Food Adventures-Banh Mi

Soooo, Nikko introduced me to this show called "The Great Food Truck Race" where one of the teams was a group of Vietnamese 20-somethings that had started a food truck (NomNoms) centered around Banh Mi, an amazing Vietnamese sandwich. I had no idea what a Banh Mi was before this, so I did some research and the more I read, the more I wanted to try one. Thankfully, about 2miles from where I live is a high traffic area that is ripe with Pho restaurants and Vietnamese sandwich spots. I had no idea about the sandwich places until I did a Yelp search for Banh Mi in the area. After some reading, I chose Sandwich Express as our very first sandwich shop, as the reviews all praised the homemade french bread. Here's what we got...

Clockwise from Top Left: Pork&Ham, Shredded Chicken, BBQ Pork

It was amazing, no lie. The baguette was perfect, crunchy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The veggies gave the perfect amount of crunch and heat to compliment the filling.

I will definitely be going here to continue my Banh Mi education.

Day 6

Day 06-Favorite Superhero and why

So it's not really a single super hero, more like a collection...

Growing up, I wanted to be a Sailor Scout. I'm asian, so I have every right to hold that in my past. I think the draw was their teamwork and the fact that they were girls and kicked major a**. Plus, I loved all the backstories (and I wanted/still want my very own r/l Tuxedo Mask)

These people come in at a close second...

Day 5

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

You know those commercials for that magical $5 Pizza Buffet? Well, let me tell you, it exists!

Behold the epicness that is Mac&Cheese Pizza

Day 4

Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have

I have two I want to talk about, one that's obvious and the other that I hate.

Procrastination

I think it's a common thing among college students. Mine got pretty bad from 2nd-3rd in college, but it's getting better now. I make an effort to finish things at least two days in advance...and just in case you're wondering, yes not procrastinating DOES help your grades. Shocking, no?

I'm a flake

Yes, it is true, I am the friend that says yes with enthusiasm to get you off my back about going this place or that place, but will call you a day or two before and cancel. It was pretty bad for about two years, up until about three months ago when I realized I didn't like who it made me: an unreliable friend.

Now, I make an effort to just say that whatever the plan is 'really isn't my thing' or just to get over the embarrassment and just admitting that I have no money/source of income so going out is not an option for me. It may irritate some people, but better that than making plans and being that not so good kind of friend.

Day 3

Day 03- Picture of me and my friends

Me and the Meteor Girls

I did have to hijack this from Facebook

...and let's not forget two of my favorite people

Day 2

Day 02- Meaning behind my blog name

Back in 7th grade-ish my friends decided to dub our group the 'Filipino Mafia' (FM for short) and proceeded to hold history notes for ransoms paid in lumpia...weird I know. Anyway, we picked nicknames and the only one I could come up with was Lyzzie. Eventually it evolved to LyLy and then my bestie Ness dubbed me Ly. So, if anyone called me by a name that wasn't Alyssa or Lyssa (Cassy says she was too lazy for the extra syllable) it would be Ly.

Up until high school my aim s/n was NinjaStar26 (2 points to whoever knows where the number came from)...very asian and stereotypical. I decided that would no longer do and came up with lyislooney, the only remotely witty thing I could come up with back then. Since I'm not too creative, I've continued using it a my username here (and Twitter).

As for the blog name, let me walk you through it, it's easy. I am Lyislooney, the web address is lyslooneybin, so the title 'one blog, all my insanity' makes complete sense...right?

That is all for now, see ya next post :)

Day 1

Day 01- A Recent Pic and 15 Fun Facts

Exactly how recent is recent? This was from Late August, it's now November...but it's the only picture I have of myself. The cousin and the little bro (on the right) thought that posing like that would make them look tough..Ummmmmm, moving on.

Fun Facts-

1. I've known my best friend since we were in preschool- I love her, she's my sister. There is nothing else to say.

2. I always wanted to be the Yellow Ranger, never Pink- As a little kid, whenever we pretended to be the Power Rangers during preschool/kinder recess, I never had a problem with being relegated to the Yellow Ranger status. She was Asian (Taiwanese, maybe?) and that just made her cooler.

3. I am on my third TI-89 Titanium- The first was stolen in a fire drill (and I went to a CATHOLIC school), the screen on the second freaked out after the corner of a Calc book fell on it and the third one will hopefully last me the rest of my lifetime.

4. I brought six pairs of shoes with me to school, all are black- I don't know what happened. Through high school and the first two years at college, my shoes were always oddly colored Chucks or checkered Vans. Now they are all black, I definitely need to fix this.

5. I love to drive on my own-I tend to drive to and from where I am at college to my hometown a lot and the 2 1/2-3 drive is something I love. It's why I always turn down the offer for an unnecessary co-pilot.

6. Being in my 8th grade play inspired a secret love of acting- I realized how much fun it was, I just wish I hadn't let the theater kids in high school intimidate me.

7. When I'm felling homesick I bust out old Carpool memories- I carpooled with my best friend, cousin and all our siblings for a good chunk of my life. Many great times were had then- Thrifty Ice Cream, picking up Papa, youngest bro getting carsick...

8. I dance when no one's looking-My iPod is my dance buddy, it allows me to dance in the privacy of my own room w/o alerting anyone to my actions. I did it a lot when I had an on campus single and I still do it now.

9. I'm named after Alyssa Milano- My dad just really liked Who's the Boss and saw the spelling and liked it. Of course, he did change how to pronounce it...which can be a pain to explain sometimes.

10. I like to be the one to make people smile- There is just something unbelievably satisfying to know that something I did or said made another person happy, even for just a moment.

11. I went to Christian/Catholic schools for 14 yrs- I liked the smaller classes in elementary school, it meant that I could make fewer but better quality friends. I had religion classes every single year, but if you asked me to tell you everything I learned, it would probably only take me a few hours.

12. I hate hurting other people- To know that I've hurt someone, especially when they confront me about it (which they should, they have every right to) bothers me to no end. Try as I might, even when the friendships get back on track and its been ages, I can never forget those memories and those feelings of remorse come flooding right back.

13. I am a Chemistry Major- For those of you who don't know already, yes I am a Chem Major. Is it hard? Yes. Was it a mistake? In hindsight, probably. Can I do anything about it now? Definitely not.

14. I'm writing a book- Bet you didn't know that, huh? Not many do, so don't feel bad. The goal is to have it be a mixed media novel with original songs (courtesy my talented brother and cousin) to accompany the chapters. My outline is nearly finished and now I just need some time to actually write it, which won't happen until I am no longer a chem major.

15. My ultimate goal in life is to be happy- No matter how or what I need to do to get there, I will consider myself successful in life if I can be genuinely happy.

...That was harder than I thought. Until next time.