Broken Electronics, Election, and Twisted Steamed Buns

Obviously this entry should be a few separate ones, but I have been too busy to write anything lately. Broken Stuff Electronic equipments are supposed to last forever, until people throw them away because new models come out. Well, not for me. Things are kept breaking on me in the house. I start to wonder if this is a calling for my contribution to stimulate the economy. First, the inner lid of my rice cooker keeps falling off. I thought I fixed it after I pushed it back, but it falls again from time to time. I have been shopping for a new (good) one, but cannot decide which one I should get. Then the DVD player won’t play DVDs. Can DVD players actually break? I suspect that I accidentally hit some buttons on the remote control and turned that DVD player into a zombie mode. However, I just couldn’t get it back to life. So now, I am down to only two DVD players in the house, besides my laptop. Now to my laptop. It must have had an argument with my iPod Nano—they stop talking to each other. I stick my Nano into my laptop’s butt, and my laptop just pretends that it doesn’t feel that cute little thing. What the hell? Can’t they just be friends? Special Election I mailed out my absentee ballot for the May 19 CA Special Election. I am furious for even having a special election like this proposed by those incompetent California lawmakers. These politicians cannot come up a solution on balancing state’s check book. While we are deep in the red, these dumb souls think spending millions of dollars to hold a special election might be a good idea—begging voters to cut some programs which still cannot balance the budget. How can they be so stupid? I am not saying that they have easy jobs. But they campaigned for these jobs and promised that they are ready for these positions. That’s why voters give them the job with a six figure salary plus all the perks and power. Now, they cannot manage it? Bullshit. Resign! Therefore, I voted NO on all Propositions, except 1F: "Elected Officials’ Salaries. Prevents pay increases during budget deficit years." Take that, suckers! Making Twisted Steamed Buns (花卷儿) After two weeks, the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (SFiFF52) drew its curtain on Thursday night. This year, I didn’t watch as many films as I used to. Besides I am swamped with various commitments, many films will have their theatrical releases soon. No hurries. The end of the film festival also means that I finally have more time at home doing regular things like cooking a dinner. After helping Chris’s moving in the afternoon, I came home and cooked twisted steamed buns (花卷儿), which I have not cooked for ages. In order to have a better texture and taste, I mix regular flour with whole wheat flour, and ferment the dough with active yeast. Then flatten the dough. add a little salt, pepper, and green onion, with tiny bit oil. Roll the dough into a long tube. Cut into pieces and pull each piece to make them longer. Twist it couple times and fold into a small roll. Put them into a steamer, steam for about 15 minutes. They turn out pretty well, fluffy and tasty. I also cooked some eggplant with swine, I mean, pork. But semi whole wheat flour buns don’t seem to make the dinner healthy enough, I decided to have some green vegetables. I stirfried rape with garlic. What’s next? Eat! Life is back to normal. The rain stops, the sun shines, and cool air breezes. I really should be going to hiking tomorrow. But tomorrow is the Koret Foundation’s Museum Day, so most likely I will end up in museums instead. And, mom, where ever you are, I have been thinking about you. I miss you, terribly.