The Kitchener

Yum... Chocolate chip cookies. Today I performed the manly task of baking cookies. They were pretty good actually. I can never get cookies to be perfect circles though. But I was happy enough that the house wasn't burnt to a crisp by the time I was finished (I was home alone). I think Mom might have been upset if that had happened.

Mainly the only thing I watch on television is Food Network - if I want to see anything else I just use Surfthechannel.com.

Cooking and baking just seem extremely fun to me. How macho, right? I think it's the chemistry involved - seeing all the little reactions and products. Like on Boxing Day, when we made a huge lunch, I offered to make the cheese sauce for the vegetables. It involved making a white sauce, which involved making a roux, something I'd seen done many times on television and was extremely eager to try at home. A roux is a thickening agent made of equal parts flour and butter. After cooking that for a bit, I added the milk. For the first couple of minutes, I was scared that I'd done something wrong, as I often do when I cook, because the milk remained the same consistency. Eventually though, it began to thicken up and when that happened, it happened fast! In no time, I was stirring a saucepan of extremely thick, creamy white sauce and frankly, I was ecstatic at having done it properly. Those are the small things that make time in the kitchen a joy.

But mainly the things I make are foreign dishes and I really want to get more into the local cuisine (Mom will teach me). You guys who aren't from Trinidad have to try:

-Curried Chana and Aloo(Chick Pea and Potato Curry)

-Doubles (Street food but so good - I could eat a million of these)

-Trinidadian Curried Chicken

-Callaloo

-Paratha Roti (which is a bit different to it's original Indian namesake) *with curried chicken

-Dhalpuri Roti *with curried chicken

-Stewed Chicken

I've mostly listed the Indian influenced dishes as that's what I'm exposed to being of Indian descent.

But the Indian and Creole culinary influences mix here, to produce a variety of interesting and absolutely delicious dishes. We can be a bit conceited at times though, always complaining how bland American and British cuisine is in comparison. But that's mainly the ignorant view of the less exposed - though our food really is THAT good =)

Two down... Four to go!!

Remember those books I got? Well I finished I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak and The Giver by Lois Lowry. 

I Am The Messenger

Once again, I was blown away with Zusak's writing style. He narrates this story in the 1st person as Ed Kennedy, the epitome of mediocrity. Ed is an underage cabdriver whose life until now has been absolutely uninteresting in every possible way. He has only three real friends, a smelly, glutenous but lovable excuse for a dog and his mother hates him. But everything changes after Ed's uncharacteristic reaction to a bank robbery. He begins receiving playing cards in the mail, aces with address and names. Ed Kennedy becomes the Messenger. 

Zusak's style is a favourite of mine. He narrates the story with a casual sort of language that seems real, if you know what I mean. Also his ability to not get lost in details is well respected. The characters still manage to appear real and Zusak is able to conjure up emotions in the reader, for the characters but he does so without a lot of unnecessary or dreary back-story and description. 

The one problem I found with this book is that (and I agree with the critics on this one) the ending is absolutely dreadful. The entire book flowed nicely and the ideas seemed well planned until the end of the story where it seems like Zusak got bored with the story and rushed off the ending because he was too tired to think of anything better. I mean, the whole book was rendered pointless by that epic failure of  an ending. 

I still recommend this book. Apart from the ending, it was really a good read and Zusak remains one of my favourite authors. 

The Giver is a more well known book. It is more a reflection on society, human nature and uniqueness than a casual read. It deals with the life of Jonas, a seemingly average youth growing up in the community. The story takes place sometime in the future when certain places adopt Sameness. Genetic scientists work to construct communities of people who do not see colour or hear music, who do not have religion nor birthdays. Everything is done orderly. Jobs are chosen for people, as are spouses and children. And there can only be 50 people of any age at one time. If more that 50 babies are born one year, they are 'released from the community' (killed - but the children do not know this), just as the Old are. The members of the community abide by the Rules which govern it and only one person is exempted from these rules, the Receiver. Jonas is chosen as the new Receiver and is trained by the old one, who is now known as the Giver. The Receiver holds the memories of times before Sameness and is held in high honor in the community. As Jonas learns though, he is horrified by what he discovers in the community and what has been lost due to the adoption of Sameness. 

I strongly recommend this book. The ideas and story are quite riveting and I promise you that the story will hold your interest from cover to cover. 

Okay it was good to get that out of my system... Now time to move on to The Host by Stephanie Meyer, then The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ( I love a good controversial book - that's why I used to flaunt my Harry Potter's in church hehe), The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly and last but definitely not least, The Stand (Complete and Uncut edition) by Stephen King. That one I'm leaving for last, simply because of the sheer length of the damn thing! 

Those books are not related in anyway except that they are all fiction navels. I hate books that you have to consciously learn things from - like textbooks...

I really have my work cut out for me don't I. And there's the added stress of CSEC Examinations being in 4-5 months!! I'm going to be so stressed out! *Takes a deep breath and mentally prepares himself for the next couple of months*

The Day After Boxing Day...

Today was a long day.
Church.
Nan(Grandmother)'s House.
Häagen-Dazs.
And finally home to cosy up in front of the television set with my Dad and sister, watching a pirated copy of Julie & Julia. 

Today was the perfect representation of the spontaneously planned days which seem to be favourites around the holiday periods. My aunt and cousins from southern Trinidad came up north this morning and met us in church where we stayed for the entire service before taking off to my Nan's place for lunch. We exchanged gifts and hung out there for a few hours - well until the evening time and then my aunt and cousins left.
"I need a little 'pick me up'", says Dad. End of conversation... Häagen-Dazs it is!
After waiting nearly a half hour to be served, eating, and then waiting maybe another half hour for the bill, we drove home: My sister with our mother and me with our father (they were using separate vehicles). Wait! Did I say we drove home! Well not before popping into one of those illegal pirated DVD stores and buying a copy of Julie & Julia. We felt a bit guilty. Honestly we did. Especially after we've spent eons complaining about how lawless this place is and feigning disbelief at the fact that the business has actually been up and running for what? Over a year now? But lets be honest guys, disbelief doesn't exist in this country. ANYTHING happens here. But contributing to that rubbish really hit us hard - no matter how convenient those stores are.
Nevertheless, as soon as we found ourselves inside the house, into the DVD player popped Julie & Julia. I really enjoyed it! From the previews I had no idea hat it had anything to do with food nor blogs but it had looked very good anyway. The acting was great (I've refrained from using phenomenal here even though it was my 1st instinct, as  I'm a 14 year old kid with probably terrible judgement of movie quality) and the movie really had some good ideas -
1. Butter (note: not margarine) is probably the most amazing edible product ever created (Screw cholesterol).
2. Blogs should always have a point (unlike mine).
3. Cooking and French are awesome especially when paired together.

White Winter Hymnal

Ok, so the title of this post is a Fleet Foxes song... I'm addicted okay?! They really are amazing and that song gives me the Christmas chills.  
Today I finally got that Christmas feel. Yes, the decorations were up, the tree was up, sorrel was made... but the 'Christmas' was missing. I think it because there was a lot of clutter around the house and it was only properly cleaned up today. Plus today Mom made her Christmas Fruit Cakes. And it's 'Cakes' because she makes for the entire world!! There's one for her boss, one for her mother... hard to keep track really. I helped her bake them so they taste great (Naturally- I mean come on, it's me!).
I've also been blasting Fleet Foxes' tunes from my Macbook's Logitech speakers all day. Songs like Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood  and Mykonos.
I guess a combination of all of the above brought out the 'Christmass feel' and not a second too early. Christmas is on Friday people!
Hmm... now something to make this post actually worth your reading it :D:
Um... Oh... got one - Yesterday my Dad saw a policeman on his motorcycle, hit a guy as he was trying to cross the highway (what's new kids) and not stop. The guy apparently flew as high as our ceiling according to Dad. The highway was completely clear too and yet the policeman managed to find a way to hit the guy. It was one of those awkward situations where two people need to pass each other but keep stepping to the same side. Ridiculous really.
Well there you go - Now you've officially not wasted your time. Bye!

Avatar in Trincity

I've been spoilt by being taken to Movie Towne over the last few years since they opened. But today, the dusty memories of the old Globe Cinema, before the was a Movie Towne, emerged from their spots along with my other childhood memories. What caused this? A visit to the cinema in Trincity Mall. You see, for some odd reason, Movie Towne (the most modern and well designed cinema in the country), was not showing Avatar in 3-D and in our desperation to see the movie as it was meant to be seen, my father bought tickets in the next most popular cinema, in Trincity Mall.
Now after being in Movie Towne, in the massive, steeply graded theaters with well padded seats, large screens, alert ushers and an unnaturally polite audience, Trincity was a joke. Not that I didn't enjoy the movie. After a while, your surroundings fade away anyway, like reading a book. But still at first it was a bit of a culture shock to see how the other half of the country watches movies; in obscenely flat, small theaters and with the screen above you (so you have to look up at it). There was barely any space between your seat and the one in front of you and the aisle runs straight down the center of the theater with seats on either sides so that no one gets the perfect middle seat - unlike Movie Towne where the aisles are on the sides.
Apparently we weren't the only people who decided to go there only for the 3-D as one guy said when he walked in, "This place realll shitty boy!" (Pardon my language)
But the odd comments during previews are always fun. There is this KFC advertisement, where a guy holding  a box of chicken, walks up to a girl trying to change a tyre. Just watch...


As this commercial was finishing up - a woman's comment flies above the audience from somewhere behind me. "I woulda' hit him with that spanner!!" *entire crowd laughs*
Yup those are the things that you don't experience in Movie Towne with all the posh, quiet type people. :D
Nevertheless, we enjoyed the movie. Avatar was great! I love the way they used the 3-D effects, not to throw things at you, but to make you aware of the subtle details in the forest, like a passing branch or falling sparkly things from the magical brain tree-thing. You can tell I paid attention to names. Not only were the effects and animation very well done but the story was quite good too. The idea behind the show seemed quite original and the story progresses nicely without getting lost in The People's world too much. A lot of effort was obviously put into the making of this film and that wasn't lost on me.
I definitely recommend seeing this, whether for the 3-D, story or action (which was quite good by the way).

La Musique

Music... Why are some people afraid to tell the truth about their musical tastes? I'm going to come out about mine right here -

-I listen to any genre: Rock, R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap(very few songs but still some), Reggae(who could deny Bob), Dance 

-I have Britney Spears songs on my iPod

-In general I think British artistes are better than American ones (no offense to anyone)

-I think Beyonce and Christina Aguilera have amazing voices.

-I've just discovered Florence + The Machine and I love Bird Song and Kiss With a Fist.

-I criticize my sister for listening to Disney artistes.

- I am sometimes known among my peers for listening to music that no one has ever heard of and I like that. 

- I think Taylor Swift is average at best.

I hate genre haters. People who hate Rap... or those who think Rock is for white boys...?? I hate people who listen to music to fit in with the crowd that listens to that music. 

People who want to have a decent musical career should not be promoted, signed to or associated with Disney!

There are my thoughts about music :D

Everyone should come out about their quirky musical likes-

I'd like to hear some in comments. Who are you most embarrassed about liking and who do you like the most?

Awkward Situations

Don't you just hate awkward moments? Today Add. Maths lessons was crowded as usual and I guess my reaching a few minutes late didn't help the situation much. Taking one of the few seats available (with another empty one next to me) I sat down and started taking out my books. 

Then she walked in. 

Oh God...

I could tell she felt the same way I did by the frantic movements of her eyes as she scanned the class room for another seat- any other seat. But alas, all had been occupied excepting the one beside me. We both stiffened up as she sat down and began removing her stationary from her bag.

Notebook....

Textbook...

Pen...

Just focus on your work Levi!!

Hard to with her next to me. Neither of us looked up. Neither of us spoke. Just scribbled in our books. 

It would've continued for the full 2 hours if Ms. Redon hadn't asked her to go sit next to another girl and help her. I love you Ms. Redon... 

Okay I guess you're wondering by now is who is this girl?

You see, this girl was the most sought after chick in Primary School. Yes, what is wrong with 9-12 year old boys these days?! But moving on... when we left primary school and entered Secondary School... I somehow got her mobile number. One text led to another and soon I was telling her that I liked her and she telling me that she liked me. Note that all this time we hadn't seen each other since we left Primary School. Well we left it at that I mean really... two 12 year olds like each other but never see each other, nothing is gonna happen there. That was 3 years ago and this is the first time I'm seeing her again. You'd think we'd be over that by now and we are somewhat... we obviously don't think of each other as liking us but for some reason - knowing that the last thing we really said to each other was that we secretly liked each other was a bit unnerving. *Sigh* And me being the shy, self-conscious guy that I am probably didn't help much...

Work, Work, Work...

Ah...vacation lessons, the reason kids think their parents are pessimistic sadists. I did too you know... but I've learned that when parents say that you have to throw away 2 years of your life preparing for some stupid and extremely flawed examination system, all the while fighting a barrage of unnecessary extra lessons and hearing them whine and complain about studying.... it's because they love you. Oh yeh I definitely accept that... I know that they care about me and want me to be happy but could they care a bit less? I know I'm probably sounding like a kid whose just being silly about the whole situation and you know what? - I would be... If I didn't do absolutely fine in school. And if I use that argument they start on forming good work habits. Now that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard!! Good habits?? Come on guys you're going to have to do better than that...
I can change whenever I want to - The reason I don't is that I don't need to. When someone can show me that there actually is a problem with the way I treat work then I will take heed but 'till then...
But I don't know why I even bother resisting - When parents say you should study and go to lessons, they mean you will study and go to lessons or you can lose the internet, your computer, television and iPod. Not like there's much of a choice.
On that note - I wish parents would hit their kids more... okay, time for an explanation right? Well I don't mean beat them abusively (some might argue that those two words are redundant together) but a slap or whack now and then never hurt. Plus this whole new age thing about don't hit your kids has given rise to creative punishments like confiscations and bans - in other words, punishments that actually work to hurt  the kid.
Ah well you can see I have some issues to work through...
This is Levi and this has been yet another rant on work and parents (love them though!!)

Mom's Back

Mom's back from Florida!!

She gave me two of the books that I'd wanted and I told her to keep the other two for Christmas. Oh and she gave me my Crash Kings CD and quite a few shirts--

Okay so my Mom bought me clothes but... she's pretty good at it! I absolutely love the shirts she bought!

The books she gave me were I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak (author of my dearly beloved The Book Thief) and The Giver by this guy whose name I do not recall. I think I'll start with I Am The Messenger so expect some feedback on that one soon....ish :D depends on how much time I spend reading...

Surfthechannel.com

I haven't posted since December 9th?!!
Sowy... though it's not exactly the longest break I've taken between posts is it? Um... the reason I feel a bit guilty is because I don't have a good reason at all for not posting... What have I been doing the last few days?
Watching Heroes on surfthechannel.com

Okay so Heroes isn't exactly the most serious or realistic show but hey! That's just the type of TV I like so get over it.

Surfthechanel.com is a lifesaver! It's got me through so many situations of boredom at home it's unbelievable. All it is is a site that allows you to watch almost any television show from the first episode to the last by linking you to other sites. That's the way I like to watch TV. Not - They get married today but the next time you see the show they have a 4 year old son!!!
So the way I use it is to pick one show and watch it from start to finish.
So far I've watched
Scrubs
Lost
Supernatural
House MD
and now... Heroes.
The best place to watch them is Megavideo.com but it only allows you 72mins of viewing then you have to wait another 54mins before you can watch again.
To get around this you can use Hotspot Shield which generates a false ip address so that when your reguar address has been blocked for 54mins then you can use the false one.
Try it guys I get so hooked once I start watching.

The Last Day Of School

Today was the last day of school. Oddly, I don't feel quite liberated as yet but maybe as the vacation continues I will. But my opinion sure isn't shared by my friends. I was watching one of them after we'd finished our last exam today. He just plopped onto a bench at school with a sigh, as if all the hard work and stress of the term had been expelled in that one breath. It's nice to know that everyone else is feeling good about it.
So I'm ready for some irrationally late nights filled with television watching and the computer. Be expecting some more frequent posts I guess... hopefully if I'm not too preoccupied being lazy...

Day Three No Mom:

Mom's gone to Florida for my cousin's wedding. So we're home with Dad. Uh...oh.... Let's recap the events of the day...
Woke up at 6:30 (We usually wake up at 5:30 and leave home at 6:30...)
Went to school with no money or food...
Borrowed $5 from a friend.
Ate a butterball turkey breast sandwich after school at home.
Went to lessons.
Got back home and made mac and cheese... while Dad made grilled cheese by wrapping the sandwich in a banana leaf before putting it in a pan so that the cheese would melt before the bread burns...?? Weirdest thing I've seen in a while.
As you can tell, we're enjoying some nice gourmet meals while Mom's gone...
Ugh and Dad's letting the house keeper cook soup tomorrow... and my whole family loves soup but I hate the stuff... not her soup but just any Trinidadian Provision/Chicken Soup. Apparently no one here has heard of stock either so the only way to make it taste... well yeh that's it- to make it taste is by 'melting' pumpkin in it. And then comes the worst part - ground provisions!! Yuk! Dasheen and sweet potato and regular potato and whatever else they can dig up- literally. Those things aren't that bad separately but in soup....
Oh well enough ranting for today.
I ordered four books which my Mom will be bringing back for me :)
The Giver
The Golden Compass - never saw the movie... heard the book was awesome
The Stand by Steven King
Breathless
Can't wait for Mom to return though - for various obvious reasons... on the bright side if I make it through the soup we may get some fast food. Yay!

The Best Book I Have Ever Read...

Okay I've been wanting to scream this for the last couple of weeks, (I wasn't getting as much reading time as I'd hoped) but I resolved to do this only after having completely finished the book.
The Book Thief is the Best Book I Have Ever Read in my 14 years of being on this Earth. 

The story is well... different. Set in Nazi Germany, the main character, Liesel, simply lives her life haunted by her dead brother, suffering birth mother and the lost Jew but finding refuge in the words; those in books,  or those of her father and mother (Saumensch mainly :)  ) and her best friend Rudy. The plot progresses nicely but seems to be more a collection of events in Liesel's life a opposed to a main conflict and it frankly works quite well.
The story is narrated by Death. Not the big bad scary Death but the haunted, vulnerable, tired Death. The Death who is haunted by humans. That was an ingenious idea on Zusak's part.
Oh well you simply MUST read this book so let me not spoil it too much.
So go out later, walk into a bookstore and buy it... TODAY :D

Inspired by The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

He is not black.
No.
He is pale.
No.
Not dark.
For he is bright.
Yes, he is white.

They are cold,
His arms, hands, fingers.
They are ice.
And they burn.

He sheds tears,
Without a face,
Tears for the human race.
As he holds us,
And we burn,
His still heart aches for us.

Yes.

Death has a heart.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

Ok I'm drowning in excitement right now 'cuz.......... Scrubs is back!! 

So only one of the most amazingly funny shows has returned with a new season featuring a pregnant Elliot and Professors Cox, J.D and Turk, lecturing at a teaching hospital. And that's just sooo far (I've only watched about 15 minutes of the 1st episode). If you're into watching a comedy which still follows a decent  plot PLEASE watch Scrubs. It is one of my favourite shows of all time, along with Lost, House MD and Supernatural.

Ok I'm now reading an article saying that soon a new main character will be taking J.D.'s place soon. Um... How can Scrubs exist without J.D.? I'm a bit nervous about the changes. Apparently, the cast had told that there would be no Season 9 and so moved on  to new shows. Then when the new season was announced, they were occupied... :(

Hopefully this new version of Scrubs is as good as the old one...

Oh today my Mom got her new car :) a Skoda Octavia... I'm loving it so far. Cars are so expensive here. If we lived in the US or UK we'd probably be driving BMW's or something *sigh*...

Oh Britannia...

Ugh... back to this dilemma of "to go or not to go". *Sigh*

As you probably already don't know I'm a citizen of the United Kingdom.

 After AS Maths lessons today, my lessons teacher (who taught me Maths in Standard 5) and my mom got to talking about Universities - oh no.... Basically what happens is:
Ms. Redon - "You're lucky that Levi has citizenship of the UK. If Andrew (her son) could have had that it would be soooo much easier for us to pay (he's attending uni in Ireland)."

Mom - "Yeh..."

Ms. Redon - "But he has to be there 3 years before he can get home fees, plus the good Universities accept sometimes only 5-8 foreign students."

Mom - "We know but that means we'll have to send him up there next year to his grandparents and I don't think his Dad's ready to give him up yet (time to be a bit selfless Dad)."

Ms. Redon - "If it were my kids I'd wipe up my tears and send their tails to boarding school. I mean you have to think of their futures (thanks Ms. Redon!!)"

So I really want to go. Plus I'd be living in my grandparents' attic :D How cool would that be?! An attic as my room :) I'd have to leave all my friends behind here though :( And I'd have to go to a private school for the remaining two years of my secondary education which could be expensive... :(
But I want my awesome British accent XD- Okay I'm not that petty but come on that'd be freaking awesome!!

Destroyer of Physics

I destroyed that Physics Exam!!
I was feeling great about it too until some friends and I were discussing it afterwards and I realised that I'd forgotten to finish the question... Don't know if you'll understand what I'm saying but they asked to find the  potential difference across a car motor and instead I only did the first part which was find the resistance and then  somehow I thought I was done... I'm such an idiot... who destroyed that exam LOL
How could I just forget to calculate the resistance? (note that I said forget to not forget how to 'cuz I knew how just honestly forgot to do it) I mean the equation is V=IR jeez...
Oh well guess I'm just a forgetful 14 year old who likes Vanilla ice cream over Chocolate any day......What?!
Ah well off to Ad Maths lessons soon...
Felt like writing a pretty random post today... like most days :)

The Baseballs Under My Umbrella

Another band discovery! The Baseballs are a 50's style Rock 'n Roll cover band who cover modern pop songs like Rihanna's Umbrella and Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love. I just love the elvis-sounding voice of the vocalist and their authentic sound; harmonies, piano pounding and all. Got me singing along here in front of the computer. Take a listen.

Exam Review!

So let's see, so far I've done English Language, Literature, Physics P1(multiple choice), Chemistry P1 and 3 (MC and long answer structure), Biology P1 and Mathematics.
Review:

Language: Overall... okay... wrote a horrible essay though- wanted to barf as I wrote it.
Literature: Luved it! Feel super confident about my performance there. Surprising considering that I studied for the first time last night for half and hour!
Physics: Average/Easy  somewhere in between
Chemistry: Hard!! Ugh  Chemistry sucks... okay usually I enjoy it but this test was mean.
Biology: EZ
Mathematics: Hmmmm.....Potential 100% I think. Though probably not, in the 90's maybe. Weird since everyone else thinks I'm crazy...

Tomorrow I have French and I haven't started studying yet... I haven't actually done much studying at all during these exams...