5.18.2009

Hotel Rwanda: The 2:30 am Wake-Up Call


In history class we are learning about African History and for our last project each student has chosen a country to learn about. I chose Rwanda. Last night I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda and I never thought I could see so much hate between two groups, the Tutsi and the Hutu, who were made to hate each other by the Belgian colonial power. Just watching the movie made me so scared and want to help the world. These genocides, murders, and rapes are happening on the other side of the world and no one seems to talk about it. 
One of the small roles of a camera man, played by Joaquin Pheonix, said a very true thing, "Even if we show Americans this footage, families will probably say oh that's so sad and then keep on eating their dinners." I feel like I do that all the time, but I really want to make a change.
I decided to write about this movie and this issue, because I have never felt so motivated to do something at 2:50 in the morning. But anyways, I have done some research on the internet and there are so many ways to help the world like at change.org. Although the Rwandan genocide was in 1994, the current genocide in progress is in Sudan. My sister had already done some work with it by making tshirts, which I would wear but they are too small, that simply say "stop genocide in sudan." The best way to spread change is by word; my sister did it through her tshirts, now, I am doing it through this blog.

4.29.2009

Music and TV... What I Enjoy


I have never been a big reader, but I will always remember that 5th grade summer reading book Bridge to Terabithia. This book has everything: imagination, adventure, love drama between two 10-year-olds... I honestly don't know what else you could ask for. Although that was a book of the past, I still crave drama in the entertainment I watch on T.V.; meaning, I love Gossip Girl, The Hills, The City, etc. It seems strange, but there is just something about rich teenagers, their love lives, and those awkward and silent stares at the end of conversations, that attract me to these types of shows; I am also a big fan of comedy shows like the Office
When it comes to music, all I listen to are mixtapes and mashups. Some of my favorite mixtape artists are The Cataracs (go download the stimulating package mixtape right now; changed my life), Diplo&Santagold (this changed my life too), Milkman, Super Mash Bros., and Girl Talk. A lot of people appreciate my music taste and they ask me how I find all these mashups; my answer usually starts off with the phrase, "A place where you will never be able to access...my sister's computer." My Dad has an amazing collection of thousands of old-school records that I love as well; some of these artists include Donovan, The Shins, The Beetles, and so many others that I don't know the names of.

3.29.2009

Allick Family Feast


Cooking and food has always been a big part of my life. When I was in fourth grade, I was Julia Child for the
Famous American Women's Tea at my school. Also, I tend to eat food every day, so it is pretty important. One of the great assets of the Allick family is my Dad, not only for his wierd humor, his great taste in music, his love of collecting and drinking wine, his tendency to drop the "f bomb" quite often from his quick frustration, but mainly for his love of cooking. You would never think that one of thousands of investment bankers in the world would also be a professional cook on the side. Growing up, I have always been proud to tell anyone I know that he is a professional cook and the common response I get is, "Oh, wow! Where's his restaurant?" Well, his restaurant is at home. A few of the many things I love for him to cook are his spaghetti and meatballs with his homemade tomato sauce, his scrambled eggs with the perfect texture and amount of salt and pepper along with a piece of toast and his homemade jam, his beef stew with various vegetables and potatoes, his homemade Mexican dinner, and of course, the pancakes.
Every Sunday night, my Dad makes Mexican food for dinner. This includes his homemade tortillas, also some store-bought ones, homemade salsa and guacamole, flank steak, some mysterious meat (all I know is that it is red and delicious), beans, cheese, shrimp or fish (for my mom who is a vegetarian, and I think that's it. In fact, I just ate that for dinner tonight. This is not only my favorite meal, but my Dad's favorite thing to cook because he gets to go to the Mexican market and speak the few Spanish words he is familiar with.
Although I have shared my favorite meals I am going to share the recipe for the greatest pancakes you will ever eat. This recipe is out of a cook book, but my family and I have been making these since each of me and my three siblings were little. My Dad doesn't like to use recipes for anything because he says that they will taste better if you kind of just "guess." This is a total lie and he is the only exception because he is once again a professional cook. Anyways here is the recipe to the infamous Allick Family pancakes. Enjoy.
Recipe:
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of milk
3 tablespoons of unsalted, melted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (optional...I usually don't use it)
My directions:
Whisk together dry ingredients in one bowl; whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; whisk all together. Put rectangular griddle on stove; heat at 794º; decide when you think it's hot enough. Use a ladle and pour a mickey-mouse shaped pancake on griddle. Put a sliced strawberry piece on each ear and one for the nose. Take some chocolate chips and make eyes and a mouth. Use a spatula (the thing that Spongebob Squarepants always uses) and decide when to flip. Make 6 of these and eat them all.

2.01.2009

Leisurely Activities


Recently on my school's Data Match Questionnaire, one question asked what makes me happiest...answer: new clothes. Nothing in the world makes me happier than a new pair of shoes or a trip to downtown San Francisco. When I was younger, I used to hate shopping because I had to wait for hours as my sisters tried on clothes; the only thing that I liked about the idea of shopping in those days was going to Panda Express for lunch. Now, it is a whole different story because my sisters are out of the house and I am the only one who gets new clothes. Whether it is a new pair of J Brands, a Marc Jacobs coat I find for 50% off, or a jacket you find for $10.78 (originally $86) at the Discovery Shop, any new item I buy brings joy into my life. The best part about new clothes is that you can finally wear something other than the four outfits you have been alternating between for the last week of school. Personally I am a fan of Bloomingdale's, Forever 21, and the men's sweater section in Gap. I used to be into Urban Outfitters, but I find their clothes all similar looking and overpriced. No matter what mood I am in, new clothes give me the feeling of excitement, amazement, beauty, and all around happiness.

1.19.2009

The Golf Course


Not only is it a home for the coyotes, deer, and my sister's runaway bunny, R.I.P. B-Bop Mac Dre, but it is basically right where I live too. Its steep and slender grass hills are great qualities for ice blocking, frisbee, and throwing tennis balls for my dogs...and golf too, I guess. I have yet to ice block, but it is on my to-do list before I move back to the city. Every now and then I will play the course with my dad, but I live for the golf carts; I love golf carts, except for the one incident that happened 2 years back when my family and I visited my grandparents in the Villages over Thanksgiving break. My sister and I decided to take a little drive in my grandparents' golf cart, since that is the only thing people drive nowadays in Florida, and I wanted to be the driver. As we approached a tunnel, at 5 mph, another cart was coming our way. I freaked out and slammed into the tunnel wall; my sister fell out, I crashed into the other cart, one of my cart's hub-caps fell off, and my sister almost dislocated her shoulder. I don't understand why, but this is why I am not allowed to drive golf carts anymore.
Similarly at the tennis club, I also face discrimination from the adults at the golf course. This gold course is public, not that amazing, and it is full of middle aged men trying to play golf while drinking a beer with a cigarette in hand. Yet, when I show up to play with my nice set of clubs in my keds, the guy tells me I am not allowed to play because I don't have golf shoes on. Doesn't make sense to me.

1.14.2009

The Club


There are two "clubs" where I live. The 2 a.m. club where parents like to party it up and the tennis club. Every weekend my best friend Katie and I have a routine; we bike down to the club, play some tennis on the ball machine, because we are at different levels, say hello to our friend Pegasus, or Raphael, then we split a chinese chicken salad (chicken on the side, extra crispies), and a grilled cheese with ketchup along with two APs. There are pros and cons about the club. One con is that it is old people central. They think they can play tennis, but they are simply overly competitive and they also have the authority to kick kids younger than 18 off a court...I know, lame. Every time I go to the club I am simply not welcomed by any of the adults; the one of few times I was noticed was for my tennis skill, obvi. Another con about the club is that it doesn't have a wii near the TV; any place that doesn't have a wii needs to get one. The pros of the club are that it does have delicious food that I can charge to my club account, so I don't need money. The club is also conveniently close to my house and it has a ping-pong table...I know, right? My sister and I especially enjoy the ping-pong table when she visits from college and as we finish a 40 minute session of tennis, we like to "get some diet cokes and talk about our feelings," as she likes to put it.

Pearl's Phat Burgers


One of the local food places for all ages is Pearl's Phat Burger; notice instead of fat, it is phat, as in cool. When I feel like a hamburger and fries, or sometimes the occasional "frings", I go here. When I first started coming here with my older sister, we immediately became creeped out by the older cooks who put their numbers on my sister's hamburger container...but that didn't stop us from coming to get our two diet cokes and chili cheese fries; it is pretty evident that this place is pretty delicious if we still keep going. Luckily, the cooks don't work there anymore...I never found out why exactly... Anyway, I didn't grow up in Marin, but I have lived here for 5 years and Pearl's has always been a place I go to at least once a month. If you are looking for somewhere to have a diner meal, Pearl's is the place to go; if you are looking for a flock of Tam kids on a Friday night, Pearl's is also your place.