Halloween 2011

This year for Halloween Dimitri and I decided not to do the typical face pumpkin and tried something a little different. We decided to carve Mario and Princess Peach so we found patterns online and printed them off.

They took a lot of work because after cleaning out the pumpkins we had to lay the pattern on top and poke dots all around the lines which is harder than I thought because the pumpkin isn't flat so the paper doesn't stay lined up very well. Then we connected the dots on the pumpkin and finally shaved off the correct areas. We had to shave off more than we thought so the pumpkins would glow so I shaved from the inside with a spoon and Dimitri shaved off on the outside. Both worked well but they  took forever (I think it ended up being 4 hours!).

 Me shaving off the pumpkin skin.

 Dimitri connecting the dots.

 All done!!!

 Mine glowing.

Dimitri's outside on Halloween night! We had some rave reviews... I think we'll make pumpkins like this next year!

Cruise to Catalina and Ensenada

For our graduation from college this hear, my parents took Dimitri, me and my brother on a cruise! We left on Monday morning and got back Friday.  Our boat could hold over 2500 guests and 1100 staff!

Every night housekeeping would come and turn down the beds and fold our towels into animals (we got a monkey, frog, elephant and a seal). Our room had two portholes to see outside.

On Tuesday we went to Catalina Island. To get to the island we had to take tender boats from the cruise ship to the dock. My parents and my brother hung out around the town for a while and Dimitri and I decided to rent some bikes and explore. They gave us a map of the town and we decided to head up the canyon and go to the botanical gardens first. We almost got past the golf course when the chain on my bike fell off. Dimitri tried to fix it but we ended up having to go back to the bike shop and get another bike : ( Luckily it was all downhill so we just coasted down.

After we got the second bike we decided to head in a different direction and go look at the old casino and see the beach. After the beach we returned our bikes and just walked around the town for a little while and then returned to the ship.

On Wednesday we arrived in Ensenada and went to the beach. It was nice in the morning when we got there, but it got overcast and cooled off a little later so we didn't get in the water. We got some Mexican food from the resort we were ate and played cribbage with my brother and dad. There were coconut and fruit stands on the beach and a lot of people trying to sell us dresses, bracelets, hats, etc.

When we got back to the boat Dimitri and I tried to take some pictures of the city, but it was too dark and they didn't turn out.

Thursday was spent entirely on the boat. We slept in, played mini golf, sat in the hot tub, and watched the dolphins and a shark over the side of the boat. Thursday night Dimitri wasn't feeling so great so we went to lay down. He started throwing up around 11 o'clock. I tried to call the infirmary around 3 am but they didn't answer. Finally at 6 we were able to go to the infirmary with my mom and she told the guy what to give Dimitri (she's a nurse). He FINALLY stopped puking around 6 and we left the boat at 7 even though we were supposed to wait until 8:30. Dimitri was still feeling really sick so my parents got us an earlier flight home.

We think he got food poisoning because my mom got sick around 1 that night and my dad started getting sick at the airport on the way home. Somehow my brother and I avoided the food poisoning.

Pullman Lentil Festival 2011

Arielle and I attended my favorite Pullman event, the Lentil Festival. This is the second year we have been and it was as good as the first one. Everyone including Arielle gives me a hard time about how excited I get about the Lentil Festival but I enjoy the free chili and the small-town feel of Pullman along with the good memories of college. This year the All Campus Picnic was the same day as the Lentil Festival.

After the All Campus Picnic Arielle and I spent some time at the CUB and Starbucks as we waited for the Lentil Festival to start. Around 5pm we headed downtown and walked the streets until the free lentil chili was served, which is my favorite. We also ended our trip with some Ferdinand's ice cream at the Scoop and then headed back to Spokane.

The Road to Wall Street

As many of you know I am pursuing a job on Wall Street. So far I have applied for over 150 positions and have received little feedback in the form of rejection letters. Hiring season for 2012 analyst started August 1st 2011 and I have been applying to these positions which will start in the summer of 2012. My resume has greatly improved since last year and will increase my chances of landing a job on Wall Street. Along with job applications, I am working on graduate applications for a masters in financial engineering which entails taking the GRE, writing a few statements of purpose, some interview videos, and collecting recommendation letters. I am currently studying for the GRE so that I can get high enough scores for the specific programs that I am applying for. For those of you who don't know what the GRE is, it is the Graduate Record Examination which consists of a verbal section, quantitative section, a research section, an unscored section, and two essays which must be done in 30 minutes or less for each essay. The entire exam takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes.

So far the road to Wall Street has been difficult but that is what makes a Wall Street job so rewarding.

WSU Graduation

I know it is almost three months past our graduation from college but I thought I would post some pictures. Arielle will officially be done with college July 29th since she is finishing an online class but she did walk with me at the Spring 2011 commencement. Graduation was bitter sweet for me since I was excited to finally graduate but was bitter since I didn't have a job lined up and still don't. If I am unemployed for a year or two I will most likely go back to school for a PhD in financial engineering.

Arielle graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a French and Psychology minor. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a Finance major and an Economic minor. Arielle's brother Nick also graduated the week after from UNLV and is in the picture below.

Both of our families came down to Pullman for the graduation. I made Pizza, Arielle made WSU cupcakes, and some family brought fruits and vegetables.

Our after graduation plans are for us to move to New York as soon as I can find a job in NYC and Arielle will look for a baking job once we move there.

Arielle's 22nd Birthday Cake

I made a chocolate cake for Arielle's 22nd birthday. I got the cake recipes from Food Network but I came up with the filling, frosting, and sauce on my own. The filling between the two layers is a raspberry filling.

 

 The frosting is a chocolate ganache. I attempted to make a white chocolate ganache to marble with the chocolate ganache but the white ganache turned out too liquid so I used at as a sauce to drizzle over the cake. Overall it came out great and was the best cake I have made so far. Arielle's parents and mine both really enjoyed it as well.

Snow, Snow, and more Snow

It snowed all day on February 28th and now we have over a foot of snow.

WSU didn't cancel class even though the buses weren't running until 8am. I walked a mile to the gym on the night of the 28th and nothing had been shoveled off. These pictures are of our apartment complex the morning of March 1st.

Fresh Pair of Custom Kicks

I got some Nike gift cards for Christmas so I could buy some new shoes. I designed these NikeIDs. They have my name on them.

They are great for running!

Lentil Festival 2010

Arielle and I went to the Lentil Festival in Pullman. It was exciting for Pullman.

 Here is the chili that they serve for free. I had two cups and half of Arielle's. The picture below shows the giant stainless steel pot that it is made in.

Arielle and Tase T. Lentil.

Me and Tase T. Lentil.

Food from 2010

During 2010 I made some pretty good food such as Bonet (chocolate custard with caramel sauce or raspberry sauce), Italian Easter pie, lamp chops, arugula salad, and fennel pasta. Here some photos of other foods I made...

 Chocolate pancake with chocolate chips and a peach on top. Later in the year I made them again but added white chocolate chunks.

 Poblano burger from Cooking Light magazine. A beef patty mixed with roasted poblanos and topped with picked reb onions and a sour cream chipotle spread.

 Lentil chili that I made after I got the recipe from the Lentile Festival in Pullman, WA.

A standard flan. I am a big fan of custards.