I am 27 years old! Wow, that’s like almost 30. Not that it’s a bad thing. I happen to like where I am now. I’m having the time of my life and enjoying every moment.

When I was 23, I wrote a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned a quarter century. Back then I had this impression that I was invincible, independent, ultimately capable of doing anything I wanted. I still sort of feel the same way, but I’m giving myself a little leeway by extending the deadline a few years, hehe. I’d like to honor my 23-year old self and her goals, so here it is – the original list in no particular order, with a few lines scrubbed out to be kosher enough for posting in a public space.

25 Things to Do Before I’m 25 30

1. Live alone
2. Get happy-drunk (Well, it was actually pretty unpleasant.)
3. xxxxxxx xxx xx xx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx
4. Get sweet revenge (Haha, maybe I can substitute something else for this one. Hey, I was young and sensitive when I wrote this.)
5. Dive with the whales
6. Play war games and totally get into it
7. Sing or dance on stage (ack!)
8. Ski or snowboard
9. Hanglide
10. Write and publish a novel (childhood ambition)
11. Train in a martial art
12. Design my dream house
13. Cook a 5-course meal (from scratch!) <-- Almost did this one. I prepared a 4-course meal myself.
14. Get my webpage up and running (with a blog!)<-- proof right here!
15. Plant a flower garden
16. Provide a home for a pet
17. xxxx xxxx xx xxxxx xxxx xxxx xx xxx xxx
18. Spend a vacation in a woodsy cabin with a fireplace (cheesy)
19. Sleep nude on luxurious silk sheets
20. Go commando on a normal day (hahahahaha)
21. xxxxxxx x xxxxx xxxxx
22. Travel alone
23. Go on an African safari
24. Skydive or bungee jump
25. Perfect a Latin dance

19 items to go, 3 years. Salsa and karaoke, anyone?

On Sunday, I got on a snowboard for the first time. I headed out to Mount Brighton (really, a mound of snow rather than an actual mountain) and signed myself up for a group beginner snowboarding lesson.

The one-hour lesson took place on the bunny hill. It was a little humbling to watch all the ten year old girls in their color-coordinated snow suits swoosh right past effortlessly. But to my credit, by the third time up, I was getting pretty good at riding the tow rope. Hehe.

I fell about a dozen times. After each spill, I got right back up again. As our instructor said, if you’re at the top of the slope, you should be at the bottom, and if you’re at the bottom of the slope, you should be getting yourself right back up.

My best performance would have to be the very last ride. I was crouched on my board facing the hill. I stood up slowly with my toes pushing down on the board. I looked over my left shoulder and let my left heel drop, turning the board counter-clockwise. The movement swiveled me parallel to the slope and I immediately took off. I sped down the hill, leaning towards the front, gaining speed and control. Woohoo! I could feel it – I looked cool. As I reached the bottom, I turned the board to stop… and ahhhhh the ground flew out from underneath me. I fell hard all along my left side. But the nose of the board hit the ground and I bounced right back into the air and… wham! I was down again with my back on the snow. I lay there for a few seconds while I processed what just happened. Hehehe, oh man, that must’ve been a most awesome wipeout! I wish I had it on video. It would’ve been a really funny thing to see!

Two days later I am still in pain. I have ugly bruises in different places all over my body (inset: left hip). I can barely raise my arms nor sleep on my side. Who knew that after snowboarding, my arms would actually hurt the most?

I think I’m going to do it again.

Last night I attended a donut class at BAKE!. It was called “We Dig Donuts” and we were going to make the yeast-raised kind, like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin. There were 8 students in the class, including a few hardcore BAKE! students. Our instructor Alejandro gave us an overview of donut history and some tips on getting the right ingredients. After the short lecture and a demonstration of the recipe, it was our turn to make it ourselves.

I had no idea making donuts would take so long! We prepared our dough consisting of flour, sugar, butter (yes, butter not shortening), salt, egg, milk and yeast. We kneaded the dough to develop the gluten to hold shapes. Then we let it sit and rise until it doubled in size, around 2 hours. Alejandro gave us some dough the BAKE! staff prepared earlier to work with so we wouldn’t have to wait for ours to rise. We rolled them out to about 1/2-inch thick and started cutting out donut shapes. The leftover scraps were mushed together to make a couple lumpy fritter-like donuts. The shapes were laid out on trays and left to proof for another 45 minutes. Then finally, we could fry them! Frying actually takes just 45 seconds. It was insanely quick.

While some of us were frying, Alejandro showed the class how to make filling and glaze. He made a vanilla bean pastry cream filling, a chocolate ganache and sugar glaze. Then we all set up our trays of fried donuts at the filling and glazing station and went nuts.

I made 6 sugar glazed donuts, 6 chocolate dipped donuts, 6 cream filled donuts with chocolate frosting, 3 lumpy donuts with sugar glaze, and 2 dozen donut holes rolled in either powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. There were more but an unknown amount of fresh warm donuts went straight into my tummy, of course. Plus, we also got to take home the dough we set aside to rise. More donuts to be made this weekend!

This morning I rewarmed the donuts for around 10 minutes in a 275 degree oven (Alejandro recommended 325 degrees, but since mine were already filled and glazed, I didn’t want to make it too hot). They became soft and fluffy and yummy! I brought them to work and everyone enjoyed them.

Once a week I receive this brochure in my mailbox. Buy stamps online with USPS.com! Simple and convenient! I keep tossing it in the trash. Waste of paper.

Well, one day, I found that I actually ran out of stamps. Not wanting to drive to the post office, I went to their website. I picked out the stamps I wanted then tried to checkout. The checkout system was so annoyingly long and complex. I had to create an account – sure, no problem. But their sign up process was so tedious, I quit in the middle of it. The next day, I really needed those stamps. So I resolved to finish the process online. Except I had to put in all this information (shipping, payment) before I could even see how much my total order was going to be. Finally, 20 minutes later, I finally reached the last page where I review my order and click to submit. Then I saw it. $1 for shipping and handling!? For stamps?! The US Postal Service seriously wants me to pay a dollar to deliver their own stamps?! Oh screw that.

Next morning, I drove my butt down to the post office.

You know, I don’t understand the appeal of intoxication.

Alcohol is said to help relieve one’s inhibitions and make one feel worry-free. During the few times I have consumed more than a glass of anything, I have only become even more guarded. I am uncomfortable with the way my body reacts. I am physically unstable, my response time is slower, I feel vulnerable. Then the next day, I can’t think straight. And that’s only after two beers.

Really, what’s so sexy about blubbering words and tripping and falling on the floor? I don’t get it.