Crane's First Performance

A fellow crane and I at this year's first "The Lord of the Cranes" performance at an elementary school. Why the anonymous faces? I like to have a secret identity. Our costumes are pretty neat with the winged gloves. I really like dancing with them since they add a nice visual effect onstage. The kids were a good audience and applauded after our dance even though it was in the middle of a scene. While I was rehearsing I was bitching inside about how this was a little sad; a bunch of old adults who aren't professionals, performing for free. (Well this one is for free, but the ones next week aren't, and a lot of other performances are discounted.) Anyway, the long rehearsals were getting me down, but the first performance really lifted me up. Having an audience makes a difference and everybody was a bit more on. The principal came backstage later to shake hands and thank everyone. She was sincerely grateful and said that many of these kids don't get to see live performances since they are from low income families. So even though I had to wake up at 7am to perform at 9:30, I thought it was worth it, unlike when I have to wake up for Immigration which I missed 3 days in a row now.



That same night I broiled myself 1/2 lb. of salmon doused in lemon juice, olive oil, sherry, mashed garlic, salt & pepper, capers and dried basil. I sauteed some spinach for some veggies.
I only finished 1/2 of the salmon though since it was a big piece.

She-Hulk Moment of the Day: I was doing weighed lunges with my back foot propped up on a stepper to put more weight on the front leg and make the exercise more difficult. I'd gone up that day to 22.5 lb dumbbells so I was taking it nice and easy. I left after two sets to grab water and came back.

My dumbbells were gone!

I was annoyed. I couldn't find them on the racks. I became upset. VERY UPSET. I was GREEN WITH RAGE. Wasn't it obvious that someone was using the weights? People don't just leave big dumbbells near the cardio machines and next to a stepper. Determined to find the culprit, I scoured the gym twice scowlingly walking to find the person, most likely a male since most females do not carry around that kind of weight. I was so mad that my routine was interrupted I had to do some curls to get it out. I returned to the racks and found the 22.5s put back. So I finished my set, but was disappointed that I didn' get to call someone out on their bad gym etiquette.

• Well, no big workout today since I just flew home. I did walk on the beach with my parents though, and later we went out to eat. Usually we go out for Vietnamese or Chinese/Vietnamese. If my brother is home, maybe sushi. But I was thinking Korean. Problem was my mom had never eaten Korean and I wasn't sure if the idea would fly. Somehow, I brought it up during our walk and she said a lot of her friends like it and had told her about this one place on Brookhurst and Dale. Super. We had dinner at Tofu Village. I had beef soondibud, she had blue fin crab soondibud, and my dad ordered egg and tofu pancakes. The restaurant called the tofu soup "SoonTofu," but I think that is an americanization of the word since I'd never heard my Korean friends say it like that before.

• They gave each of us complimentary steamed egg in a bamboo cup. Delicious! Then all the random small plates. My mom, having never eaten a place like this before, asked the waitress "what does this go with?" since none of the main dishes had been served yet. The waitress looked confused so I told her my mom had never eaten Korean before. hehe. The pancakes came out first and they were excellent. Then the soups with green rice. The rice was really nice with delicate tea flavor. The last time I had soondibud was with my sister when I was home last month, and I had stuffed myself then. Tonight was no different. I just can't let myself let the good broth go to waste even if I could take it home. My mom was really happy and my dad liked everything too. I think they will go back to try the cold noodles. My dad told us about this one excellent Korean BBQ on the same street that was always full of Vietnamese people, so maybe we can visit that restaurant later. Yumyumyum in my tumtumtum.

• I seem to turn into a little kid when I'm home by myself with my parents. Today on the walk, I was galloping and skipping and just doing goofy moves. I dunno if it would be the same if my brother and sister were there too. Something about being home on my last spring break.