June 10, 2005
That's all he wrote!
That's it! I've just finished my last college paper. What'll I do with myself now?
...
Oh right, I'm moving to Korea to work at a
But still, nine days? Plenty of time.
PLENTY. Hahaha.
Posted by Ben at 05:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 06, 2005
Embryo Donation
Posted by Ben at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
Fate Smiles Upon Me!
I just got an e-mail from the executive director of PiA -- I got the job with the JoongAng Daily in Seoul!
Against all odds, I'm going into journalism! Incredible. Incredibly awesome.
Posted by Ben at 10:28 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 13, 2005
My Dad is Cool.
Playbill News: Fred Applegate Named New Max for London Producers
"It has now been announced, however, that Oscar will be followed in the role by Fred Applegate, an actor little-known to British audiences."
Not for long!
Posted by Ben at 08:46 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 09, 2005
EWWWWW.
Posted by Ben at 12:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 03, 2005
Where Will Ben Be Part 1: Korea... ?
It's almost decided that I will Gyeongju next year on a Princeton in Asia fellowship. I visited that city for a few days last year, and it's incredibly beautiful.
But this is still up in the air, as I may get offered another PiA posting and the JET results are rumored to come out on Monday, which means I may also have that to fall back on if I decide Gyeongju isn't right for me.
It's an exciting week.
Posted by Ben at 05:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
Wing Is Amazing.
There is a Chinese Florence Foster Jenkins in New Zealand. Her name is Wing. Maybe you, like me, saw her on South Park the other day.
Her website demands you visit it. Especially since it also features samples of her vast and varied repertoire.
I think she's adorable.
Posted by Ben at 11:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New Gorillaz Video
This one's on an entirely different level from the ones that came before. Incredible animation, well-plotted and directed.
The song is out on an iTunes single.
Posted by Ben at 06:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Listen to what Ben is listening to. In case you cared.
Hey everyone! Look left! It's an audio blog! Pretty neato, huh? Go check out the spiffy software here.
Posted by Ben at 03:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 13, 2005
A Successful (Early) Valentine's Day
I've never done anything for Valentine's Day, until now. I invited Kathleen over to the apartment for lunch today and decided I would make a full course Chinese meal. It was a lot of fun and turned into quite an experience.
And now, my kitchen is like a disaster area. Hooooly mackeral.
The plum bonsai arrived Saturday, totally intact, in a box from Northern California (the Internet is amazing). I'd wanted to get her something to go with the print of plum blossoms I got her in Japan. The plums are blooming in Japan right now and I'd thought of her when I went to go see them last year. Plums are also symbolic of China in Japanese poetry so the symbolism was delicious (her being Chinese, the Chinese New Year theme of the meal, etc). I was worried about giving her a gift that she had to take care because she's really busy but that's the only plum-ish thing I could find.
Then last night I went shopping. Remarkably they had everything I needed except dried lily buds (wtf?) and white pepper (which I can fudge with a little black). I love Whole Foods. However, I've never bought more bottles of sauces/oils at one time in my entire life: sesame oil, peanut oil, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, Ruby port, cooking sherry. Then I get home, unload everything and clean the apartment. Watching Futurama fell somewhere in there. Then I make the almond gelatin for the dessert, which I chose because I remembered she loves almond extract and the cherries in port, which are supposed to go over the gelatin. Into the fridge those go. Then sweet sleep. I wake up at 8, which I eventually realize is FAR too late. I wash my hands and get the chicken in the pot, ready to poach. As I'm doing salad preparations I periodically wonder if it's boiling yet but manage to restrain myself from taking the lid off. It doesn't start boiling until 8:40, which means it comes off the heat at 9, which means it'll be ready to come out just before she gets here at 12. Which would be OK if I didn't need the broth for the hot-and-sour soup.
Oh, the soup. This thing took WAAAAAAY longer than I originally anticipated. And so many BOWLS involved! I swear at one point my entire counter and much of the table was covered in bowls, "set aside" for some unclear future use (I'm serious. Just look at that ingredient list). I'm madly stir-frying the pork and bamboo at 11:35 and she arrives. I make a mad dash to the intercom to let her up then dash back to the skillet. Fortunately by now the salad is done so I have that to serve her. (Plus she really is the coolest person in the world and she never cooks so it's not like I got points off for not having everything ready.) The soup is finally ready next, then the chicken. I'm gradually leaving the table to finish stuff, which is really OK because my kitchen is four feet away from the table so it didn't even interrupt the conversation. Plus the specially-recommended tea from the Chinese specialty tea shop came out excellently.
The salad is too salty but OK. The soup is fantastic (thank God because if it wasn't I think I might've started throwing dirty bowls out the window). The chicken is good for what it is (very simple) and the dessert is predictably fantastic.
She says she loves spinach, her mom used to make that same soup, AND (freaky) her mom used to make scallion and ginger poached chicken as well. She loves the tea and she devours the dessert, saying she's never tasted anything like it. And she didn't seem immediately horrified that I'd given her a gift that requires maintanance.
Seriously, I have so much fun just being around this girl (and she, for some reason, enjoys spending time with me).
So now it's dinnertime and I'm still STUFFED. I feel like I could hibernate through the rest of the winter.
Posted by Ben at 07:03 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 09, 2005
Vindicated!
You see? I am on the right track!
Posted by Ben at 11:16 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 21, 2004
So far, so good...
And as if today wasn't already exciting enough, I just found out I've made it to the interview round of Princeton-in-Asia. "The hard part" is Jan. 14 and 15. Note to self: dig through closet for necktie.
Posted by Ben at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2004
The beginning!
This is to make sure I'm doing this right. Huzzah!
Posted by Ben at 07:36 PM | Comments (3)