carolina still has Goodberrys, Bojangles and Chick-Fil-A. WIN.
640pm: Meet with Maria, pass off laptop, and head to Jordan's apartment.
700pm: Jordan makes me spaghetti with crazy thick fresh-frozen (???) noodles. They're hollow in the middle and you can suck air through them like straws. Good times.
900pm: Goodberrys, again! No raspberries, again! Involuntarily, I exclaim "WHY!!!" They answer with a vague explanation about a raspberry shortage. Blackberries substituted and are better than strawberries but still not as good.
901pm: Feel bad for sounding so upset about raspberries, so I apologize to the clerk. He looks at me like I'm crazy and calls out, "Next!" Crazy for apologizing or crazy in general, I wonder.
915pm: After finishing ice cream, take a glance around and notice a girl wearing spray-painted-on short-shorts and immediately start smirking. Berate myself for being mean. Maybe her boyfriend likes them and she wears them for him. Do not judge, Melanie!
916pm: Can feel myself judging. Dammit. But really!! How does she manage to move around in those?
930pm: Ohmygod, MarioKart is the best game EVER. Martin calls mid-race and I beg him to get off his butt and buy our Wii so I can play this FOREVER.
1112pm: Left Jordan's and pressed Scan on the radio, of course. I hear Hero by Enrique twice. I am starting to notice a trend in Raleigh radio. Namely, that they like to play the same old pop hits at the same time as other radio stations. It reminds me of people who watch movies together over the phone.
1140pm: Asleep, at a semi-reasonable hour. Finally.
Wednesday
730am: Drag myself out of bed for dentist appointment.
801am: Wanda, the oral hygienist I've seen since I first started going to the dentist, wastes no time and immediately asks why my ring finger is bare. I deflect the question. She asks same question in eight different ways. I am a master verbal fencer. No, in reality, I mumble something about "soon" and she (finally) leaves it at that. Thank God she doesn't know we live together. Her sweet Southern world might collapse around her. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Monday
630pm: Take a break from working to eat dinner with my family. Hamburgers, yum. My family has started getting fancy with their burgers. No longer just beef, lettuce and tomatoes, this has sauted onions and barbecue sauce on kaiser rolls. The changes they make when I leave. I think I still prefer ketchup.
900pm: Finish working and send off one last email. "One last email." I hear this phrase every day from Martin, as he begs for 5 (but really 30) more minutes on his computer to do something work-related. Mine, however, really does take 5 minutes.
930pm: Goodberry's! They don't have raspberries so I grudgingly substitute with strawberries. I prefer raspberries because of the tarter flavor. The strawberries taste bland in comparison, the only thing they have going for them is their cloying sweetness. I wouldn't always call that a plus in their favor.
932pm: Debate if I handled the Goodberry's situation correctly. I was polite and promptly substituted with a similar item but what I really wanted to do was not get Goodberry's at all. Perhaps I should have waited until they did have raspberries. I would have if my brother hadn't been with me.
1030pm: Yay Guitar Hero! It takes me a couple of songs to get my rhythm back but once I do, I am rocking.
1100pm: I'm tired from last night so I decide to go to bed. I'll just read a couple of pages in this book to calm my brain.
Tuesday
204am: Dammit. Still up. At least I finished the book.
815am: Why does my brother turn his music on so loud? I try to drown out the noise but am unable to fall back asleep, so I turn on my computer to start working.
1201pm: I feel a little draggy. Maybe I will get Waraji for lunch to perk myself up. | | comments: Leave a comment |
|  More than biscuits and chicken and barbecue, my favorite thing to eat when I come back to North Carolina is Goodberry's.
For me, nothing is better than a regular-sized vanilla concrete with raspberries and chocolate chips. Rather than mixing the custard with chocolate chips, they use some kind of magic shell chocolate. When they mix the concrete, the chocolate breaks into tiny, thin crunchy shards of awesome.
I have many good memories of Goodberry's. When I was in high school, I would even go to Goodberry's in the dead of winter with a really good and equally crazy friend of mine. Goodberry's, designed to be an open summer hangout, has no indoor seating. Because we were crazy, we would eat the ice cream outside too.
On the flip side, I have spent many warm summer nights at Goodberry's too. The summer humidity keeps the air warm, even late at night, allowing you to stay out later (California gets pretty chilly when the sun is down, discouraging such social interaction). Ice cream. Friends. Chit chat. Does it really get any better? | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Saturday
1245pm: Head towards airport hauling two laptops on my shoulder. Ponder whether to check my luggage. Laptops are heavy, but waiting for my luggage to arrive after a dreary flight is an unwelcome annoyance. Decide not to check luggage. That'll show you, airlines. You can't keep me down.
700pm: Notice guy in Dallas food court wolfing down a burger and fries. He chews with his mouth open. Gross.
705pm: Guy sitting next to me engages me in conversation. He's friends with the bassist for REM and he's going to their Colorado concert. Cool. He has soft hands and pale skin. I imagine him turning into a Byron-esque poet. He fits the bill.
835pm: Board plane. Realize I'm sitting next to Bad Table Manners Guy. He ignores me for the first half an hour, then suddenly turns to me during beverage service. For the next two hours, he dishes about his life story and all the conspiracy theories tied to the Holy Grail. He sounds like The Da Vinci Code, except he lacks Dan Brown's brevity. But he's missing Dan Brown's lame way of ending chapters with "AND THEN they gasped at what they saw ...." Winner: This Guy. By a mile.
Sunday
1205am: Leave RDU Terminal C. Sit on bench to wait for parents. Idly text Martin. Notice a car pull in front of me but I don't recognize it so I ignore it. As I press "Send," I glance up ... and see the grinning face of my brother in my parents' brand new car. CRAZY.
915am: Mom declares my hair is too long, gathers it into a big ponytail and makes threatening "snip snip" motions with her finger. I wail "Noooooooo!" and she drops it.
445pm: Change for dinner and my mom calls my dress pretty. Feel moment of pure thrill, as Mom so rarely approves of my style.
700pm: Sweet tea has been consumed. Yummy.
1115pm: Get really into the book I'm reading. Tears start to well up. I am SO VERY SAD.
115am: Bed time, if only people would stop pacing outside my door. I hear my mom's slippered shuffle, as well as my brother's bathroom breaks. God. I just want to go to bed. Stop being so nocturnal, people!
Monday
830m: Alarm goes off and I feel like I've barely slept eight winks. I want to crawl under my pillow.
930am: My eyes betrayed me by refusing to go back to sleep. So I get up. I decide to take advantage of the sunny, somewhat cool morning and take a run around Lake Lynn.
935am: I climbed the first big hill. Wooo!
934am: Enter the running path around the lake. Hill. Another hill. ANOTHER hill!?!? I forgot how not-flat North Carolina was.
945am: I've pumped myself up to face the hills. I think I can, I think I can. Before me, I see a large bridge bleached under bright sunlight. I like bridges.
950am: I still like bridges but my temperature spiked a good 10 degrees under the hot sun. I am wilting. I can't do both hills and heat. I want to die. I have to stop. Good grief, it's hot.
1030am: I stopped and started for three miles but it was so hot, I still sweated the same amount. Water, give me water.
130pm: Eating lunch with Manveer. Tasty, good times. I think ate here together the last time I was in NC. The cycle continues.
230pm: Head back home to finish working. Press "scan" on the radio to see what I can snap my fingers to.
245pm: Still scanning. Have I looped around yet?
245pm: Hear the last few bars of Lightning Crashes. Reminds me of an ex-boyfriend, who loved that song.
248pm: Hear the beginning few bars of Lightning Crashes a few stations later. Really? Isn't that song about 10 years old?
254pm: Home. Yay, work. And sweet tea. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I just finished reading Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin. I bought it partly because I liked her last three books and partly because I wanted something fluffy to read while on the plane.
I thought this book was merely okay and had nothing on one of her other books, Something Blue, which somehow affected me so much that it is now famous merely for the fact that after reading it (on another trip to the east coast), I was so simultaneously sad yet happy that I called Martin and promptly burst into deep, hard crying. Martin, being completely rational, thought something terrible had happened, like my grandmother had died. Or, at the very least, I had been in some sort of accident.
But nope. It was just a book. Which he finally figured out after five minutes of crying. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I am in North Carolina! The weather feels just so, so nice. It's warm but not stifling and there is humidity in the air that wraps around me like a beautiful blanket. I look around and marvel at how very green it is and how many trees there are. I scrutinize road sides and horizons, trying to find what's different and feeling relieved that some things still manage to stay the same.
In the days leading up to my departure from CA, I lamented how much I would miss Martin, cooking in my own kitchen and all the fun events going on in the next two weeks. But now that I'm here, breathing in the rain-cleaned air, I can't imagine anywhere else I want to be.
I could do without my brother's temper tantrums (numbering three in the last 24 hours) but I can't deny that I miss North Carolina very much. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Today, I was thinking about the past year of my life in California. I have been pretty down on California from the get-go, mostly because I really loved my life in North Carolina. But, somewhere along the way, California has moved up on my list and it now currently resides somewhere between salad greens (tolerable) and pedicures (fairly likable).
So I decided to compile a list of reasons that California can really be not so bad:
- Martin and I are lucky enough to have a nice mix of friends-from-NC-too and friends we've made since moving here. I don't know if this is necessarily a pro for California or a pro for "Melanie's life" but the cold, hard truth is we are surrounded by awesome friends.
- There is a greater variety of places to eat than a lot of different chain restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I love Chick-Fil-A and Bojangles biscuits, but it's nice to know there are a lot of other options.
- The Cisco gym here has greater variety of fitness classes to take than the RTP office. I find this awesome because if it weren't for these, I would just be running. A lot. And lifting weights that only benefit the same 2 muscles.
- Lots of public transit and a nearby downtown means Martin and I put less than 4,000 miles on our car since moving out to California.
And now, to round out this entry, here are things I don't really like about California:
- Sidewalk hogs. Really, people. Learn the concept of sharing the sidewalk.
- The traffic. It both terrifies and annoys me. How is it that people can drive both crazy here and 10 miles under the speed limit on the highway?
- The housing costs. Martin and I were debating apartment rentals capped at 1700 dollars and I didn't blink an eye. I guess I'm becoming desensitized but every now and then, I still balk. I remember when my apartment in NC cost $300 / month. I miss those days.
- Beaches with cold water. Because the water current comes from the north, it's always fairly frigid.
- Confusing weather. In the morning, it's rainy and cool. By the afternoon, it's sunny and hot. It is so hard for me to figure out what to wear to stay warm when I need it and cool when I need it. I like that, in NC, it's all hot or all cold. And the indecisive spring weather lasts a week. I always know what to wear! None of this freezing in the morning, sweating by lunch stuff. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| 1- Realize that the spider is VERY close by and start spazzing. Curse Martin for having to do things like "go to work" rather than stick around and kill spiders for you.
2- Slowly back away, staring in abject terror at its long crawling legs the whole time.
3- Gather together an arsenal of things with which to kill said spider, including Martin's biggest shoe and the heaviest book you can find. Debate between Algorithms, which is thicker and places more pages between fingers and spider, or Artificial Intelligence, whose wider surface area allows me to edge further away from the spider.
4- Realize that the spider really likes the ceiling. Curse Tall Martin again for being at work.
5- Drag chair near spider. Stand up on chair and stare at spider, wimping out every 15 seconds and climbing back down chair.
6- Gather courage, shoot up the chair and slam book into spider. Hop off chair and run screaming from the room.
7- Gather courage again and check to see if spider is dead. Cover with tissue and leave for Martin to deal with when he gets home.
Mission: Complete.
Ugh, I hate spiders. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Now that it's been five years, I have been doing a lot of reflecting about our relationship and have been sharing it as well (I know, lucky you). A relationship isn't a black box, so it's been interesting to remember things I haven't recalled in awhile and figure out what really makes Martin and Melanie tick together.
For example, a common question is: How did you two start dating?
Usually, we give a stock (and boring) answer of meeting through mutual friends and becoming friends and blah blah blah we already lost your attention, didn't we.
But really, it started one humdrum day. Throw in one nosy friend and a small, windowless room and you have a recipe for romance, of all things.
According to the nosy friend, the conversation began something like this:
Nosy Friend: Man, I'm tired of Martin and Melanie just beating around the bush. This is getting annoying! Time to take matters into my own very capable, results-producing hands.
Nosy Friend: So, what's going on between you and Melanie?
Martin: looks up blankly. What? Nothing. Why? What's going on?
Nosy Friend: Just curious. You guys seem really close.
Martin: We're just friends.
Nosy Friend: Oh okay. Well, just checking.
Martin: Oh. Okay. Sure. slowly looks back to computer screen. Most likely furrows brow in great confusion.
Nosy Friend: inner cackle of triumph, content that he has rocked Martin's world
Okay, so the nosy friend probably retells this in a way that was more favorable to him or herself. I just told it like it probably really happened.
I would like to say that this conversation produced an epiphany within Martin and he looked upon me and realized that he liked me in return.
Instead, it produced a really awkward conversation, where Martin forced me to admit that I liked him, then he crushed all my hopes and dreams by saying that I was his best friend and he would be devastated if a failed relationship between us destroyed our friendship. Then he decided to up his former ante and write an email where he flip-flopped back and forth between not wanting to date, wanting to date, not wanting to ruin our friendship and pondering how two people who get along so well could surely date well too.
Then we threw this all out the window for the next week and ignored the giant pink elephant in the middle of the room. Then, one night while we were watching the least romantic movie alive, Martin kissed me.
And now you know our true beginning, and knowing is half the battle.
So here's to you, nosy friend, for the emotional roller coaster you started us on that eventually led us to this point, five years later. Perhaps during pink-elephant week, I was less than thrilled with you. But now I'm sure glad you opened your mouth. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
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