. first week of classes + “field trip” .

This post is lonnggg overdue. I blame it mostly on school for a) giving me too much work to do and thus b) make my life too boring to blog. Honestly, this was one of the longest week I’ve been through. I don’t know if it was from the disarray of being thrown back into a schedule or of trying to get my life together, but all these events seriously hit me hard. But I’m sure I’ll get back in the groove once the weeks roll by. It is great to see my friends again, nonetheless. 😀

We don’t even have a floor kitchen here, meaning I have to secretly build my own kitchen in my own room. I think I’ve managed somewhat…

. toaster, Crock-Pot, kettle, blender .

Especially excited to use this baby once I came back to my dorm.

. Breville Boss To Go .

I really, really, really missed my smoothes last semester, so I asked for a small personal blender on my birthday. I’m pretty satisfied with it so far; it blends everything smoothly and the portable cup and lid makes it perfect for on-the-go.

Before the first day of classes, I hit my local Whole Foods to buy some spinach for that boost of greens in my smoothies. Turns out, organic green kale were on sale, and I went with that instead along with a carton of coconut water. Washing and drying these were a pain in the butt since I don’t have a colander.

. another bunch in the back waiting to be washed -_- .

Worry not. After freezing half, a whole lot made it into my:

smoothies

. vanilla protein smoothie .

. kale, apple, orange & celery .

and salads.

. massaged kale salad: EVOO, OJ, salt, red pepper flakes & apple slices .

This was surprisingly good. I didn’t have a lemon so I just used the juice of half an orange for acidity and sweetness.

I drank a lot more of this kale, but I don’t have any photos :(. I need to get in the habit of taking more pics, but I don’t want to lug my (kinda) bulky camera around with me everywhere. It doesn’t help that I shattered my phone camera, making it hard to focus on objects and giving the pics black specks on the corners.

Moving on to a new subject, look at this new science-engineering center our school built! (this was taken with my phone, hence the specks). I have my first lecture here at 8 am. Despite dreading the 15 minute walk to get here, I admit the lecture halls are quite impressive. Luxurious red seats with wide pull-up desks.

. so tall… so spiral-y .

Reminds me of the Korean MBC broadcasting center hehe.

Now some random eats:

. salad with a side of chem .

. mocha oatmeal topped w. banana coins, almond butter, cacao nibs & coconut .

Which was eaten with this tiny, cute spoon.

. snacking on a tangelo .

. morning muesli bun w. almond butter & green smoothie .

If you guys can find these buns, do get them! You can freeze them for longer storage, and it tastes amazing toasted. Slightly crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside~

Unfortunately, I don’t have many food pics because I eat at my school’s dining hall. Hence, most my meals look like this:

. sweet potatoes all day, every day .

Some of the dishes are at best mediocre in taste, but there’s a decent selection of veg options.

Last weekend, my friend L and I went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History to complete a biology assignment. The assignment itself is due way later, but we figured it’d be convenient to get it out of the way at the beginning of the semester when we’re not boggled down by other class work.

Get ready to be blasted by photos.

I could stare at these rocks all day. Now if I can get a hold of one…

. would NOT want to see a bee this big in real life .

The (dead) animals:

Small egg cushioned in luxury. This is how I feel when I sleep on a big bed.

. guess again, ’cause it’s not a shell (answer: whale ear) .

. I wish I could ride this like Marlin and Dory .

The recently dead animals:

. jk, this one’s plastic .

. attack of the hummingbirds .

. this little guy is too cute; honestly sad to see him in taxidermy state .

. wut .

I had mixed feelings about the taxidermy. It was sad to see a bunch of animals stuffed and displayed in a glass case, yet I learned a lot on different species from the galleries. Plus, we would have little record of extinct species if it were not for these museums. I personally enjoyed the experience (L has other opinions), since I’m interested in all this science/ecology stuff. The whole place is pretty small, but it has a lot packed into it. I definitely recommend visiting if you have a chance. (Plus, Sundays 9am-12pm & Wednesdays 3pm-5pm are free for Massachusetts residents!)

Museum of Natural History

26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

http://hmnh.harvard.edu/

 

L and I spent a total of 4 hours circling around the building to answer questions related to the exhibits, which drained our energy and left us hangry. After a quick trip to H-mart for ingredients, we headed back to my dorm to assemble dinner: vegan bibimbap and some other banchans. I just microwaved instant rice packs and added pre-made bibimbap vegetables along with vegan kimchi, gochujang sauce and toasted gim (seaweed).

I was so busy stuffing my face with food that I forgot to take pictures until half-way through.

. this bibimbap was demolished .

. pan fried tofu w. soy dipping sauce (두부 부침) . dat lone jalapeno in da back .

We were literally stuffed after this meal. Not to say there wasn’t room for dessert…not photoed here, but we enjoyed So Delicious ice cream after our feast.

That wraps up today’s long post. I technically cheated by adding tons of photos from the museum, but we all like visuals, no?

Oh, and say hello to Plank! Also a birthday gift from my parents (I asked for it haha).

. doing some martial arts .

I’m plenty entertained by making him do new poses every day. Look forward to seeing him from time to time here 🙂

May your week be productive!