Aporkalypse 2009

Nachos & Horchata DO Mix!

After last week's mishap with the nachos, my craving was left unsatisfied. So over the weekend Keegan took me to a little Mexican place called Rancharito's (formerly called Beto's). We ordered a HUGE plate of nachos and opted to stay inside the restaurant to eat so if we spilled it would at least be on a table. :-)

Midway through Keegan suggested I try some Horchata. I was definitely curious and usually enjoy trying new things, so we ordered some. I loved it! For those of you who have never had it, the drink is a perfect blend of rice milk and cinnimon. It has a unique taste and took a little getting used to at first, but I was very happy to discover a new drink.

We looked at a few recipes online to see how complicated it would be to make ourselves. Pretty complicated was our answer. But, I figured why not. So at the store we looked in the ethnic food isle for some cheese cloth to drain all the rice particles. But instead of cheese-cloth we found a mix... all too easy and so worth it. Keegan then headed to get the milk only to discover that there was a jug of Horchata already mixed. I was impressed... how have I missed it all these years?! Maybe next I'll have to try the strawberry.

(This isn't really Keegan but it sure looks like it at a glance... however that IS Horchata that his look-a-like is drinking ;-)

Sidenote: My hispanic students were very pleased that I had finally discovered Horchata. They want me to try Manudo next... but I've heard too many bad stories of hairy cow tongues! They just laughed at me but after all, I'm still a white girl!

Sushi, Wits, and Wagers

This weekend we went out to Takara, a local sushi joint with the Peck's. They like sushi too and since not everyone has a taste for fine cuisine, we decided to seize this opportunity. We ordered five different rolls and they were all delicious. Among the favorites were Leaving Las Vegas, and the Mexican Crunch roll. Sharing sushi with a group is definitely the way to go.

Afterwards, we went over to our pad to try out some new board games we purchased with our credit card ThankYou points. The games were: Wits & Wagers and Gift Trap. The former asks each player quantifiable trivia questions such as: How many Grammy's has Michael Jackson won? or How many miles long is the Great Wall of China? Each person writes his or her best guess down and then places it on the table. Each player then bets on which guess is closest to the actual answer. The games moves along at a good pace and doesn't require much of an explanation. Nobody is put on the spot either. Wits & Wagers is one of our new favorites. Give us a call if you would like to play it sometime!

Gift Trap is also a relatively simple game. In this game, cards are layed out on the table representing gifts. Each player sorts the gifts on a 1-4 scale of how much he or she would enjoy receiving it, were it actually given. Then each person decides what gift to "give" the other players. The object of the game is to try to give people the gifts they want. Points are awared for accuracy in giving and receiving. We determined this game would be best for a large group who are trying to get to know eachother better.

Huge Hunk of Humanity

What is it about grandma's that just makes you want to be around them? Maybe it's the fact that you can't wait to hear what they say next. For example, there is a sweet old lady that Keegan and I have gotten to know who lives in our complex and attends our ward. Her name is Karma. For awhile we went to the same little Sunday school class and her comments were always the best! She is so real and genuine and has a great sense of humor. She's invited us over to dinner a few times and we've also become friends with her grandkids that live with her that are our age. Well, today we went over to visit and randomly she looked at Keegan and said, "Oh you huge hunk of humanity! Look at you- oh I love you!" and just laughed. :-) It was pretty funny.

It's nice to have a Grandma so close that feeds us and always has a good story to tell. She is a great lady and everytime I visit her I learn something new and realize how amazing she is and want to be like her. So for all of you grandma's out there, we love you and wish we could spend more time with you!

My Favorite Movie

If you haven't seen Groundhog Day by now, I implore you to move it to the #1 spot in your Netflix queue. Greatest romantic comedy off all time? I think so. Here's why:

Bill Murray's nonchalant sarcasm. If you don't appreciate sarcasm, don't bother watching Groundhog Day. In this movie, Murray plays a meteorologist named Phil Connors in Pennsylvania who once again finds himself in the town of Punxsutawney, PA to cover the Groundhog Day festivities. Incidentally this is a real-town and they really do have a ceremony. His pessimism, sarcasm, and apathetic attitude don't win him the respect of his co-workers Rita (Andie MacDowell) and Larry (Chris Elliot). Phil muddles his way through his coverage of the groundhog's declaration of the status of his shadow's visibility and is anxious to return to Pittsburgh. He finds himself stuck in the town he so desperately wishes to leave because of a blizzard he ironically did not predict. (Remember he's a weatherman). He wakes up the next day only to realize that the day's events seem to repeat themselves. Phil asks Mrs. Lancaster—the woman managing the bread and breakfast where he's staying— if she ever has deja vu to which she replies, "I don't think so, but I could check with the kitchen."

The days repeat for how long we do not know; several months at least. Phil feels the rush of adrenaline when he realizes there are no consequences to his actions, he puts up a weak fight against boredom, then he loathes his existence when he recognizes the days events are inconsequential. And then magically he accepts his plight and decides to make the best of each day. He learns to give to those he stole from, listen to those he used to manipulate, aid those who he used to pass by, and care about people when he used to only care about himself. And the best part is, on-screen this plot only comes of a little cheesey. Phil doesn't become over-the-top charitable, he just genuinely improves his character. A movie where a character actually develops. How refreshing. And for the gals, there's even a love story on the side. But it's not the kind of love story you are used to seeing in a rom-com¹, so guys can tolerate it too, because Phil is actually a regular dude.

Groundhog Day is a must see every February 2nd.

¹Your typical rom-com features the following plot:
Well-to-do gal meets unrealistically perfect guy. The dude is one handsome devil. He's got the spontinuity of a crazy frat boy and the frugality of a depression child. He sleeps with her within hours of their first meeting, but he's super loyal and under "normal circumstances" would never do that. Finally, girl sees his grotesque unignorable flaw: he's too giving. She's not sure if he'll make time for her amidst all the charity he does. Girl purchases a one-way ticket outta there without explaining her reasoning. Guy rushes to airport/train depot/bus station and begs for her to stay. She's overcome with emotion and they live happily ever after. Cause after all, guys LOVE to be unappreciated by needy girls who play head-games. See: The Holiday, The Notebook, Sweet November, Someone Like You, etc.

PCLinuxOS

Five years ago today, the first version of PCLinuxOS ('Preview .4') was released to the public. The current version is 2007 with and the beta version of 2009 was released just days ago. With the flopping of Vista and Apple's increasing market share, computer users are turning to alternative operating systems. I have been running PCLinuxOS for about two years and I am very optimistic about the direction its going. It's still has a few quirks that need to be worked out. Some advantages to using it rather than Winodws are:

• Runs faster on older machines
• All software packages are FREE
• More stable (less crashes, fewer resets)
• Easily customizable themes
• Fancy effects (video demonstration below)

The cons:

• Wireless support is shaky
• Not all printers work without issues
• Can't just download anything off the net and install it

The best part is you can just download the .iso and burn it with Nero and give PCLinuxOS a try before you ever install it. If you decide to install, this guide is very helpful.

Quest for the Perfect Shave

I think the quest for the perfect shave began sometime in 2006 when I reluctantly purchased Mach 3 refills as I had done so many times before. I think I paid around $15 for 8 cartridges. I know some guys use those refills over and over, but I say a fella can get five shaves max. Tired of wasting my $ on those things, and more importantly the fact I was left with a red, irritated, cut-up face and neck, I decided 1) Not shave as often 2) Search for a decent alternative. It seems like the former won out—probably for other reasons too—but nevertheless the journey continued. I don't remember where I first read about wet shaving, but I knew it was something I had to try. I read a few how-to-shave guides that inspired me, so I forked out the dough for some supplies.

I started with a vintage Black King straight razor stamped 'Solingen, Germany' on the tang. I bought a badger hair brush, a mug to hold my cup soap, and a strop to sharpen the blade. I shaved with this for a couple weeks thinking I would get the hang of it eventually but I just ran out of patience. No doubt it was the closest shave I ever had, but at what cost? Taking 30+ min to shave just wasn't worth it to me, at least not as a daily ritual. I even sought the advice of an old skool barber while I lived in Tomball, TX. He gave me a few good tips including covering my face with baby oil before I lathered up to help the razor glide across my face. He also suggested I try a smaller razor because it would be more manuvarable. These suggestions helped and did shorten my morning ritual, but I wasn't content enough to give up the search.

Then I stumbled upon this blog in which the author reccommended a single bladed safety razor like this one. I bought one similar only with a longer handle. I think it cost me around $20. After trying it a few times, I knew this was the instrument my face had been longing for. After deciding this was the razor for me I purchased 100 refils (yes one hundred) double edge razors for around $20. They threw in some liquid shaving soap as well as some after shave balm (no joke!) Although I am still learning the proper technique I can tell I am going in the right direction. My once a week habit of shaving will be a tough one to break but perhaps frequency will increase.

My friends, I urge you to try this. If nothing else, at least throw away your can of Barbasol shaving foam and use the badger hair brush with mug soap. The warm lather is thicker, it will open your pores and prepare them for the shave. Your face is worth investing a little time in. Also in a year, you will find that you will actually save money by not having to be reliant on those Mach 3 refills.

Saving For Retirement

The grabline: Keep reading to learn how to make an easy $25 and start saving for retirement.

Fellow Generation Y cohorts, I wish to address you on a more serious subject today: your finances. You may or may not know exactly how social security works. To keep this brief, the social security you pay today covers the retirees of today. This money is NOT being set aside for your future. You can read more about this here.

Personally, I do not want to leave my retirement funds to chance, or politicians. I want to live comfortably in retirement. To ensure that this goal becomes a reality I have decided to start up a savings account. Something, I admit, I should have started long ago. Currently I have a checking account with Wells Fargo and it sucks. They find any excuse to charge me. The only reason I remain a customer is because they are EVERYWHERE, and convenience is important to me. With respect to a savings account, their interest rates are despicable. Last time I checked they were around .06% and required a minimum balance of $300 or else I would get charged a fee. A fee for the privilege of storing my money at their bank! Sadly, this scenario is not unique.

Since everyone who reads this blog knows me, you also know that when I decide I want to make a purchase I do research like a mad man. This time my research has led me to an online bank known as ING Direct and they are the cat's pajamas. If you don't want to take my word for it, see if you can find any dirt on them. They do not require a minimum balance and have an APY of 3.00%. This likely won't be the highest interest rate you can find, but it is competitive. People rave about their customer service and that's what really sold me.

In all honesty, my main motivation for writing this is to share what I've learned in the past few months about finances. My hidden agenda is to get $10 out of you. Here's how it works: If you follow this link to open an account, I will receive $10 for referring you—provided you open a savings account with a minimum balance of $250. Oh yeah, and you get a $25 bonus for doing this. Because none of my friends or family were kind enough to impart this wisdom to me, I had to search online and use some random person's link so I could get the $25. Currently $275 sits in my account and will sit in yours if you do the same. Open an account

So What? Another thing that really sold me on savings was the concept of compound interest. Here's just a tiny example. Say you started your ING Orange savings account today and contributed just $200/month for 40 years. You would have $16,384.58 at the end of that time provided the whopping 3% interest rate stayed the same. (Disclaimer: I would not recommend using a savings account for a long term investment. Real estate, mutual funds, stocks, etc would get you closer to 8%) Now say you procrastinated saving and 20 years later you decide you finally want to start saving. So in your 40's you put $5,000 together and contribute a little more, say $250/mo. for the next 20 years. This would leave you with 15,960.50, nearly $500 LESS. What do you think is more cumbersome? Setting aside just 10% of your income now, or trying to come up with five grand when your kids are starting college? Play around with more figures with this handy compound interest calculator.

Bonus Material: Read on only if interested

A few weeks ago, I finally took my mission president up on a recommendation he made years ago. Oh yeah, he is the wealthiest person I know by a long shot, but that's not what's important. He recommended a book called The Richest Man In Babylon. The take home message is to pay yourself first. In other words, every time you receive your paycheck, set aside 10% for your investment account. Notice I said investment account and not savings account. It is not an account that you deposit money into for a year then spend it on a vacation. It is money you put away for something like a mutual fund. When that money accrues interest, use the money it made to make more. Sounds like a good plan to me.

With this ING account, I can setup a "direct deposit" with my checking account to automatically pull a fixed dollar amount each month (in my case about 10%), so it basically compels me to save. Afterall, sometimes we lack the discipline to save ourselves, right? Once I have a store of 3-6 months income should anything happen, I plan to use this money for investment purposes

Another good read is The Wealthy Barber, a book reccommended to me by my family finance professor. This book is similar to the above mentioned, but rather than teach the priciples through parables, it gives more specific advice through telling a story. Both books are entertaining and educational, and won't cost you anything if you pick them up from the library.

In conclusion, starting a savings account is a good idea no matter how little you have to start. So even if you don't have $250 now to put into a savings account, don't worry about the referral bonus, ING would still be a great place to start. By all means shop around and find what's best for you.

Repetitive Strain Injury

I never feared RSI until I found myself in a cubicle eight hours a day. Fortunately, an open source hero arose to conquer the effects of such a danger. It's name: Workrave. This handy little app reminds me to take breaks throughout the day. As usual the default settings just won't do. I set my mini breaks to be every 10 min with a 15 second duration. For the rest breaks, every hour and lasting 5 minutes. Daily limit: 7 hours. And of course, disable the sounds! So far its worked well for me. I didn't want to wait until RSI set in to do something about it. Afterall, prevention is easier than repair, right?