Gloves

Gloves work wonders.

No Smoking

The other night, we tried braising meat for the first time. For those who are unfamiliar with this cooking technique, it basically consists of browning the meat and then stewing it at a low temperature in a broth for a while (typically at least an hour and a half). It comes in handy for tougher (and usually cheaper) cuts of meat, since the stewing process makes the meat really tender. A simple process, really, but none of us had ever attempted it.

The conditions were just right. Veteran's Day meant no work or school, the three of us were all craving meat, and spare ribs just happened to be on sale. We got started early, anticipating a good 2 hours of oven-time. Since we didn't have a braising pot, we used a casserole dish just barely large enough for our ribs. The downside with this was that some of the boiling broth spilled over the edge onto the oven floor. It quickly burned (unnoticed by the three of us, who were planted on the couch anxiously waiting for dinner) and started smoking. Maybe the intense hunger messed with our vision, but we didn't notice how hazy the room got until the smoke alarm started screaming at us.

I'd imagine the subsequent scene looked pretty amusing from outside passersby. Five kids frantically running around, opening windows, fanning smoke with cutting boards, and climbing chairs to cover up alarms with plastic bags. For fifteen minutes.

I think we've learned our lesson. Next time we'll clean up anything that might burn on the oven floor before it causes a kitchen catastrophe. Or make sure nothing drips down there in the first place.

On the bright side, the ribs had a nice smoky taste.

Halloween

Ours was good. How was yours?

Your Own Soundtrack

This entry is dumb. There is no useful advice in this entry. Read it if you want a dumb story.

Tim and I have been going to Bally Total Fitness for the last month and a half to get totally fit. There's the occasional broken machine and the locker room smells foul, but overall it's not a bad gym. The biggest complaint I have against Bally, however, is that they play the same music videos over and over. And typically they choose the girliest songs - Tina Parol's Who's Got Your Money, New Kids On the Block's Summertime, and Taylor Swift's - well, any Taylor Swift song. Honestly, I think it has a negative impact on our workout. And maybe even our masculinity. Sometimes I catch Tim checking his eyelashes in the mirror during my set.

Ok ok, so that last part isn't true. And truthfully, not all their music is bad. The other day I heard a song that I recognized - a catchy tune that I had heard on BallyTV several times before, but I had never looked up to see who it was by. This time, I decided to glance up at the screen and figure out who it was that was aurally enhancing my workout week after week. I was shocked as much as I was disgusted. Jonas Brothers. All those times I made fun of hardcore fans. All the tasteless jokes - turned around and punched me in the face.

The lesson? Don't judge too early. No. Scratch that. Today's lesson: Bring your iPod to Bally Total Fitness to prevent musical brainwashing.

Now forget what I said about the Jonas Brothers. I was just kidding about liking their song.

Free!

Remember those first couple weeks as an underclassman living on campus? You could walk outside and find yourself on the quad amongst students reading in the sun, people skateboarding to class, and the stereotypical disc-throwers playing a friendly game of ultimate frisbee. Over by the bulletin board you'd find a list of events to kick off the year - free BBQs, dances, meet and greets, etc.

Well, good news. You don't need to be a freshman to take advantage of these activities. In fact, you don't even need to be in college to partake. If you're just out of college like me, all you have to do is play the part! Dig up that old backpack. Carry around a notebook. Do whatever it takes to fit in and you're good to go. Get some free food, hit up the job fairs, whatever. If you're feeling ambitious, rush a couple frats and grab a few slices of pizza from the info sessions.

And this freeloading doesn't have to stop after the first few weeks of school. There's still plenty going on. My latest craze here has been forums. They're packed with information, knowledgeable people, and, if you're lucky, free food!! And I'm not just talking about cheese platters and grapes. I'm talkin full on sandwiches, 5 different selections of hummus, and even cocktails. Last week I got free pizza at one forum and then lasagna, hummus, and unlimited drinks at another one the next day.

So get yo butt in line at the next back-to-school barbeque and treat yourself to a free burger. Free food is out there. All you have to do is find it.

When In Rome...

...eat what the Romans eat! Sure, yelp can do wonders. But the best place to discover local favorites is through word of mouth. We recently pigged out at this restaurant near MIT called Emma's Pizza. Some of the best thin slice pie I've had outside of New York. The only way we found this place was through KThai's coworkers, who are frequent customers at Emma's. It's location is a bit obscure - on a sidestreet in a semi-residential/semi-industrial area. Across the street you will find an autoshop, and on the next corner, an apartment building. Who knows how long it would have taken us to find this diamond in the rough otherwise? Save yourself some time and go where the locals go.

Another tip: cook. Especially if you have people to cook with. Some people are turned off by cooking, and reasonably so. Not everyone comes home from an 8 hour day eager to spend 30+ minutes in the kitchen preparing dinner. But when the prepwork, cooking, and cleaning are distributed among two or more people, cooking becomes less of a chore and more of a leisurely activity. Plus, it takes less time to go from this:

to this:

Oh, and double plus - it saves you money so you can spend it all at Emma's later!

That Guy

The moral of today's story? Don't be that guy. Which guy, you ask? I haven't told you yet, but I'm sure that deep down inside, you know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about the guy who wears three brightly colored polos at once with all three starch-stiff collars popped. I'm talking about the guy who chews gum obnoxiously with his mouth open. The guy who wears sunglasses indoors. That's right. I'm talking about the elusive douchebag. And unless you want to be the butt of all jokes in a bar, you don't want to be one.

Here's what happened: The guys and I went out to grab a drink at Harvard Square's own Charlie's Beer Garden. Feeling the force of nature on my bladder, I ran off to the little boy's room while the rest of them headed to the bar. I started up conversation with the guy in front of me in line, DJ, about how ridiculous that we had to wait in line for the restroom (isn't that something only girls do?). Next thing we know, the guy in the restroom walks out and back into the bar. But this wasn't just any guy. The man who walked out of that restroom was that guy. On this particular night, he was the guy who wore designer jeans and a dress shirt with the collar popped all the way up to his ears (no exaggeration) in a casual bar setting.

Naturally, DJ and I bashed the hell out of him behind his back and, as a result, became bar buddies for the night. He gave us tips on which places to check out in Boston, where to hear good live music, and we all had a good laugh whenever collar-neck walked by.

If you don't mind having everyone around you want to punch you in the face, then feel free to sport that old high school letterman jacket you couldn't bear to part with. Otherwise, lay off the Ed Hardy t-shirts. It's just embarrassing.

Beer and Budgeting

Moving in is expensive. It's all the initial costs that add up. Furniture, kitchenware, appliances, cleaning tools, tool tools, bedsheets, clothes, start-up groceries...the list goes on. I started using an online personal financing tool again recently to track my expenses. A few days after our lovely Ikea trip, it sent me alerts saying "In the past 30 days, you spent $1083.56 on Home Furnishings. Usually you spend $0." Sorta gives you an idea of how much we spent (although a portion of that was for our couch, which my roommates reimbursed me for).

We spent somewhat liberally the first day. From then on we got stingier and stingier. By the third day of shopping, we were all exhausted (not just physically or mentally - financially exhausted).

The following week we decided to check out the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain. This was probably one of our most worthwhile excursions to date. Not only was the tour free, but each visitor received a complimentary 7oz Sam Adams glass to take home - after they filled it with three of their specialty brews. We also found out about their upcoming Octoberfest festival at the brewery and decided to check it out. For $15, you received a 20 oz beer mug with your first fill-up along with admission to the event. It was basically what you would imagine Octoberfest to be like - lots of beer and drunk white people. They even had a German band! But here's where the Asian in us kicked in. Here's the deal: each person comes in the door with a complimentary mug. Probably a good 60% of the people there were belligerent past inhibition. Some were so drunk that they left their mugs behind. Having just moved in, we were in need of more dishware. See where I'm going with this? Don't judge us. We saw an opportunity and took it. Rather, we took six. Here's a picture of Tim with our loot for the night:

Advice for today? Hit up local breweries for glassware.

Our next stop? Harvard dining halls. Hellooooo silverware!

Let it Ride

One of my favorite views of the city so far can be seen from the middle of Charles River just west of the locks separating the river from Boston Harbor (or as they call it, the Bahston Hahbah). On my fifth day here, we decided to check out one of Boston's dragonboat clubs. I'll admit, my technique and form are rusty from lack of practice. In all honesty, though, the main reason I paddled poorly was because I wasn't focused in the boat. Throughout practice, my eyes kept wandering off of the front rows and onto the environment around me. They say Boston is best explored on foot, but dragonboat practice provided a brand new perspective. Today's advice: if you get a chance, explore a city by water. After all, 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Think of all the views you'll be missing if you just stay on land.

Ikea Madness

One of our first stops, of course, was Ikea. Who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture? This is one question we should have asked ourselves prior to making our way over there. My biggest oversight was that classes start in early September for Harvard, MIT, BU, and BC. And who loves cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture more than frugal college students?

My friend Matt recently moved to Philadelphia for grad school. He spent the last couple weeks at home furnishing his apartment in his mind. If you asked him what coffee table he was planning to get, he was able to tell you the color and price of the model he wanted, the relative cost compared to similar models, and how many were in stock at his location. During the last few days before he made the move, he constantly checked the Ikea website to make sure his products were still in stock. If they were out, he'd figure out when they would have more. He had Ikea shopping down to a science.

I thought his strategy was ridiculous - even amusing - until I arrived at Boston's Ikea. Out of the three products we had picked out for the living/dining room, only one was available. Out of the three pieces of furniture I had picked out for my bedroom, none were available. All the cheaper items (products that I would have happily taken as alternatives) were sold out. The bottom line is that I ended up paying significantly more to furnish my place just because I didn't plan ahead. Lesson learned: check inventory and availability before going to Ikea.

That last bit of advice is just common sense. But this next anecdote is something I never really considered until my trip to Ikea. I didn't sleep too well the night before I left for Boston. I got a call at 2AM and couldn't fall back asleep until around 5:30. Overall, I got about 3 hours of sleep. My first night in Boston was no better. The boys and I finally decided to hit the sack around 2AM. Since we didn't have any furniture in the house, we laid out a sleeping bag and shared it (don't judge us - the hardwood floor around us wasn't clean yet). It was probably a combination of excitement, uncomfortableness, and ambient snoring that left me unable to fall asleep until 5AM. Waking up at 7:30 the next morning to go fetch the moving truck wasn't too thrilling. When it came to picking out a mattress at Ikea the next day, it was incredibly hard to choose. Every single mattress on display felt infinitely better than the hard ground from the night before. And running off such little sleep in the past two nights didn't help. I couldn't choose. All of the mattresses felt wonderful. Weight-watchers and nutritionists warn us not to go to the grocery store when you're hungry. I am warning you not to shop for mattresses when you're sleepy.

Last bit of advice. Think twice before buying that solar powered lamp that Ikea sells. It seems like a cool concept, but it's really not practical. They recommend that you leave it in direct sunlight for 9 to 12 hours (more than 12 hours in cloudy weather) for 4 hours of use. Even then, the lamp will start out at an adequate brightness but dims over time. The only "perk" is that for every one that Ikea sells, they will give one to UNICEF to distribute to children in developing countries. My roommate Vincent picked up a couple for $20 each but is unsatisfied with the brightness and plans on returning them. This sparks the question: for every solar lamp that is returned to Ikea, will they take one away from a child in need?

Challenge Number One - U-Haul

My last 7 days in California were spent well. Each day, I was fortunate to hang out with family and close friends. I guess I can insert my first bit of advice here - make sure you use the hell out of the "moving" excuse. People who typically flake out will come see you. And, if you're lucky, you can get a few free meals out of it.

Packed as my schedule was, I was never too tired to make my way out to the city just to meet up for food or a jam session. I kept busy and enjoyed it.

Two days before my departure date, I decided that it would be prudent to book a moving truck ahead of time. So I called up U-Haul. At that moment I had no idea how much I would soon regret making that call.

The first few tries were frustrating enough. After waiting an average of 10 minutes on hold per call, the U-Haul office in Cambridge picked up but were unable to hear me. Finally I called their 800 number and asked about availability. The operator I spoke with said that the pickup time and location that I wanted were both available, so I went ahead and booked through him.

Not long afterwards, I received a confirmation email verifying the pickup time and location - with the wrong pickup time and location. Plus they spelled my last name "BAENT" instead of "CHENG". As if I haven't had enough name mixups with U-Haul (try Mu-Hua on Outlook's spellcheck). I called the 800 number to clarify. Another twenty minutes on hold. They told me that the order already went through and that I would have to call the regional office in Cambridge to change anything. So I called. I waited fifty minutes on hold before reaching an operator. Again, the person on the other line couldn't hear me, so she hung up. Fifty minutes wasted. I spent the next two hours calling number after number on different phone lines until I finally got someone who could hear me. The operator admitted that the 800 number doesn't have up to date booking information and that the Cambridge branch had been fully booked for a month. A month. That means the 800 number is giving out stale information that all their customers will base their booking plans on. Not very efficient, right? The operator agreed, but refused to compensate me in any way. *click*

Luckily, I had a computer nearby and checked out Penske's rates. Their rental costs were comparable to U-Haul's, so I decided to give them a try. My phone call with them lasted three minutes, with no hold time. I asked about availability and made sure they had trucks available at the nearest location. They confirmed. I went online and booked in two minutes. The confirmation email looked fine, so I called U-Haul back (10 minutes on hold again) and cancelled my reservation. What I accomplished in 3 hours with U-Haul (2 of those 3 hours on hold) I did in 5 minutes with Penske.

Lessons learned:

- Book your moving truck early - especially if your move-in date coincides with the start of a college semester.

- Do not use U-Haul. And if you do, don't trust information given to you through the 800 number.