App of the Month: TrackThis

TrackThis is a great app for getting location updates on your online orders.
PS: It's also great for building anticipation, and therefore increasing happiness!

UPDATE: Sugru

Just an update on the Sugru package I received in the mail the other day. I finally ended up thinking of what I could use it for. I have this hamper I got on sale at Target for 63¢. The problem is that the handle edges that sit inside your fingers as you carry it are really thin and sharp. It hurts especially when you have a heavy load. Here are the pictures from my remedy. It's now been 24 hours and it's finally cured to a nice silicone. No more hurting hands!

Belts: A Study

When it comes to choosing belts, I always look at how well the buckle is integrated into the rest of the belt rather than it being a separate piece of hardware. Here are a couple examples from my closet.

1: J. CREW Patent leather belt
2: BOSSINI Men's matte black leather belt
3: MUSE Cognac leather belt

Tech: Home and End Key Fix

This is for the Apple people out there. Have you noticed that the home and end keys don't behave like they should on the mac os? Meaning home = cursor to start of line, end = cursor to end of line. I fixed mine today, and it works like a gem. Get your fix by clicking the image below, downloading the KeyFixer, and running it; it takes less than a minute.

Spring Onion Pancakes

UPDATE!   My Auntie Angie's response to my question on whether they sell these locally:

"There is in the Chinese supermarket but BAD, compared to the ones from Taiwan.  Even in Taiwan there are so many kinds, its Key's officemate who comes from the south (Tainan) - he said he can get us the BEST onion pancake there is, same one who got the powder for you.  He is now my best friend!! Anyway, everyone even in the office is asking me.  Would you believe I brought 60 pcs and all are gone except for the last 4 which I am protecting with  my life!"



I've been addicted to a couple Taiwanese food items lately. First is some Five Spices seasoning from the street food vendors over there. Second is a new discovery for me -- Spring onion pancakes! They're bought frozen, in pancake shapes; all you have to do it fry them (no oil!) in a pan until they brown. Put them all together and you have a very carb-bloated, sodiumized Nikki. A big thank you to my Auntie Angie and cousin Chiao for introducing it to me. I had about two today.

If you can't get to Taiwan, here, here, and here, are some recipes I found online. Haven't tried any of them yet though, so if you end up trying any of them, I'd love to hear from you!

Documentary: Art & Copy

I just finished watching Art & Copy on Netflix's Watch Instantly. I'm one of those people who thinks Advertising is the devil, but this film did a good job of touching on the many nuances of the practice. At the end of the day, it's not just a documentary on Advertising; it's a look into the minds and souls of our world's subversive geniuses.

Bobby Pins: A Study

This is the first in a series of studies about everyday objects.

WHAT IS A BOBBY PIN?
According to Wikipedia:

The "bobby pin" came into wide use as the hairstyle known as the "bob cut" or "bobbed hair" took hold. This trend gained popularity in the 1920's, and the bobby pins kept the bobbed hair in place. A trademark on the term "bobby pin" was held for some decades by Bob Lépine Corporation of Buffalo, New York.

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
1. Terminus
This is the part of the pin that bugs me the most when it's not right. The more discreet, the better.
2. Holding Strength
The stronger the hold, the better. You can reshape the pin any way you want, and the pin should remain tight.
3. Length
Not too long, not too short. This doesn't matter as much as the strength. The worst kind is the one that's too short AND has a weak hold.

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
All I used to use was my mom's old Goody pins from three decades ago. I had no complaints except that I sometimes found it too long and straight, which I easily fixed by bending it slightly, as shown above. Then I came to the states and had to buy new ones from Goody. To my disappointment, the terminus stuck up and out in a very bulky way. It was also short, and did not hold on very tightly. The very large and round plastic blobs that covered the ends of the pin added to the bulk. I wish they would bring back the longer, slenderer kind where the prongs are much closer together, resulting in a flatter, more discreet looking pin.

A friend of mine recently shared her bobby pin source -- Y.S. Park. It's a Japanese brand and they sell every permutation you can think of. You can try looking it up but it was just confusing to me because it's all in Japanese. Just to widen my bobby pin horizons, I bought an assortment online, and as with almost everything Airi recommends, these were good and very strong. I like how the plastic coating on the ends of the prongs really hug the shape of the metal. The ones on the old Goody pins aren't as durable and tend to fall off especially after getting wet a couple times. The plastic coating on the ends of the short Y.S. Park pin is extremely minimal, but there's just enough to round off the sharp metal ends.

UPDATE: I tried out the bobby pins from Muji, and they're very strong and the plastic ends don't come off. They're a good alternative to the Y.S. Park's which are hard to find.

Gmail: Drag&Drop Attachments

Did you all know about this cool new gmail feature?? Update to the latest version of Firefox now to use it! This is the way things should be.

Best Of: Toiletries

Toothbrush: Oral-B Advantage

Some toothbrushes look really obnoxious. Like it's a space mission to clean your teeth. These look just right, just the right amount of happiness and restraint.

Toothpaste: Crest MultiCare Whitening

I never liked the whitening toothpastes, or maybe I'm just talking about the ones with baking soda that taste like watered down toothpaste that doesn't even bubble. With a sprinkling of salt. This tastes just right, right amount of bubble, and the easy squeeze packaging works very well both functionally and aesthetically. It looks the same from beginning to end.

Face Wash: Neutrogena Rapid Clear Oil Control Foaming Cleanser

I don't like scrubs with their little granules or beads because I feel like your fingers just roll them around on top of your skin. Imagine a marble or even a pebble rolling between your hand and your face. Only these are way smaller. I don't think that's called exfoliation. So, out with the scrubs, in with the cleansers. This is the most pleasant and fresh smelling one I've used. I also really feel that this cuts through the oil on my face, but not in an extreme way.

Toilet Paper: Charmin Ultra Soft

I just like these because they are super soft and strong.

Foundation Sponges: Sonia Kashuk

I've gone through so many drugstore-stocked sponges, but this one from Sonia Kashuk at Target is the best one I've found. I used to have those standard wedge sponges and could've sworn I got them from Target or some supermarket. But one day I ran out and every one I bought was either low quality, stiff, and rough, or covered in what felt like a film that made foundation application feel like you were using a spatula. These are super soft with micro-pores that hold the product and give you the right amount of control over what gets deposited on your skin. The rounded edges are a nice plus, too. I actually have the parallelogram-shaped ones, but couldn't find them online.

Best Of: Cosmetics

Forty-eight years ago, I promised a friend of mine that I'd post some of my top product picks. We thought of so many categories, but I've decided to do this on an installment basis, with one category every week, until I run out. I expect her to follow suit though -- I'm curious what she has to say about her go-to place for basic t-shirts!

- - - - -

1: NARS LIPGLOSS IN SANDPIPER  Not sticky.
2: NARS CREAM BLUSH IN LOKOUM  A little bit goes a long way.
3: KIEHL'S LIM BALM #1  I've tried Blistex Intense Moisture before -- that stayed with me for a while. I don't remember why I switched. I think my lips eventually became immune to it and I had to keep reapplying. It would also melt on me. I like this lib balm from Kiehl's because it's as basic as basic gets. No smell, no nothing. It doesn't feel oily or greasy like it's just sitting on top of your lips. It feels like your lips absorb it and are hydrated by it.
4: MAC POWERPOINT EYE PENCIL IN BURIED TREASURE  Like a really dark gray brown, almost black but not.
5: MAC STUDIO FIX LIQUID FOUNDATION IN NC30
6: SONIA KASHUK FOUNDATION SPONGE  These are super soft and squeezable, but they don't sell this anymore!!! I tried getting the oval ones and they are hard as hell! I'm frustrated and am on a mission.
7: KIEHL'S SODIUM PCA OIL-FREE MOISTURIZER  Not oily, easily absorbed by skin. You can feel the water in this thing. Mild, almost no smell.

Radiolab

I have fallen in love again with this radio show, Radiolab, because of this month's episode "The New Normal".

This is the summary...

New Normal?
How do you tell the difference between a sea change and a ripple in the water? Is a peacenik baboon, a man in a dress, or a cuddly fox a sign of things to come? Or just a flukey outlier from the norm? Is there ever really even a norm? In this hour we examine three stories that reframe our sense of normalcy.

But I was more drawn in by this part in the show...

Here's the question: Will humans ever stop fighting wars once and for all?
Man on street: "No. Because of greed, and one-ups-manship..."
This question is not just about war. It's about something really basic. Do we feel like we can change who we are?

Anyway, the show starts off with this guy who has asked this question for years. His study has proven that we used to be a lot more optimistic. Back in the 80's, only 1 in 3 thought war was inevitable. Today, 9 out of 10 people think war is inevitable. And why do they think this? It's in our genes, it's human nature, is always the answer. And the narrators ask, if we've inherited something, are we stuck?... Or can we change? If we make the right choices...?

So listen on, and if you're like me, you will love it.


About what I just described above, and uses an abrupt change of what's known to be an age old behavior in male baboons as an example.



About a transvestite elected mayor in a very conservative town.



About what actually happens when wild animals get domesticated.

Review: Kind bars

I recently rediscovered these healthy fruit bars called Kind. I'm talking more specifically about the Cranberry and Almonds version, which is labelled as Kind Plus. Other fruity health bars are made of what feels like mushed up pieces of nuts and fruit. You can't really tell any more what is what because they're all ground to look like the same thing, just different colors. I thought this was how it really was, until I came across Kind's Cranberry and Almond bar. There are literally whole pieces of fruit and nut -- WHOLE cranberries, WHOLE ALMONDS, and better yet, WHOLE macadamia nuts. It felt like I was eating something real, but in a quick, portable format.

For some reason, I've only seen this version on sale at Starbucks. Supermarkets only carry the other versions which I don't like so much. It's also not cheap at $1.95 each, but I would recommend at least trying it.

Decisions: Bicycle!

I am trying to decide between the Trek "Allant" and the Trek "Navigator 3.0". What do you think??

---

Trek "Allant"
Size: 15"
Likes: Larger diameter wheels
Price: $540 includes tax

---

Trek "Navigator 3.0"
Size: 14.5"
Likes: White and Brown combo, sleek rims (the gear cover?)
Dislikes: Chunkier-looking wheels
Price: $570 includes tax

UPDATE: I got my bike! The Allant. Ended up getting it because it's a little bit cheaper and the guys at the store said it will take me farther because of the larger wheels. I got it at Helen's Cycles -- Jim there is super helpful and got me a good price on everything. Honestly though, the Navigator was very comfortable because of the front and rear shocks, and probably felt more like what I would ride because it's white. I've never owned a non-white vehicle before, nor has anyone in my immediate family. But the Allant is like a new haircut. I think I just have to get used to it. I'm just not used to looking so fancy.

Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I just read the most amazing book by Stephen Chbosky. I have no idea who he is, but my friend, Josh, lent it to me. I finished reading it in 2 nights and 2 lunch breaks over McDonald's and Taco Bell. Just sitting in my car.

I would describe it myself but I'm not a very good writer, and I'm sure someone else has done it better already.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an epistolary novel written by American novelist Stephen Chbosky. It was published on February 1, 1999 by MTV. The story is narrated by a teenager who goes by the alias of "Charlie"; he describes various scenes in his life by writing a series of letters to an anonymous person, whom he does not know personally.

Wow, that sounded really dry. Maybe I was wrong about someone else having done it better already. I would describe Charlie as this really sweet, introverted boy. But not in a goody-goody way. Just really honest. In a way that society probably teaches you not to be. He reminds me a lot of Javi, how he would always wish people the best in a really sincere, yet weird way, not out loud, but in his heart. And even all the books Charlie's teacher had him read were books Javi's tried to get me to read such as The Fountainhead and Catcher in the Rye. There's also Dead Poet's Society. This book is an easy-reading version of Catcher in the Rye, I think. I actually didn't like Catcher in the Rye because of the way the character ran on with his sentences. It made me dizzy. But the run-on sentences and thoughts in this book make me smile. Because I think a lot of the same things.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book...

I want Sam to stop liking Craig. Now, I guess maybe you think that's because I am jealous of him. I'm not. Honest. It's just that Craig doesn't really listen to her when she talks. I don't mean that he's a bad guy because he's not. It's just that he always looks distracted. It's like he would take a photograph of Sam, and the photograph would be beautiful. And he would think that the reason the photograph is beautiful was because of how he took it. If I took it, I would know that the only reason it's beautiful is because of Sam. I just think it's bad when a boy looks at a girl and thinks that the way he sees the girl is better than the girl actually is. And I think it's bad when the most honest way a boy can look at a girl is through a camera. It's very hard for me to see Sam feel better about herself just because an older boy sees her that way.

...I like to think my brother is having a college experience like they do in the movies. I don't mean the big fraternity party kind of move. More like the movie where the guy meets a smart girl who wears a lot of sweaters and drinks cocoa. They talk about books and issues and kiss in the rain. I think something like that would be very good for him, especially if the girl were unconventionally beautiful. They are the best kind of girls, I think. I personally find "super models" strange. I don't know why this is.

I always wanted to be on a sports team like that. I'm not exactly sure why, but I always thought it would be fun to have "glory days." Then, I would have stories to tell my children and golf buddies. I guess I could tell people about Punk ROcky and walking home from school and things like that. Maybe these are my glory days, and I'm not even realizing it because they don't involve a ball.

My dad had glory days once. I've seen pictures of him when he was young. He was a very handsome man. I don't know any other way to put it. He looked like all old pictures look. Old pictures look very rugged and young, and the people in the photographs always seem a lot happier than you are.

... I think about all this sometimes when I'm watching a football game with Patrick and Sam. I look at the field, and I think about the boy who just made the touchdown. I think that these are the glory days for that boy, and this moment will just be another story someday because all the people who made touchdowns and home runs will become somebody's dad. And when his children look at his yearbook photograph, they will think that their dad was rugged and handsome and looked a lot happier than they are. I just hope I remember to tell my kids that they are as happy as I look in my old photographs. And I hope that they believe me.

...it's like when we were little, and we would go to the grocery store. My sister and brother would fight about things that my sister and brother would fight about, and I would sit at the bottom of the shopping cart. And my mom would be so upset by the end of the shopping that she would push the cart fast, and I would feel like I was in a submarine.

Do you enjoy holidays with your family? I don't mean your mom and dad family, but your uncle and aunt and cousin family? Personally, I do.

Patrick loved the tape! I think he knows that I'm his Secret Santa, though, because I think he knows that only I would do a tape like that. He also knows what my handwriting looks like. I don't know why I don't think of these things until it's too late. I really should have saved it for my last present.

The gift from my Secret Santa wasn't anything special. That makes me sad. I bet you anything that Mary Elizabeth is my Secret Santa because only she would give me socks.

I walked over the hill to where we used to go and sled. There were a lot of little kids there. I watched them flying. Doing jumps and having races. And I thought that all those kids are going to grow up someday. And all those little kids are going to do the same things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn't.

And I felt weird. Really weird, because as I was walking around all the stores, I didn't know what present my dad would like to receive from me. I knew what to buy or give Sam and Patrick, but I didn't know what I could buy or give or make for my own dad. My brother likes posters of girls and beer cans. My sister likes a haircut gift certificate. My mom likes old movies and plants. My dad only likes golf, and that is not a winter sport except for in Florida, and we don't live there. And he doesn't play baseball anymore. He doesn't even like to be reminded unless he tells the stories. I just anted to know what to buy my dad because I love him. And I don't know him. And he doesn't like to talk about things like that.

I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

I don't know whether I should've done that. I practically transposed the whole book here. I hope this isn't illegal.

Zappos, I think I love you.

Grabe, can I just say how great Zappos is. They may not have the greatest looking website or packaging, but their service is... I didn't even know this kind of service was possible.

I ordered a pair of shoes and I think it arrived in 4 days or so. But that's not why I love them. They were too small so I wanted to return it. As I was going through the process, it looked like they would only credit me once they received the shoes. So I emailed them saying that I actually wanted to exchange it for a larger size and didn't want to have to wait until they received the return. I got an email less than a day later, saying that they could send me the right size right away because I was a loyal customer. They also said it would go out next day air on Monday so I could get it on Tuesday! How great is that!

I emailed back asking something else, and someone responded again just an hour or 2 later! And on a weekend! AND THEN! And then, I got another email from them saying they now consider me a VIP customer and invite me to login to their VIP website to get free overnight shipping forever!!!

AND THEN! AND THEN!!! I just got a shipping confirmation email with the tracking info for the replacement shoes! So it went out tonight! A day earlier than they promised!

It just keeps getting better and better. What's next?