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Turkey Disaster
Posted by: | November 30, 2019
| 2 Comments
| Personal
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I cannot believe what happened to my turkey this year. Maybe Costco God was punishing me for not buying a turkey from Costco.

This year, I bought an 18-pound Butterball Turkey from a local supermarket. I gladly paid $43, instead of $18 I would have paid at Costco. I wanted this turkey to be super fantastic.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day. The turkey was in the oven, and everything was going OK. I was watching the temperature going up slowly on my digital thermometer. And then the temperature appeared to be stuck. My turkey was getting darker and darker, but the thermometer still read 153 degrees. So, I took out my backup thermometer and a backup probe. To my shock, I found out that my turkey was over-cooked by 40 degrees. (205 degrees instead of 165).

Turkey was all I was thinking about for the last 2 weeks. I was very disappointed. I wanted to cry. Dinner was still OK, but it was not super fantastic. I kept thinking ‘next year’, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. I may have to bake a turkey for Christmas. I don’t know. I try not to think about it too much, but this bothers me.

I need to troubleshoot my thermometers and probes and make sure this will not happen again. Also, from this point, I will always use 2 thermometers when I cook ANYTHING. And I shall keep a backup thermometer and backup probes. It will be like when I used to be a wedding photographer. I have photographed hundreds of weddings. I carried 2 cameras at all times and had a backup camera in the car. My camera broke down only once during the ceremony. But I had another identical camera already on my body, so everything went smoothly. That’s the mentality I shall adopt when I cook with an oven. I shall prepare and focus.

I hope you had a super-fantastic turkey dinner.

80’s reference
Posted by: | November 13, 2019
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| Personal
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I have a coworker who’s in my age range. I often test him with 80s trivia.

I went to his office a few days ago. This is how the conversation went.

John: Good morning. Hey… do you remember EPMD?
Coworker: Yes.
John: What was that one thing he hated?
Coworker: (looking right at me) Bitin’ MC.
John: Oh yeah~~~. Thank you. Have a nice day.

EPMD, You Gots to Chill – 1988.
Bitin’ MC at 1:50

What? Laundry Detergents Expire?
Posted by: | October 20, 2019
| 2 Comments
| Personal, Single Living
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It came to me as a great shock that laundry detergents lose effectiveness sooner than I thought.

This subject wouldn’t matter if you have a full-size family. But it’s a different story if you live alone. In my case, a large jug of fabric softer can easily last 3 years or longer. So, I did some more research and learned that many products will lose effectiveness sooner than I imagined. Below, I listed some of the products and how long they are good for.

  • Laundry detergent (6-12 months).
  • Dishwasher detergent (6-12 months).
  • Liquid dish soap (12-18 months).
  • Bleach (6-12 months)
  • liquid fabric softener (6-12 months)
  • Lysol (2 years)
  • Hydrogen Peroxide (30 days – 6 months)
  • Disinfectant wipes (1-2 years depends on products)
  • Window Cleaner (2 years)
  • Furniture polish (about 2 years)
  • Shampoo/Conditioner (12 – 18 months)
  • Body lotion (1 – 3 years)

FYI: Chemicals in dried powder form would last longer compared to its liquid counterparts.

I was clueless. How come nobody told me this? I felt so stupid… all these years… I thought these products lasted 5 – 10 years easily,

Maybe a lot of single men out-there didn’t have this information as well. So, here it is. If you live alone, buy your liquid chemicals in small units.

Hemming Pants
Posted by: | July 11, 2019
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| Personal
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Hemming pants is my latest hobby. I just started to sew a few weeks ago. For now, I am still getting used to my new sewing machine. I still have about 50 pairs of pants to hem. I shall hem jacket sleeves next.

I wish I can learn from a professional. There are local sewing classes, but they make pillows and decorations (stuff that I don’t need). I guess I will teach myself as I spend more time and make mistakes. But, it would be nice if somebody would give me a crash course – show me tricks.

It’s been fun so far. It adds spice to my wardrobes because I control the exact length of my pants. I’m glad I keep finding new hobbies to enjoy. It keeps me busy and engaged. It’s scary to imagine what if I run out of a hobby.

Below video is from today after work.

Update – July 4, 2019. I am here.
Posted by: | July 4, 2019
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| Personal
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Oh My God.. I need to tell you about my latest obsession with my sewing machine and hemming pants. I have 60 pairs of pants in my regular rotation, and I plan to hem most of them. I hem my pants in 3-4 different lengths to accommodate different shoes/boots. Also, some pants look better at certain lengths.

I stopped sleeping in my master bedroom. Now I sleep in my guest bedroom (nap room). I have concluded that I get better sleep and have more vivid dreams in the guest bedroom. I know it sounds insane, but there is no mistaking. I get better sleep in my nap room, on the cheaper mattress.

I completely disagree with this person below. She’s supposed to be a professional. (???)

Girlfriend, I ALWAYS wake up and decide what color I will wear that day. Always. Some mornings I say that exact phrase – “I am having a purple day“. Picking the color of the day gets me going in the morning. You’ve seen my Instagram. It’s all about picking a color in the morning. If you decide clothes depend on who you see that day, you may be a prostitute or a clown.

Happy 4th of July. Talk to you soon. 🙂

My closet (in the making) – sewing machine on the table.

Garage Sale – May 11, 2019
Posted by: | May 11, 2019
| 2 Comments
| Garage Sale, Personal
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I spent $2 today at garage sales. My house smells like fresh cotton now (melting a tart in the picture).

I didn’t need this coffee mug. I didn’t need another cookbook. But, for ¢50 each, I will get a lot of joy out of it. So, it’s worth it. And I have some friends who would love to take these from me after I’m done.

Talk to you soon.

Update (December 3, 2020) – A year and a half later, I use this coffee mug every day as I work from home (Pandemic 2020). I haven’t made a single soup from that cookbook.

Costco Take and Bake Pizza for Single Living
Posted by: | January 31, 2019
| 8 Comments
| Costco Blog, Single Living
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I get a craving for pizza once in a while. I would like to enjoy pizza late Saturday night, or when I’m home alone feeling cozy. But, I live alone, so I need a little planning to enjoy pizza.

Pizza is family-oriented food. Going to a pizza restaurant alone is not only depressing, but it’s too expensive. I don’t want to have a pizza delivered to my house and ended up with a massive amount of leftover. That’s also too expensive. In both cases, just a tip alone will buy me 2-3 slices of Costco pizza.

So, this is what I do. I buy Costco’s Take and Bake pizza, slice them up, and freeze them. They last many months in the freezer. I enjoy pizza whenever I have a craving for it, and they will cost me $1.50 each slice. I can top it off with whatever I want. Since I enjoy my kitchen, baking pizza when I’m home alone is an absolute joy. It’s the most economical way for a single person to enjoy a good pizza.

Preparing Costco pizza for the long term, single serving, storage

  • Take pepperoni off the pizza
  • Cut pizza into 6 slices
  • Put pepperonis back on (6 slices each)
  • Wrap each slice with Kirkland Signature Stretch-Tite Plastic Food Wrap.
  • Put them in Ziploc freezer bags.

** Costco’s take and bake pepperoni pizza has 36 slices of pepperoni

I broke my pizza cutter and I may never buy another pizza cutter again. I cut pizza maybe once a year. And there are plenty of people, including professionals, using kitchen shears to cut pizza.