I want to see if I can live on $100/wk. In SF Bay area. This excludes housing/rent costs, the bills related, and tuition debt. So pretty much includes food, travel, and miscellaneous items.
That seems like a lot... But after living here for almost a year now, I think it will be a challenge. Here goes.
- ^_^
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Bike!
I fixed my bike today. ^_^
All by myself. ^_^
And did it by removing 2 parts. ^_^
So here is the story:
I got this bike from a guy off of Craigslist who was selling it for $80, which after my research, is pretty cheap in this area. He was advertising it as a Miyata Street Runner hybrid, which intrigued me. Turns out, the bike may have originally started as a Miyata hybrid, but it had seen the shop and the replacement of several parts. In essence, only the frame was Miyata. But, as a non-bike enthusiast who just wants something cheap to ride to work, I paid him $60 and took it off his hands. It was in good condition for it's age.
Unfortunately, 1 month later and the thing breaks. Not terribly, though. I decided to take a stab at mech work. ^_^
As i found out through tinkering, The problem was that my rear-bike wheel had snapped slightly off it's hinge, causing it to run against the frame, making it impossible to move the bike anywhere. Pushing the back wheel back on its hinge and tightening the screws seemed to solve this for the most part, but I noticed that the wheel still touched the frame slightly. Hence why I mentioned the bike shop replacement parts. These wheels were not hybrid wheels and were too thick for the space between the frame's bars.
So I removed these metal brackets in the hinge whose sole purpose seemed to be to push the wheel forward (if I have removed something vital, someone tell me!). There was no significant effect to the gears or breaks, so tightened everything up. That whirring noise I used to hear when riding? Apparently that was the back wheel brushing up against the frame. No more noise anymore. ^_^
Unfortunately, it still takes me some effort to ride long distance. I blame my fitness level. :P
- ^_^
All by myself. ^_^
And did it by removing 2 parts. ^_^
So here is the story:
I got this bike from a guy off of Craigslist who was selling it for $80, which after my research, is pretty cheap in this area. He was advertising it as a Miyata Street Runner hybrid, which intrigued me. Turns out, the bike may have originally started as a Miyata hybrid, but it had seen the shop and the replacement of several parts. In essence, only the frame was Miyata. But, as a non-bike enthusiast who just wants something cheap to ride to work, I paid him $60 and took it off his hands. It was in good condition for it's age.
Unfortunately, 1 month later and the thing breaks. Not terribly, though. I decided to take a stab at mech work. ^_^
As i found out through tinkering, The problem was that my rear-bike wheel had snapped slightly off it's hinge, causing it to run against the frame, making it impossible to move the bike anywhere. Pushing the back wheel back on its hinge and tightening the screws seemed to solve this for the most part, but I noticed that the wheel still touched the frame slightly. Hence why I mentioned the bike shop replacement parts. These wheels were not hybrid wheels and were too thick for the space between the frame's bars.
So I removed these metal brackets in the hinge whose sole purpose seemed to be to push the wheel forward (if I have removed something vital, someone tell me!). There was no significant effect to the gears or breaks, so tightened everything up. That whirring noise I used to hear when riding? Apparently that was the back wheel brushing up against the frame. No more noise anymore. ^_^
Unfortunately, it still takes me some effort to ride long distance. I blame my fitness level. :P
- ^_^
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Indoor garden
My roommate, Nadia, and I have been trying to grow an indoor herb garden for the past month. We started from seeds (mostly because I think it's a really awesome surprise to see a sprout pop up from a pot of what used to be nothing. And then something huge develop from what used to be a little speck dropped in dirt). While the basil has flourished well enough for us to split the plant in to 2 pots, the rosemary and thyme haven't grown much bigger than sprouts. Since I woke up 7 am on a Sunday (more like 4 am and by 7 I couldn't stay in bed any longer. I was REALLY sleepy last night. My bike broke so I had to really work out to get home yesterday so when it go dark I decided to crash early), I decided to visit the plant nursery nearby. Thus I learned that perennial herbs like rosemary and thyme need a year to grow to harvest stage from seeds. So I bought some starter plants to replace our sprouts. 1 rosemary and 1 mint (after standing in front of the herbs for awhile, I realized that I don't usually use thyme all that much. Whereas mint just smells awesome ^_^).
So now our indoor herb garden consists of rosemary, basil, mint, green onion, and 2 starters of cherry tomato and peas (I want to see if I can grow these ^_^).
Meanwhile, I got impulsive and bought a bonsai. As if I don't have enough to take care of. But I remembered seeing a maple bonsai tree and finding it so impressive how beautiful the tiny leaves looked. So I thought I'd give it a go. I got a bonsai starter, pot, and pebbles to mix in the soil (apparently bonsais thrive best when the soil is very coarse and allows water to flow through easily). I don't know anything about the aesthetics of bonsai cutting, but the starter looked like it could use some love and care. It had dead leaves, some deformed, and kind of twisting in to itself in several areas to create a kind of mess. Well, this is the first go at trimming:
It's still kinda messy, but better than before. At least all the dead parts have been removed. I figure, once I let it grow more, I'll know more about where to cut to make it flow nicely.
Oh and I also bought fertilizer. I thought I could go without it, but apparently when grown in pots, plants only have a limited amount of soil to grab their nutrients from. Without nature's flow and insects, they need other aid. I got this seaweed extract fertilizer that the saleslady as the garden nursery recommended.
So now our indoor herb garden consists of rosemary, basil, mint, green onion, and 2 starters of cherry tomato and peas (I want to see if I can grow these ^_^).
Meanwhile, I got impulsive and bought a bonsai. As if I don't have enough to take care of. But I remembered seeing a maple bonsai tree and finding it so impressive how beautiful the tiny leaves looked. So I thought I'd give it a go. I got a bonsai starter, pot, and pebbles to mix in the soil (apparently bonsais thrive best when the soil is very coarse and allows water to flow through easily). I don't know anything about the aesthetics of bonsai cutting, but the starter looked like it could use some love and care. It had dead leaves, some deformed, and kind of twisting in to itself in several areas to create a kind of mess. Well, this is the first go at trimming:
It's still kinda messy, but better than before. At least all the dead parts have been removed. I figure, once I let it grow more, I'll know more about where to cut to make it flow nicely.
Oh and I also bought fertilizer. I thought I could go without it, but apparently when grown in pots, plants only have a limited amount of soil to grab their nutrients from. Without nature's flow and insects, they need other aid. I got this seaweed extract fertilizer that the saleslady as the garden nursery recommended.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Puffs!
I bought a pancake puffs pan! You know, the one "as seen on TV" advertising pancake puffs as the new fun thing to cook ball-shaped foods. For breakfast.
Except. It's not all that new.
I knew of this before because of the savory takoyaki of Japan. But apparently, the Dutch have their own sweet version. Ableskivers. That's the kind of pan I got.
For only $12, this pan is of great quality, although small. Still cast iron pan. Nice.
My first test run of this was using the leftover empanada filling and making a quick liquidy mix of bisquik, soy milk, and an egg. And adding a little of this Mexican cheese I bought that was slightly salty. The result tasted better than the dumpling skin empanadas. :)
I also added my roommate's cornmeal because I wanted that texture.
I will try again in the future with cornmeal and hot dog bits.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Except. It's not all that new.
I knew of this before because of the savory takoyaki of Japan. But apparently, the Dutch have their own sweet version. Ableskivers. That's the kind of pan I got.
For only $12, this pan is of great quality, although small. Still cast iron pan. Nice.
My first test run of this was using the leftover empanada filling and making a quick liquidy mix of bisquik, soy milk, and an egg. And adding a little of this Mexican cheese I bought that was slightly salty. The result tasted better than the dumpling skin empanadas. :)
I also added my roommate's cornmeal because I wanted that texture.
I will try again in the future with cornmeal and hot dog bits.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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