About

A collection of thoughts about nature, life, and trying to achieve my dreams.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

More Food!


This time, it's dinner!

What is it about being at home that makes me want to cook so much? Maybe it's my way of thanking my parents for everything they do for me... or maybe it's a convenient way to avoid doing other things, like unpacking my dorm stuff, or packing for my summer adventures.

Regardless, I seem to have been bitten by the cooking bug as of late, so today I decided to create a recipe for vegetarian dumplings to use up the wonton wraps I bought the other day. After skimming the internet, and not really finding anything that jumped out at me, I decided to just wing it, as is my usual style (especially when it comes to dinner- I'm more cautious with baking because that's a more scientific venture).

First, I marinated some chopped up extra-firm tofu in a concocted solution of teryaki sauce, orange juice, rice vinegar, and some pepper. While that was soaking, I chopped up some carrots, red pepper, and spinach, and my dad was kind enough to start up a pan with some sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Eventually, all of the ingredients found their way to that pan, and I let them simmer for a while to soak up all of the flavors. I threw in some corn starch to thicken everything up, and then I got to work wrapping up the dumplings.


My dad helped (thankfully!), and although it was rough at first, eventually we came up with a folding system that worked efficiently.

After a short time in the oven, dinner was served. The rest of my family was having steak (yuck!) but I was more than happy to munch on my little creations with some Trader Joe's Gyoza dipping sauce. The result earned a seal of approval from both my mom and my tofu-hating dad, so I'd consider that a success.



Next time, I'd probably brush the shells with a little oil before baking because the edges got a little dried out, but baking was definitely a viable method, as the result was crispy without all of the grease associated with frying. I'm also interested in experimenting with other fillings, but I have yet to go wrong with the tangy orange-soy combination that I use in almost all of my Asian dishes.

I'd also consider cooking the tofu before I make the filling to firm it up a little better (for a vegetarian of 2+ years, I'm pretty inexperienced with cooking tofu because I love veggies so much, I haven't found the need to add much tofu to my diet).

I'm hoping that I can keep up the motivation to cook throughout the summer (when possible), and into the fall semester, when I'll have an on-campus apartment with a kitchen. Hopefully I'll be able to add a Latin-American flare to my cooking with some Honduran and Costa-Rican inspired flavors after my upcoming trips.

In other news, I got an email from the coordinator for my Ecuador/Galapagos Islands trip in Winter 2012, confirming my enrollment, and I got really excited! Hopefully I'll find the time to finish the two books on the top of my list right now- The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. That's what summer is supposed to be about, right? Relaxing and catching up on stuff you put off during the year? The only problem is that my schedule seems to get even BUSIER during the summer months! There's just never enough time for anything!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Healthy Blondies?


After a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends, finishing up finals, and moving out of my dorm room, when I finally got home this afternoon, I needed to do something to relax. Since I really enjoy cooking/baking, I thought it would be nice to make something for my parents to come home to (and for me to enjoy, as well!), so I decided on an intriguing recipe I read about online recently:

Chocolate Chip Blondies

As a part of CCK's "Hug A Vegan Dessert" Extravaganza

Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I have difficulty following recipes exactly, partially because I rarely have all of the proper ingredients, and partially because I like to experiment. In these, I didn't have any chick peas, so I used cannelini beans instead, and I subbed out the brown sugar with 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup of oatmeal. I also replaced the 1/4 cup flax with oatmeal because I didn't have any flax on hand either.

I was hesitant to taste the batter, as I had just watched myself mash up a can of beans into a bowl of peanut butter, sugar, and various other dessert ingredients, and was a little weirded-out by the whole process. So when a smudge got on my finger, I took it as a sign and quickly licked it off, trying to pretend it was normal batter. I soon found out that the pretending was unnecessary, because they tasted absolutely delicious! Excited to try the finished product, I quickly spooned the mix into a mini muffin pan, and threw them in the oven to bake.

My mom came home before they were done, and since I had told her about the recipe previously, I decided not to hide the true nature of the blondies from her (plus, my mom doesn't much care for dessert, so telling her they were healthy would make it MORE likely for her to try some).


The finished product.

After they had cooled, we popped two out of the pan and dug in. I, having already approved the batter, had no trepidations and finished mine rather quickly, but my mom was a little hesitant. "I'm a little scared to eat this," she said, "knowing what it's made of." After seeing how quickly I had eaten mine, she got over her fear pretty quickly, and with just one bite she was in love, and we began brainstorming the flavor possibilities.

So my life lesson of the day is to be adventurous and push the boundaries of society, because who knows, you may just find something you really like. As for me, I plan on trying to sneak healthy things into my desserts more often, and to unleash my trickery onto unsuspecting friends and family members, starting tonight with my dad and a mini-muffin blondie.

A close-up texture shot:

Who would know that this wasn't a normal dessert?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Things Work Out

This past weekend, I took my horse, Hero, to a horse show. It wasn't an especially fancy show, but it was one of slightly higher caliber than the usual horse shows we go to, and so I knew I had to do everything absolutely perfectly if I wanted to win (which is, of course, the goal of all athletic competitions)!

Although I made a bunch of silly mistakes in my first classes of the day, by the end, I was on top of my game and put in some really nice trips. For those of you who don't know about hunter divisions at horse shows, the basic idea is that you have to do ~8 jumps in a specific order (called a "course" or "trip") and you are judged on style, with the focus being the horse's form as he clears the obstacles. It's kind of like figure skating or gymnastics in that there are little nuanced things that outsiders might not catch, but could mean the difference between winning and not placing at all.

So I was super excited when I laid down what I, and my trainer, believed to be some really nice courses at the end of my day. I watched the other riders with baited breath, tallying their errors in my head and decided whether theirs summed up to be better or worse than my own. I was sure that I had a chance of winning at least one, if not several, of my classes, and had my eye on the much-coveted "champion" title for the division.

And then the results came in.
The first class: 6th place. I swallowed my disappointment, assuring myself that this was my worst course, and that surely I would win the other two classes.
Second class: 2nd place. There we go, that's what I was aiming for. Now surely I could win the 3rd class!
Third class: 3rd place. My heart sank a little as I realized that I wasn't going to get my champion ribbon, and would have to work that much harder to qualify for the year-end finals.

When I talked to my trainer about what I could've done differently to get a better result, she didn't really know what to tell me. My trips had been good- but so were all of the others. This has been one of the toughest lessons that horseback riding has taught me- sometimes you do your best, and it's really good, but someone else's best is just a little better that day.

Part of it comes down to the nature of horse showing. My horse did not come with a six-figure price tag like some of the horses I was showing against, which, although not an inherent, advantage based on price, indicates that my horse is not as "fancy" or "desirable" as the others. I wouldn't trade him for the world, but horse shows rarely care about the adorable personality traits that make me love my horse. In addition, the judging is extremely subjective and with a different person judging the same classes, it's likely that the placings would have looked at least moderately different from what they were.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat here. I am thankful for the opportunities I have to ride and show, and I am more than satisfied with my own performance as well as that of my horse. It's just human nature to want that verification that I did something good, that knowledge that someone else recognizes my achievements.

So we packed up and left the show, and while I was far from being upset, I wasn't as jubilant as I had anticipated that morning when I first arrived. I decided that next time, there wouldn't even be any little mistakes for the judge to hold against me, and started to think about ways I could improve myself and my horse.

Then, on Monday, my trainer called me. She had been checking results from the show online, and discovered that I had won the Marshall and Sterling Hunter Classic, a special class whose results had not yet been announced when we left the show.

So next time things don't seem to be going as planned, I will remind myself of this past weekend. Even if things don't always end up with this kind of redemption, knowing that they have in the past will encourage me to keep trying for the future. And that's what life is all about.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Far Too Much?

Oh, look at that. Aren't I clever? I used the name of my blog as the title to one of my posts because the subject matter is directly related to the reason behind the blog's name!

Anyway, I digress....

Once upon a time, I took one of those Meyers-Briggs Personality Profile tests. I don't remember my exact profile, but it told me that I am a super-enthusiastic person who gets really excited by new things and often abandons old interests when they get too dull.

This is fairly accurate, but sometimes I wonder if I don't do enough of the "letting go" part. I tend to be more of the type that just accumulates new interests and hobbies and extracurriculars all of the time, but I never give up old things to fit them in. Instead, I move my schedule around until I figure something out that sort of works, and end up exhausting myself in the process.

I had my orchestra concert last night, and my mom commented that I looked tired. I was quick to respond with "I'm not tired, I actually got a decent night's sleep last night!" and then jumped to a new topic of conversation.

Upon further reflection, I realized that my mom might be right. Although I haven't been physically tired lately, I think my 20-credit schedule and the enormity of my plans for the upcoming summer and school year are enough to make me feel exhausted just from thinking about how jam-packed my life is going to be.

Some might see this as a bad thing, and who knows, maybe one day it will catch up to me and I won't be able to deal with it anymore, but for right now, it's the way I like it. I've always been the type that needs to fill my time with activities in order to be productive at all, because if I have free time I'm apt to waste it. Spending half of my summer abroad will force me to avoid succumbing to the laziness of summer vacation for the second half, because there are other responsibilities I have to fulfill before the school year begins.

So I guess what I'm saying is, maybe being tired isn't such a bad thing. Tired, to me, means that I've accomplished something whether it's playing a game with friends or writing that term paper I've been putting off. As long as I remain asymptomatic of stress-related syndromes, I am going to keep on pushing the boundaries of time itself so that I can fit in all of the things that I want to do in a day, week, month, year, or lifetime.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

End of Week Hijinks (long post- sorry!)

Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of forgoing my schoolwork and other responsibilities to take some much-needed "me" time by going to the city with a few friends. We ate at Republic in Union Square (the Thai Noodle Salad was delicious), and then headed down to the Bowery Ballroom for what turned out to be a fantastic concert!

The opening act was Pretty & Nice, and although they weren't my favorite (partially because of a way-too-loud bass guitar), they had a great energy and played a fun set.

The first headliner was Wakey!Wakey!, a piano-based band whose music I had little experience with, but ended up really enjoying! The lead singer/pianist, Mike Grubbs, had a really great stage presence and captivated the audience with little anecdotes between songs. You could tell he just loved being on stage with his keyboard, and his happy-go-lucky demeanor was extremely contagious. He calmly laughed off his (alcohol-induced?) error in the lyrics of one song, and really just put on a fun show for all! Oh, and did I mention that their band also features an electric violin? That was a definite highlight of their set.

The final band, which is the one that we came specifically to see, was Jukebox The Ghost. I first head of this Washington D.C.- based piano-pop trio from a friend this past winter, and I fell in love with their songs. Even on their recorded albums, they have this infectious energy, and hearing just a few notes of any of their piano lines is enough to make me smile. Thus, I was extremely excited to see them live, and let me tell, you- they did not disappoint. Everyone in the audience seemed to know all of the lyrics, and the dance-party that ensued was somewhat magical. Most of the songs they played were from their two released albums, but they also threw in two new songs (a real treat!) from their upcoming album (scheduled for recording this summer). Following their self-described "terrible habit of singing terrible covers," they also sang Hewey Lewis and the News' "The Power of Love." All-too-soon, the concert was over, and it was time to march back across the city on aching feet and legs.

We caught the 1:16AM train from Penn, and when my head finally hit my pillow at 4:15AM, the adrenaline was still rushing through my veins. It's a good thing, too, because the energy from that evening was enough to power me up at 8:00AM, when I awoke to make the final preparations on the Stony Brook Equestrian Team's boat for the annual Roth Pond Regatta. If you've never heard of it (which is likely if you don't know anyone who went to Stony Brook University between 1986 and now), it is an annual boat race across a 200-yard pond in one of the residence quads. The catch? All of the boats must be homemade out of cardboard, duct tape, rope, and paint, and nothing else.

It's a favorite springtime tradition here at Stony, partially because it is one of the few events on a campus of tens of thousands of students that is able to give us a sense of community. This year's theme was superheroes and supervillains, so naturally, the Equestrian Team decided to make Aquaman on his trusty Seahorse, Admiral. Standing at more than 8 feet tall, we weren't expecting much in the speed department, striving instead for a chance at the must coveted "Best in Show" award against the defending champs- the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), who won last year with their giant Wall-E boat.


Ready to load!

Although we had some mishaps as far as boarding our boat went (in other words, I ended up swimming across the pond while pulling the boat behind me), we ended up second-best in show to the Toscanini Hall Council, whose Spiderman design was definitely deserving of the title.


During the race (I'm the one in the red life jacket in the water)

SHPE's boat this year was a batmobile that actually ejected a bat-motorcycle-boat halfway through the race, like in the current franchise. They were the winners of the "Kick it in the Back Seat" Award, a Rebecca Black-inspired award whose credentials I am unsure of. All in all, it was a fun day, and next year, I'm hoping that we can clinch the title of Best In Show (and maybe even win a race!).

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Giving Back, But Also Giving To Yourself

At the end of May, I will be embarking on a very special trip to Honduras as a part of a student-led group called the Stony Brook Global Medical Brigade. Approximately 40 of us dedicated students will travel down, with a carry-on of our own clothing, and a full-sized suitcase of donated medicines, toys, clothing, and other items.

Once there, we will arrive at a compound for training in providing basic medical care, as well as administrative duties so that on the 3rd day, we can be shipped to a rural mountain village to set up a free medical clinic for people who have no other access to things that we in America take for granted.

As a group, we have raised over $57,000 to cover airfare and the expenses of medications and doctors, a remarkable achievement, for a mixed group of college students.

Some people (not many) have asked me, "Why are you going on this trip when you're not even Pre-Med?"

I find this question to be very misdirected. Yes, one consideration when doing charity work should always be what benefits you yourself get out of it, but just because I don't want to be a doctor, it does not mean that I can't benefit from this experience.

For one thing, humans are really just big apes, and if I want to learn how to be a veterinarian for wild animals, at least some of the skills will cross over. And secondly, I am hoping to get something other than an activity to mark down on my résumé out of this. I want to see the world, and experience a culture and lifestyle that is about as far-removed from my own cushy middle-class life as possible. I want to push my boundaries, and to feel a little uncomfortable in a land where I don't really speak the language. And most of all, I want to prove to myself that through all of this, I can still form a connection with people, and that goodwill transcends the language and culture barriers that human civilizations set up.

Maybe I'm just being cliché, but I really do believe that helping others is one of the healthiest things you can do for your own mental and spiritual well-being. I know that this will be a life-changing experience for me, because it is my full intention to make it a life-changing experience for me. Too many people these days want to sit in the back seat and just coast along, waiting for big events to happen and change them, but that isn't how it works. I want to be the driving force of change in my own life, and if it means needing to get several series of vaccinations and malaria pills, then so be it.

Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world." What he forgot to mention was that you also have to be the change you wish to see in yourself.

If you're interested in helping out in our last push for fundraising efforts, or just learning more about the brigade, please visit Our Fundraising Page. I have already surpassed my individual goal, so donate to the brigade in general, rather than on behalf of me in particular. I will be sure to post after the trip, so that you can see the good that everyone's money has facilitated!

Introduction

Hi all!
If you're reading this, chances are you know me because I can't imagine many people will have found this on their own!
I made this blog to chronicle my adventures as I complete my undergraduate and graduate education on my path to becoming a conservation veterinarian!

The title of this blog was inspired by "The Circle of Life" lyric, "There's far too much to take in here/more to find than can ever be found." The Lion King is one of the first movies I remember seeing, and I am sure that it has influenced who I am today, as far as my enthusiasm for nature and animals goes. I think this line really captures the excitement I feel about the world- I am always looking for new ideas and activities to pursue! Don't get me wrong, I am very happy and grateful for everything I do have, but I have this unquenchable thirst for more (not so much in a material sense, although I do admit to enjoying a good shopping trip on occasion).

Amongst my favorite things are music (I'm always open to new bands!), animals/nature, horses/horseback riding, photography, reading (I don't have nearly as much time for this as I'd like), traveling, and cooking. Expect to hear about all (or most) of these things in future posts, depending on what my mood is for the day that I am posting.

The current background is a shot that I took of an egret at Sunken Meadow State Park, peeking through the marsh grasses. Sunken Meadow is one of my favorite locations for walking, napping in the sand, photographing wildlife, and even jogging if my motivation happens to reach that level, and I feel a deep connection with the environment there because I attended summer camp there for several years of my childhood.

Thanks for reading, and I hope I don't bore any of you too much!