Frugal Foodies

Asians are known as being . . . frugal people. While that may have had negative connotations before, there is nothing more trendy now in our economic situation than spending wisely.

Today Alex and I went to the Eden Center (aka Little Saigon of the East) because he loves Vietnamese food for a good deal. We had already eaten lunch, but if we had not, we could have probably spent $15 for a filling meal. Instead, Alex got his Durian Smoothie and loaded up on frozen Asian food for home, like bbq pork buns. I bought a sandwich to take home for dinner. For $3.25, I got a toasty baguette filled with roasted chicken and vegetables. Much better than any Subway deal.

While we were out, I also got the ingredients to make Chicken Cilantro Wontons for a Superbowl Party I am going to for around $8. Folding 50 wontons may have taken some time, but that's what Asian work ethic is for.

Not So Golden State

First we find out that Californians will receive IOUs instead of tax refunds because the state treasury is empty. (The state says it will be only a 30 day delay; we will see how that works out.) Then today we hear that the Governor has ordered state employees to take off two days without pay each month to help offset the $42 billion projected deficit.

The bad news for me is that I was expecting a tax return this year from California because of my summer job. The good news is that I have long abandoned any desire to work for the California state government, especially after going against two state attorneys last summer who should not just get paid at all.

In all seriousness though, it just seems so bleak for the land of sunshine and prosperity. As much as I want to blame this all on Governor Schwarzenegger, I really think this would have happened to any person in his shoes. Maybe not as bad, maybe worse, but ultimately California is an ungovernable state.

Federalism gave California the opportunity to be the laboratory for direct democracy. There are the initiatives and referendums that let uneducated voters tie up the budget with frivolous projects and at the same time impair the state's ability to raise revenue (thank you Prop 13). There are the term limits which mean that our state legislators have little experience, less long-term thinking budget-wise, and little accountability to constituents since they don't have to worry about re-election. And for some reason we thought that being one of three states in the country to require a 3/5 super majority to pass the budget was a good idea when in reality, it just leads to tax cuts and spending increases so that both Democrats and Republicans are happy. (Can you tell that I wrote a paper about this in my California public policy class?)

We had our little experiment, and now its time to end it. Letting the people run the state is not a good idea, especially when the whole country is going through economic woes. I have no idea how one would contain this monster, but I selfishly hope things get better by the time I come back.

Oscar Run

I am not a big movie person, largely due to the fact that I fall asleep in around 75% of movies I see in the theaters regardless of how interesting they are. That means I usually will have only seen one movie, if that, which has been nominated for an Oscar.

I may have set a record this year by having seen three movies: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, and Frost/Nixon, which I saw tonight. And I actually want to see Milk, which would make four out of five. Thus far, my pick for Best Picture is Slumdog Millionaire. Loved the story, the actors (especially the little kids), the imagery, and the music.

It was interesting to see the shift in movies this year. Last year it seemed like all the movies were these macho, violent movies like No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. (Last year, the only nominee I saw was the happier movie- Juno). This year seems to be movies with a political/historical/social commentary bent, which I like a lot more. Maybe it's the election and Obamania that put us in the mood for these movies.

Wintery Mix

Today President Obama took a minute out of economic discussions to poke fun at how DC'ers react to the cold. While I admit to being a weather wimp having recently come here from California, I will have to respectfully disagree with the President that DC'ers need Chicago toughness.

DC'ers are a pretty tough bunch, especially those living outside the bubble of the wealthy Northwest. It is not that the people who cannot deal with the cold, they just cannot deal with a District who year after year cannot deal with the wintery mix of snow/sleet/rain every year. In places like Syracuse, Chicago, and Minneapolis (my home home town!), the cities know how to snow plow and salt the roads. And most important to pedestrians like myself, sidewalks are cleared! [icy sidewalk pic courtesy of philliefan99 on DCist]

I love how on the week that I accept an offer that will keep me in DC for another year, we get some of the worst weather I have seen in two years. Remind me why I am staying here again. At least this did not come last week. To the left is a picture of the Mall yesterday. [courtesy of kimberlyfaye on DCist also]. I cannot imagine how horrible it would have been to sit in the freezing rain during the inaguration. I do not know if Obama, with his Chicago toughness, could have even stood that.

Offer & Acceptance

Today I trekked downtown on the first day of snow, walked/slid on ice in heels, and had some kid who should have been in school throw snow on me as I came up on the escalator for a second interview. It was all very worth it though because I received an offer from a DC judge for a clerkship for after graduation, which I accepted.

Although it is only a year long position, it is a real job with salary and benefits. (I know, I am finally working for money . . . shocking!) The position entails researching, advising the judge, and helping write opinions on hundreds of civil cases. I am sure this will be beneficial to whatever job I accept when I come back to California afterwards. And yes, that is still the game plan. I am really excited, especially because I have heard many positive things about this judge and clerking in general.

This also means that I will have another year in DC to enjoy without the burden of being a student. And, if you have not visited me yet here, you have more time!

One of the factors that influenced me to go to law school was a law conference in DC that I attended in high school. Part of the conference was heading down to the DC courthouses to watch trials in action. After the trial, the judge stopped us all and gave us a lecture about how important the judicial branch is society. I can still remember his speech seven years later. It feels like things are coming full circle.

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Title Translation: Happy New Year!

I admit that growing up, I did not embrace a lot of Vietnamese culture. I did not like most Vietnamese food, did not like going to Little Saigon, loathed watching Vietnamese music videos when visiting family, cried hysterically when my parents entered me into a Vietnamese pagent, etc.

However, I loved Tết. The candied treats, dragon dances, the firecrackers, and of course the red envelopes of money. I also thought it was really cool when my mom came to my third grade class to explain our traditions. It was nice to showcase the Vietnamese side since everyone just associates this holiday with the Chinese. No, for the millionth time, I am not Chinese.

And along with the New Year's traditions come the superstitions. I have never seen my mom be superstitious about anything, but one year she freaked out when I considered getting a haircut on New Year's. Apparently it puts a curse on maternal uncles.

Since I am actually superstitious and have a job interview tomorrow, I wore my red today to scare away the evil spirits. I also looked for cues of how my year will be, since apparently what happens today is supposed to be an indicator of the rest of the year. So here's to hoping that I will do well academically (I got 100% on the pop quiz in my business law class, which made me happy even though it did not count), do well in work (finished most of my assignments today), overcome my technological woes (my computer died but came back to life and I fixed the scanner problem at work), and have a healthy (cooked 3 healthy meals and got in physical exercise this weekend) new year.

Southern Hospitility

Spring Break may be a month and a half away, but I planning things and having something to look forward to. My past two spring breaks I have gone to Los Angeles and San Francisco, but since I was home for so long for winter break and my family is coming to DC for graduation, I am excited about opportunity to explore somewhere new.

Since law school, bar prep courses, the bar itself, and the bar trip all are costly, I am trying to plan something relatively inexpensive. Also, as a weather wimp, I would prefer to go somewhere warmer. That's why Alex, who has a car and three extra vacation days from working the inauguration, and I thought that a mini-Southern road trip might be fun.

So if anyone has any suggestions of where to go in the south, leave a comment or send me a message. Charleston and Atlanta look like fun. The only Southern state I have been to is Florida, and I do not really even count that as the South. Our only restriction is pretty much that it has to be within driving distance (which unfortunately cuts out New Orleans).