Freakonomics

I just discovered the Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Blog based from the 2005 non-fiction book written by Steven Levitt and Steven J. Dubner!  My good friend, who had loaned me her copy last summer, claimed that the book was a huge rage during her years at Berkeley for its "super liberal" perspective. Super liberal indeed, but nevertheless, the book was extremely interesting for its take on the many controversial topics i.e chapter 4, which claims that the legalized role of abortion may have lowered crime rates. Who would have thought right?

My personal favorite chapter discusses the role of parenting & its effects on education. According to Freakonomics,  it doesn't matter on the number of how many books you have in your home or how many visits to museums that will make a child successful in school. What plays the biggest role in determining if a child will graduate college on time is the mother's age at the time of her first baby. The magic number appears to be 30 years of age. Phew! I still got time! :)

(Side note: Since many of my friends and I are starting to reach that next step in life aka career, marriage, and possibly children it's definitely good to know that we're on the right track in terms of age. And, there's NO rush to have babies, no matter how cute they might be.)

On a final note, I find the blog utterly fascinating with many controversial topics similar to the book-Why Do so Few Men Graduate College in Their Early Twenties?


There's also a sequel titled Superfreakonomics that I gotta get my hands on!!

Goodness, my grading and report cards will NEVER get done...

Planning Mode

The only negative aspect of my profession is that I have to squeeze in all my travels during my time off. I'm currently planning for:

• Summer cruise
• NYC/Washington D.C
• Harry Potter World for my sister's 21st

Wish me luck!! :)

Rain, rain, go away!

The past gloomy days in Sacramento reminded me of the summer I spent abroad in Cambridge, England. Despite the dreary weather, which I was hardly prepared for, I loved every single minute of it. For those who know me well, my summers are usually spent basking under the sun until my skin reaches the darkest shade possible. However, I'd trade in my sun-kissed tan any day just to experience that summer again.

Taken during my first exploration of the town, I managed to capture some of the gorgeous architecture of Cambridge before the next rainstorm.

Despite Garlic's Bad Rep, I <3 it!!

My wonderful boyfriend and I were sadly disappointed when Steps of Rome was closed during our last venture to North Beach in SF (to watch WICKED, of course). I had been salivating for their vodka sauce pasta for days!! Luckily, North Beach is the mecca for delicious Italian choices. I made the executive decision to eat at The Stinking Rose. Thank goodness it was simply a jump, skip and a hop across the way. We were beyond starved by this point, mind you. It was the boyfriend's first time and in his words, it was deeeelicious! :)

I was trying to be artistic with my camera. Not quite there yet.

The garlic spread proved to be the most fatal, but amazinggggg in flavor!

The boyfriend's pizza looked gorgeous, and it tasted extraordinary. Although, my gnochetti with asparagus & chicken with a Gorgonzola sauce was even more perfection in flavor, it didn't quite make the picture cut. Not a pretty thing.

Great meal altogether.

Next purchase?

I would like to explore Sacramento with one of these.

Where to start?

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." -Saint Augustine


I discovered this quote from an acquaintance's blog awhile back. The quote expresses my objective almost perfectly. Now if only food was incorporated in there somewhere. :)