Architecture Inspiration: Alvar Aalto

Finnish.

Romantic Functionalism.

Aalto.

Curved ceiling design for acoustics. Municipal Library in Viipuri, Russia.

Aalto's own studio in his home. I love exploring how architects design their own houses. 

Aalto's self-designed living room.

Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Finland. Simple design that is just so appealing. Love the black accents.

Baker Building in MIT. Actually got to live in here when I came to visit! I love the curves of the building, which create ample study/social space. The rooftop views at night are also gorgeous.

Experimental House. Interesting how they actually took the resources to make an experiment. Super avant-garde, but very beautiful. 

Municipal Library in Viipuri, Russia. These door handles are so beautiful! 

Photos taken from book "Aalto" by Louna Lahti. 

Homemade Almond Milk

After reading the article "Lay Off the Almond Milk, You Ignorant Hipsters" by Tom Philpott (See the article here), I realized that I was also drawn to these supposed magical properties of almond milk, shelling out a good amount of money for a jug. I am partly lactose intolerant (being Asian...it's probably more unlikely that you're NOT lactose intolerant), so when my friend introduced me to almond milk, I was literally overjoyed to see its high calcium and low fat content.

I guess the main takeaway I got from the article is that I was paying too much for literally just crushed almonds and water (with some chemicals). So, I decided to try my hand at making almond milk myself.

soaked almonds

The milk is ready!

almond milk and some almond meal on the side (after straining)

Ingredients

1 cup almonds

5 cups water (1 for soaking, the rest for the milk)

I let to almonds soak for about 12 hours (but in other recipes, I saw that only about 4 hours is needed). I put the almonds into a soy milk maker (an oddly specific device, I know) and let her rip with additional water. It was all ready in about 15 minutes! I then poured the milk through a strainer which separated the milk from the crushed almond meal. The result is a slightly cleaner tasting version of almond milk (which my family finished within a day!).

There aren't any stabilizers in this homemade version, so the almond milk tends to separate really easily. I'm not completely sure what I want to do with the almond meal yet, but I'll probably find some recipes online.

Another takeaway from the article was the water wasting properties of producing almonds. Although it's good for me to be aware of its ecological harms, I don't think it's effective for me to give up almonds or something in protest. With these things, it's better for some government intervention to help curb California's forever impending drought.

I've become really interested in making super basic ingredients/foods at home! My friend really inspired me the other day by making homemade butter, which I have yet to try. The idea of being able to control all parts of the process appeals to me greatly. Off to obtaining some heavy cream!

Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator

About a month ago, I decided to get rid of my Facebook newsfeed. I was inspired by a friend who had done so by "unsubscribing" to each one of his friends manually. I looked at my list of 990 "friends" and realized that it was an impossible process. Instead, I decided to google "how to get rid of facebook newsfeed" and this chrome extension came up called Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator. Not only does it wipe out the newsfeed, it also gives you a productivity quote to keep you going! It looks like this; 

Why did I decide to get rid of my Facebook newsfeed? Well, I realized that all I was doing was wasting time and experiencing a ridiculous amount of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Facebook is for socializing, but all I was doing was looking at other people's lives, a placebo for real connections that I could maintain through technology.

Stephen Fry once said that "Technology is a mirror." for the skills and interests you have in real life and that only the intelligent can actually use technology to enhance their lives. For the rest of us, it actually has a negative impact on our ability to develop. I see this as mostly true, and I literally don't have the ability to not scroll through my newsfeed when it is offered to me. Subconsciously, I just fall into it and waste a lot of time. Now that I don't have it, I can focus on real communication on Facebook such as messaging or wall posts - I still get notifications that pertain to me, but don't have to look at things that have nothing to do with me at all.

I feel like there is a slight tradeoff because sometimes you don't know when a friend is in town, or miss a good opportunity to join an organization, but this literally happens so infrequently that it the time I save from not mindlessly scrolling through pictures completely outweighs, at least so far.

Getting rid of Facebook Newsfeed is I guess a "radical decision" nowadays, but it one that has really worked out for me. Now when I realize something is bothering me or making me waste time, instead of curbing the habit, it is better for me to completely eradicate it instead.

College Majors

I still haven't chosen my college major yet, but I keep reading articles that basically discourage anything that I have interest in majoring in...which is anything related to the arts and humanities.

I originally went in to college thinking I'd to an International Politics and Economics major with Studio Art as a minor, but now I'm considering Philosophy, Sociology and Architecture.

And then I see this...

Like, how are you supposed to randomly be able to switch over from being good at/enjoying photographic arts to accounting? I would think that there may be a small portion of the population equally happy in both, so they should probably default to perhaps a more lucrative major, but for the most part, all these articles keep recommending is like either Computer Science or Accounting and I hate those things.

I feel like I'm frustrated by these articles because I feel a bit stressed out about deciding what I want to do. I always keep wondering if I actually have an inherent interest in what I am considering (Philosophy, Architecture, etc.) or I simply like an isolated class that I have taken. It also seems like if I take any of these majors, I won't have a job or something, which, rationally is untrue. But even if it were, I would rather do something that I like than do something in pursuit of a job.

At least that's what my naive, yet to join the workforce, and idealistic brain thinks.

Watermelon Smoothie

Summer is so great for refreshing watermelon smoothies! It's often hard to finish a whole watermelon, but this will make them go surprisingly fast.

Luckily they're so easy to make.

Ingredients: 

1/4 medium sized watermelon

1 cup water

Cut the watermelon into little squares (try to get a little bit of the light green part of the peel!) and refrigerate for an hour. Take out and add water & watermelon slices into blender and go for about 30 seconds on medium~

Foodspiration: Pample Mousse

I just passed my driving test in Redwood City, California yesterday, so I've been around the downtown area a lot. There is one cafe that my mom and I keep going to...and it's delicious! It's called PampleMousse and serves some really gourmet soups, sandwiches, coffees, and cakes.

 

Turkey Brie sandwich - with a touch of arugula and cranberry sauce for some healthy and delicious lunch fare. 

Fig and Almond Cheesecake - another unexpected and inspirational combination! My mom ordered the blackberry chocolate cake (one the side) but we both agreed that the cheesecake was better (even though she doesn't even like cheesecake!). It's lighter than most cheesecakes, so it makes it much easier to eat!

I also tried the salmon sandwich and potato leek soup, which were both very good, although I liked the turkey sandwich a little more (the dash of cranberry and generous slabs of brie cheese made it pop!). I love the mix of everyday ingredients in creative ways - makes me want to experiment! The price is also quite affordable - my mom and I usually share 1 sandwich and soup which adds up to around $15 for both of us. Cakes are around $6 a piece.

Turn Off Pageview Stats!

I've finally found a perfect place in my life for blogging. It is for those moments in between what belongs in my personal journal (which I write by hand every few days) and formal essay writing. It documents experiences and things to remember, but doesn't include the clutter of specific names and ongoing internal struggles. The ideas here are more complete than my journal, but less formally written than essays.

That being said, I would like to develop an intrinsically motivated blogging habit, and I find my stats of pageviews very distracting! I realized that many bloggers become successful not because they wanted to become famous as a goal, but because they simply enjoyed the act of blogging. I find that this constant pageview stat blocks me from enjoying the act of blogging in itself and I should at least have the option to not look at it if I don't want to. I blog for myself, not for pageviews or others.

Like, obviously, people can say, "Just don't pay attention to it." "Stop looking at it." But it's always this huge image of it every time I try to write a new post on my blog! How am I supposed to not look at it at all? Feed into my counterproductive interests, present in human nature?

So, I have asked a question on Google Product Forums about a way to turn pageviews off and you can find the link here: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/how-do-i/c1Wt4RHQ_2A

I would really appreciate your support if you can help make turning off these stats possible in any way!