one of a kind

I am finally back in Taiwan. This trip to Tokyo was fantastic, although my Japanese wasn't much better than it was last year (lol). This time I tried to take my time to listen to what people said instead of freaking out. I found at least half the chances my guesses were right. When they started to look a little confused, I would just say "日本語が あまり できないです". That's probably the best expression other than smiling (lol).



When I first arrived at the hotel in Shinjuku, I saw this and couldn't help laughing. There was a huge line in front of a store, and it was Krispy Kreme. A lot of us Taiwanese people are big maniacs of Japanese stuff. We have the latest Japanese trends. We can probably find any kind of authentic Japanese food in Taipei. Many are even big fans of Japanese celebrities and dramas. About two years ago, a donut chain, Mister Donut, started their business in Taiwan. It was a huge hype. You had to wait in line for hours to get into the store, and most people usually bought 20-30 donuts at a time. Then I just saw the same thing. Tokyo people were in line for donuts! The only difference was they were after an American brand!



The next morning we stopped by the nearest Starbucks and tried to wake ourselves up. There was still a line. I started to wonder how long this hype would be.

bad timing

Weird things always happen untimely. I probably have been in my 'freakin out' mode for the last couple days. In order to feel less guilty while getting on this trip, I've been doing lots of experiments. My professor also wanted to resubmit a manuscript (I was the second author), so there was endless discussion and proofreading. I just felt exhausted. One good thing is that she is going on a vacation too and serendipitously, our vacation times are almost the same. I feel even less guilty (lol).

It's tax season and I still haven't received my W-2 form (It's the form that tells you your total income and the amount that is withheld). Instead I got a 1042-S form last weekend. You get a 1042-S form when your income source is only scholarship or fellowship (Now I'm working in the lab as an RA, which is more like a job), and there's no withholding. It said my gross income was $10,054. I never got this money! I would be really happy to pay tax if I had extra 10,000 dollars, but I didn't! I'll probaby pay $1,000 tax for the money that was never in my pocket.

I wrote to our personnel assistant and told her about the situation (not getting W-2 and getting this weird 1042-S). She gave me a weblink so I could log on and download my own W-2. That part was solved. She also said she had no idea about the 1042-S and suggested me to ask the payroll office. Since I really had my hands full that day, I decided to go there in person first thing the next morning.

The trip to the payroll office lasted only 15 seconds. People there were nice, but they wanted me to ask the Graduate Division. What the heck.

Fortunately, before I went to the Graduate Division, I got an email from the International Student Office. They said that the Graduate Division and payroll office found possible mistakes issuing 1042-S forms and wanted us not to file tax return at this moment.

Well, alright. I was kinda hoping I would find a $10,000 check in my mailbox (lol).

winter's gone

The temperature hits 90 degrees three days in a row. I guess it's not gonna cool down until next winter comes. It's the typical southern California weather. There's no distinct spring or fall. It can be really cool one week, and the next week it'll be hot just like today.



By the way, what the heck is happening to the gas price? I understand the gas price was going up because of the cold weather in the east coast. But over $3 a gallon? You gotta be kidding me! The crude oil is not even as expensive as what we had last year.

Now I miss the past winter more. At least the gas was cheaper.

Why is everybody coughing?

LM didn't come to the lab yesterday. I realized she got a cold. She came in today because she had some big experiments to do. she looked pretty sick and was coughing all the time. And since she had to do stuff here and there, she was literally coughing everywhere. That make me concerned. The cold was passed on one by one in the lab, and more than half of the members got it. I really don't wanna be the next one.

I made some hot chowder tonight. I also took some echinacea and had lots of liquid. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

behind making chocolate mousse

I made Ellie Krieger's 'dark chocolate mousse' last summer (see my other blog). I liked it a lot. It was tasty, and chocolate and tofu matched really well. However it's just not the real thing.

I came across this chocolate mousse recipe from the Food Network website. I happened to have some leftover whipping cream (from making mashed cauliflower, which was very delicious) and decided to make it. My only concern was the fat content from the cream cuz I suffered a little indigestion from that cauliflower.

Anyway, I made it, and it was a big success. It was chocolaty and creamy (evidently), and the texture was just like what you got in a nice restaurant (see my other blog). I actually hesitated a little bit before tasting it. One reason was that I was somewhat lactose intolerant, and the other reason was the use of raw eggs. The eggs were not really 'raw' raw. I whisked it over a double boiler. The steam was supposed to cream the egg mixture and heat it up at the same time. The recipe called for a 3-minute whisking and I think I did more than 10 minutes. I hope that was enough to kill all the bacteria. It's been a few days, and I think so far I'm alright.

Maybe I should persuit my career as a pastry chef (lol).

not in my best mood

I'm just not in my best mood today. I was planning on doing some experiments over the weekend, but our technician took the culture room key and forgot to put it back. I had my cells plated, drug treated and was ready to do something. Now I have to dump all the cells and start over again. I can't believe my time was just wasted. I guess I must have looked really upset whole day.

Well tomorrow will be better.

Reserved for Chancellor?

I usually workout after my Saturday brunch (or let's say after watching a whole morning of Food Network shows lol). However maybe 4 out of 5 times there are some events in the Rec Center, and they take away most of the parking spots. I then have to park at one of the remaining spots (about 5) and there's often none left. Last week there was this 'Homecoming' event and some sports competition was going on. I wasn't surprised at all that they blocked the parking lot again, although most of the spots for the event were not even taken. What surprised me more was they also took one of the remaining spots and designated as 'Reserved for Chancellor'. I guess it's because it was closer to the front door. I had no choice but park at the Red area (which I shouldn't have). Luckily I didn't get a ticket.

That was just hilarious.

Mark starts to bite!

I've thought about starting another blog for a while. I love my original blog "Orange Blossom in Riverside", but lately I feel it's kinda lacking something. It's now more like a place where I share my recipes, travel experiences and maybe some new cool gadgets. I feel I have to put pretty pictures or even some videos to make a good article. Sometimes I just wanted to share some of my feelings from work or everyday life and putting it onto my original blog would seem awkward. So I decided to start "Mark bites".

To make things a bit different, I'm going to write this blog in English (Your comments always welcomed and they are perfectly fine if in Chinese^^).