If I lay here, if I just lay here

The sun is showing a little more often now, but it isn't exactly spring yet. On early mornings waiting at the bus stop, or even at the late stretches of night when I'm fumbling with friends as we walk out of the bar, the coldness of winter still lingers around like as if it isn't ready to depart on its own will. For a change, the snow has said its last goodbyes, but to only lure in the rain in its place. I'm still afraid its going to snow just one last time, but that's just me fearing things that never materialize. It'll be quite soon once more before I finally start to gather those inevitable feelings that always arrive when you begin to sense that spring is in the air. The kind that slowly and carefully brushes upon you and finally envelopes you in one leap of yearning embrace.

...the feelings of youthful naiveness, the vibrancy of wanting to live forever, letting loose like roman candles in the night's sky...

...the climactic emotions that comes with making eye contact with the coy girl in the garden through sheer accidental timing...

... and the perfect symmetry in thoughts when finding yourself standing underneath a whirlwind of cherry blossoms.

Spring isn't here yet. I know it, but I'm waiting. Its been dawning on me that this time of year is Red House Painters season. Been listening to a lot of them lately when no one's around, so I can blast it up to mid volume on my iPod with headphones and lay on the bedroom floor, staring up at the ceiling and window like a late winter dreamer ( the way it should be with that kind of music).

My mind has been drifting towards elsewhere except for here lately. A little bit of it is looking westwards past the Cascades and some more of it looking southwards towards San Francisco. I think it's because of the lack of chilly sunset walks on the beach and the smell of evergreen or even the taste of fresh seafood thats throwing me off. Its going to be almost 30 months at the end of February since I've moved here from Seattle. It's strange to think I've been living here in Pullman for 3 years now. For most of my waking life, I only knew Seattle as a home and was happy when on a whim I decided to move east to Pullman and attend Washington State University. I have no regrets, but eventually I'll need to see the seasons again and allow myself to be bitter at the weather taking too long of a time to transpire into spring and not at anyone/anything else.

Thoughts keep biting at me right at this moment...

4:59am...

Glancing at the clock, I stumble at the notion that I should be entirely in bed by now. However, I'm not. I'm finding myself sitting here at the dining table underneath what appears to be the loneliest set of illuminated lighting to be found in the entire apartment at the moment. And here is me sitting alone only to be a compliment to the atmosphere of this early morning restlessness . Daring to take a second glance, it finally jumps at me that it's 4:59am and that I am coming to grips of becoming fully aware that I am a part-time insomniac.

By definition, an insomniac is someone who is characterized by persistent difficulties in falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity that is granted to them. For the most part, it is also typically followed by functional impairment while they are awake. Well, for me, I consider myself only part-time in this sleeping disorder because it's not persistent so to speak. I do have nights where I am sleeping perfectly normal without any obstructions affecting me. And it's also only sometimes that I'm awake and struck with realization that I'm functionally impaired.

Perhaps, all of what I just said is just bullshit coming from a part-time insomniac (like me) who really just doesn't want to go to bed, but rather has some internal revelry in spending endless odd hours attempting to defy sleep and squeeze in as much more hour in a day than it is naturally possible. Or maybe I have other intentions.

Well, since I am conveniently up (as oppose to being in bed), I clearly think I will go for a morning jog to make myself sweat, ...to make myself tired, ...to make myself lose some of this energy that's keeping myself awake,...to make myself become cold in order to yearn for the comforts of a warm bed,...and to figure out everything else that I need to make out of myself...

...at 5:28am.

Fuck. it's 5:29am now.

February 14th came and went

If you think about it (well, this is what I think anyways), Valentine's Day seems to be a little too over-rated. Don't you agree? I mean, the perfect card, the perfect gift, the perfect date...

Seriously, for those who are already attached to someone, isn't there already enough pressure in relationships? And do we really have to add more to this pressure by trying to live up to some romantic ideal on Valentine's Day? I dunno. Perhaps you can disagree with me on what I said but it is no lie that Valentine's Day have become increasingly commercialized throughout the years. In fact, more often we seem to have our love measured by what we buy. Yeah, buying gifts for someone you love is always fun and creative, but this is not what love is all about. Love is much more complex than flowers and chocolates.

If you wish, buy that card or those flowers, but also keep in mind that this is not a maker or breaker of a relationship. Better yet, show the person you love and place them in consideration on the other 364 days in the year. It will make a greater impact on the relationship than simply aligning yourself on just one single day in February. Anyway, that's what I think and feel free to disagree with me.

So you're wondering, just what exactly did Dylan do on Valentine's Day this year? Well, unlike last year, I'm not attached to someone and a Valentine's Day plan was not destroyed by some stupid fight with the girlfriend over ridiculous stuff. Instead, this year I'm single and there really wasn't any plans at all. In fact, I actually spent a good part of it studying for a midterm and eating some Valentine's Day treats given to me from Ning and Sayano.

Valentine's Day cards I made for Ning & Harue.

Before heading on to campus in the morning, I whipped up some omelets and blueberry pancakes for Ning & Harue. I felt that I was running a little late and so I skipped out on making food for myself and simply indulged my hunger in a breakfast of vending machine chips and soda.

The rest of the evening I spent with my female roomies and two guy friends who happened to drop by. All of us presided over a delicious dinner that Harue prepared as well as lots of desserts and two fine bottles of wine amongst the five of us. All in all, it was a low-key, but yet a cozy, warm and relaxing evening.

Images of Valentine's day dinner this year prepared by my roomie Harue.

Three's Company

me, Harue and Ning

Most of you might have already known that last semester here at Washington State University (from August thru December), I was living with Kelly, Harue and Anthony. I mentioned about this way back in my Nov. 30, 2007 post. And then in my December 15, 2007 post, I talked about how things have changed and that I'll be living with only two girls starting January 2008. Remember that?

Well anyway, as of now...here I am living with two awesome girls, Harue and Ning. They both indeed are very sweet, smart, lovely and always fun to hang out with and I do enjoy their company.

And that's why before I go to sleep every night, I always take the quiet moment to thank the lord for this blessing that I've received.

Thank you lord! Oh how you have blessed me with this brilliant adornment of dual female companionship!

Hahahaha...I'm just kidding about the last two sentences, but I truly am glad I'm living with both of them right now. Aside from the friendship and the companionship, it also gives me a chance to learn and explore the female psych much more in-depth and it also allows me to better understand how I am with females, how they react to me and especially provides me with knowledge of what women want.

Then again, as much as I do know about women (sort of)...I still get confused about the gender type known as "females" (yes, I do get confused about you females, sometimes!). What do you women in this world want from me? Just kidding. So yeah, I'm no expert on the female gender-type (perhaps one day?), BUT I've learned quite a tremendous deal about them (thanks to living with you females). However, I'll always be dumbfounded now and then.

Anyway, life isn't too bad being the only male bachelor in the household. My living situation kind of reminds me of that old television sitcom Three's Company...except we're not Caucasians living in the late 70's-early 80's and there's no Stanley Roper living below our apartment.
But yeah,

Come and knock on our door.....
We've been waiting for you......
Where the kisses are hers and hers and his,
Three's company too.

Happy Chinese New Year!

I just wanna wish everyone prosperity, longevity and lots and LOTS of happiness.

Year of the Rat

Scenes from Thailand:

People celebrating Chinese New Year in the Yaowarat part of Bangkok, Thailand. (photos courtesy of Masashi)

Realm of the Four Buddhas

My apartment bedroom...the very place of my nightly slumber, occasional late-night studying, solitary relaxation, moments of self-reflection, and conversational lounging, isn't quite anything extraordinary to boast about. The way I've always seen it to be is that it's simply just a temporary place for me to live here in Pullman (since 2005) as I continue to pursue what I've got to do here at Washington State University. However, one thing that I do get often is friends and people who've been in my room saying how relaxing, comfortable, peaceful and rejuvenating it is. If you haven't seen or been inside my bedroom, it most certainly can be described as very modern & Asian.

Anyway, I think from time to time, I'll showcase some aspects and bits of my bedroom. For now, I'll leave you with images of my four Buddhas that you can find in different spots of my bedroom...

Dylan's bedroom, also known as "Realm of the Four Buddhas"...just kidding.

From top going clockwise:

• A high relief carving of an Adorned Khmer Buddha head, Angkor Wat style of 12th century A.D. This one is placed on top of one of my bookshelves where it receives brilliant lighting.
• Small jade Gandharan style Buddha meditating on lotus. I like to pretend this is the Emerald Buddha. This one sits right underneath my bonsai tree which kind of gives it the "meditating underneath the banyan tree" look.
  
• The Laughing Buddha or Budai statue, is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya. It is considered the predicted Buddha who is supposed to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future. This one is placed prominently in the middle of my desk and faces me and smiles to me everyday whether I'm going online on my laptop or tediously studying.
  
• The Nyorai Buddha. This one sits gracefully on top of my black bookshelf. It is the one most visibly recognized when someone walks into my bedroom.
  

For the girl who couldn't readily get kimchi...

So I know I've been teasing you (you know who you are) quite some time now with all of my talks about kimchi...

Dylan's breakfast of steamed jasmine rice, kimchi and pork slices. Of course awaiting Korbua.

I know it's kind of mean, but I've even included the Vietnamese pork (gio lua) just for you!

Sorry to be mean, but Korbua...this is me teasin' ya...

3 things on my mind on this Sunday morning

1st Thing...

Harue, Anthony, me, Ning, and Brian at the guys' pad last night.

Saturday night, my room mates and I decided to just kick it and chill at Anthony & Brian's place where I ended up making some dinner for everyone. I went forth with cooking up really flavorful & juicy beef steaks that I marinated using a recipe that I conjured up myself which involves chopped ginger, red wine vinegar and a lot of other stuff.

Obviously, I love to cook. Culinary exploration and creation is one of my passions. If you know me, Thai & Vietnamese cuisine is what I mainly cook, but Japanese and especially Cambodian cuisine are my next to explore and conquer. Not too many people know about Cambodian cuisine. It's a world of its own that kind of resembles a blend of Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese, but yet has it's own uniqueness. Cambodian food has stronger flavors than Vietnamese, slightly more subtle than Thai and is not as heavy as Chinese. I personally believe Cambodian cuisine is a hidden gem that is going to be one of the next big trendy thing in dining. Oh, by the way, e-mail me if you want the recipe for these steaks.

A plate of my steak & rice. I think this is Brian's plate.

And like any university students on a weekend night,...we ended up drinking afterwards. We can't help it! It's a given!

2nd Thing...

Just staring out the window and attempting to study on a cold and lazy day like today, I truly find myself miss living in Seattle and having that all-taken-for-granted ability to just drive over to Chinatown whenever I wanted to and have a steaming bowl of kuyteav at Phnom Penh Noodle House. When I was living in Seattle, this used to be one of my favorite places to go and have a bite during lunch.

A yummy bowl of "Kuyteav Phnom Penh" at Phnom Penh Noodle House.

3rd Thing...

I had a really fun conversation with a certain someone (you know who you are) earlier this morning. I hope she was able to find some kimchi close to her office and satisfy her craving, yeah? (laughing).

Lets thank the snowstorm for cancelled classes

I decided to go out onto my balcony to film the snowstorm.

Going to school here at Washington State University obviously means that I also have to endure the grueling winter months where Pullman receives days of heavy snowfall in addition to the endless cold winds and freezing nights. Seriously, everything over here can become literally frozen over night. No joke!

The snowy landscape of the northern part of Pullman from on top of Holland library on campus. (Photo by me)

This past Wednesday, Pullman was hit by a severe snowstorm that lasted into the Friday morning. As a result, we ended up having over a feet of snow, which was rather beneficial to me because the weather condition actually forced the university to cancel classes for both Thursday and Friday. Lately, I've been ranting so negatively about the harsh weather but all of that was subsided when nature had blessed us students with a 4-day weekend.

The trick is to give them (as in females) curry

Day #1:
Sitting across the dining table from her last night, while both of us were busy being absorbed in our own personal worlds via online on our laptops, I noticed that girl ...the one right across from me... was feelin' a bit sad. Although I was caught up with my own thing, I couldn't help but sense this frustration emanating from her and the conveyance of restless expressions on her face that seem to have caught the corners of my eyes. I go to bed wondering what the hell is wrong...

Day#2:
So I find out from her what's been really goin' on with herself since for myself curiosity was really placing some low levels of anxiety inside me. Once again, I'm forced beyond my will to play the role of the "nice-guy-friend-that-girls-go-to-for-talks-about-their-problems" guy.

Okay, so how do I comfort a girl and attempt to tell her that everything is alright? Umm...what do I do? I end up cooking her a pot of pork & vegetables curry. Spicy enough to make her temporarily forget her worries and yummy enough to turn that frown into a smile. I dunno. I'm really a big dork. But hey, the smile lit up on her face and my job is done.

Dylan's curry. It temporarily solves all girl's problems. Seriously.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why am I always the one playin' the role of the "nice-guy-friend-that-girls-go-to-for-talks-about-their-problems" guy all the time???

Hahahahahahahahaha.......

Hrmm...I've got a plan...