Why I love my work

It finally hit me just why I love doing energy audits, especially commercial.

It's perfect for my 'Jack of all trades' knowledgebase.

In my current jobs I input and conduct audits on a huge variety of businesses.  We take tons of pictures and then later label them accordingly.  My 3 years of experience in the kitchen has been super handy identifying all the random equipment one sees in a kitchen. Being able to tell the difference from the "silver boxes". Warmer versus oven, freezer versus cooler.  Convection versus combination ovens.  Then there's just those really random things like pressure cookers, chill counters, things like that. When we do an audit, being comfortable walking in a kitchen without slipping. Not being afraid of being locked in a freezer. I knew this engineer cook thing was relevant.

The other day I did an audit for a musical venue.  It was a high school flashback for sure.
I'm not sure if I ever mentioned. I went to a fine art school. Davidson Fine Arts.  It's the reason I can't watch Glee or Fame. It would surely give me flashbacks.  8 years of the most demanding academic and artistic strife I've ever experienced. but that's another post. 

 As they were showing me around, I noted everything quite specifically as I tend to do.  64 channel audio mixer, audio deck with sequencer, etc. Logged the microphones as lav, hypercardiod, omni etc.  The piece d'resistance was when I kept saying striking to test the efficacy of some of the lights.  That AV guy was either very impressed or very confused.  All I can say is thanks to Hennessey, my AV teacher from middle/highscool. I was on the AV crew 7th-12th grade at an art school. They didn't play around. I recall days I had to pack a lunch and a dinner during the final rehearsals.

The printers we've been to, recognizing plotters, the grocery stores. So many bits and bobs of info I've picked up in life have proved handy.

Have a good weekend! See you in December!

Being an Engineer for Service

Today my second post on Americorps Alum blog went live! It's about my second year of service as a CCBA member at GRID Alternatives, be sure to check it out!  I admit I was surprised at the title, "Being an Engineer for Service" but it's definitely grabs your attention that National Service can be helpful for those of us in the hard sciences and technical fields, which is the main point. People are always surprised that I was able to have not 1 but 2 Americorps years that my engineering degree came in handy.

Also Tomorrow 12noon to 1pm Eastern Standard time (10-11am Pacific time) I'm going to be one of the panelists for an Americorps Alum webinar.  It's on jobs and how Americorps Alum can get em! Recently, CNN Money highlighted 6 of the best new jobs in our country, and we believe our Alums possess the skills, experience, and talents to thrive in those professions. Join us on November 27, 2012 at Noon ET for our November Professional Development Webinar where we’ll feature panelists in those selected career fields to share how their AmeriCorps service helped them succeed in one of the Best New Jobs in America. 

I'm trying my best to prepare for it and I'll be sure to let y'all know how it goes.

If you are an Americorps Alum I encourage you to register by signing up here.

Butternut squash mac n cheese (Dairy version)

I told you I wasn't kidding with the mac!  This was last Friday's mac. I previously made a vegan version of this recipe and it was really good, gotta post that recipe.  This one on the other hand was using what I had on hand, which was some milk, white cheddar, mustard greens, and a corner of Jarlsberg cheese I had.  The cook's thesaurus says that  Emmentaler, Gruyère ,  Swiss, or raclette will work to sub for the Jarlsberg. 

So if you're looking for something different to add to the Thanksgiving queue tomorrow, definitely give this a go. Or even better, if you find yourself with leftover squash, pumpkin, etc.  I could imagine this making a great springpad (pun so intentional) for some glorious leftover casseroles.
Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese Dairy Version (springpad link)
Ingredients
2 tbsp flour

• 2 tbsp regular olive oil OR Butter
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 1 tsp mustard powder (yes prepared mustard will work)
• 1 cup butter nut squashed
• 3/4 cup jarlsberg
• 1 cup (at least) white cheddar
• mix-ins: extra diced squash, cooked kale, mustard  greens etc.
• fresh grated nutmeg
• 8oz (1/2 lb) cavatappi pasta (regular elbow mac works too

Directions

1. Make sure you have a cup of butternut squash. Prepare it by roasting with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. You can also use tinned squash or pumpkin.
2. Make sauce: Heat fat (oil or butter) on medium heat. stir in flour and whisk till smooth. Add mustard and garlic. Gradually add milk and whisk stirring constantly till velvety smooth. Melt cheeses in sauce till smooth and velvety. (Oh it's getting good now: I personally add some nutmeg here too but unless you really like nutmeg I wouldn't recommend it)
3. Cook Pasta according to directions.
4. In some fashion blend squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. I used my Magic bullet. You can use a blender, mixer, or yes even a regular masher (what I used before I had said magic bullet.
5. Add squash sauce back to main pan.
6. Add cooked Pasta
7. Stir in mixed ins

Stovetop Style Heat  through and serve topped with shredded cheddar and walnuts. Grate some fresh nutmeg on top if you have. You'll thank me.

Baked Mac (which is awesome) Portion into casserole dish accordingly. I have to 2 minis. add cheese and walnuts broil for about 5 minutes. till browned and crispy and delicious.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and WalnutsWhite Mac Cheese

November has been the month of mac and cheese for me.  Every Friday I find myself coming home to fix some dinner and making a mac dish. Mainly due to my pledge to use up most of my carbs before buying anymore for the pantry.  A few months ago I realised that I had about 10lbs of rice, grains, and pasta. Mind you, I'm a single person who lives alone. Variety may be the spice of life, but efficiency is the stabilizer. Subsequently when I ran out of botan rice, I was a disheartened hapa. But, it's lead to some creativity in the kitchen for sure.
This mac has a few of my favourite things: shrimp, walnuts and some good cheese (blue cheese, white cheddar and parmasan).




Shrimp and Walnut Mac and Cheese (springpad link)
Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• Garlic clove smashed and diced fine
• Lemon Pepper to taste
• Juice of
• 1/2 lb shrimp cooked
• 1/2 lb cavatappi pasta (or Mac of choice)
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbled
• 1 cup white cheddar shredded
• 1/2 cup parmesan grated
• Fresh dill
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped

Directions

Beforehand: make sure you have about a half pound a shrimp. Season with lemon juice, cover and set aside in fridge or cool place till just before combining.

1.Prepare pasta according to package directions
2. Over medium low heat, melt butter then add flour whisking till smooth.
3. Add Garlic and Lemon Pepper (I used about 2 tsp)
4. Gradually whisk in milk, adjust heat as neccesary, till well blended
5. Add White cheddar and parmasan. Blend until smooth and velvety.
6. Stir in about 2 tbsp of fresh dill, pasta and Shrimp

Stovetop style: Serve up and top with toasted walnuts and blue cheese
Oven style: Transfer Mac N Cheese to casserole dish(es) top with blue cheese and untoasted walnuts. Broil for about 5 minutes til blue cheese is all melty and the walnuts are toast.

Enjoy!

You know the best thing about not being ridiculously poor? I can afford seafood!  

Interview tips

I can admit, I feel a bit more qualified to write this post now that I have a permanent job. But to be fair to myself, I did manage to stay employed or in school full time (or both!) for most of the past 3 years.

1. Dress to impress(yes even you) Some folk think the idea of dressing in a suit for interview is a bit old school but I still believe it says something about your respect for the company and yourself as a professional.  Even when I interviewed for restaurant jobs, I usually wore my low key brown suit, at least dress pants and a blazer.  In the Bay Area this is rare, I remember wearing 2 fairly conservative pants suits to my GRID interview wondering if I went overdressed.  For my Solar City interview I wore a business casual dress. I felt more comfortable since I knew most of the people who were interviewing me and I had a glimpse of the culture there. At least dress one step above what's the norm there. But unless you're going to have to audition your technical skills (installing solar, welding, lawn work, Hvac troubleshooting, etc.) please don't wear jeans.
2. Do your research about the position and company - I know another stand-by but it stands.  By researching the company you never know what you'll find. Among other things I realized that CESC was behind the lighting audit at GRID and I mentioned it.  Doing research about your position helps you draw connections to past experience and school
3. Have a questions, good questions! I knew that it was time for me to get hired when my questions were starting to be harder than the questions I was being asked.  I even started joke about it, but that's my nervous habit.  Some of my favourite questions were:
• Why is this position currently open? How many positions are available (if it's a big company)
• What would you say is the ratio of office to field work? (if applicable)
• How would you describe the work culture here?
• Who is the go-to person here? What skills make them so valuable?
• What is your management style (if your potential supervisor is interviewing you)
• What was it about my application/resume/reference that convinced you to interview me/ bring me back to the next phase? 
• What are the next steps, when will I hear from you about the position? and if neccesary I understand there are many candidates, about how long till a decision is made?
4. Send a Thank-you note/email - I sent mostly Thank-you emails no more than 24hrs out. Unless it's a Friday than you may want to aim for Monday morning so it's at the top of the inbox.
5. If you're denied the position, reply (if possible) I realise sometimes even in interviews you get sent the noreply@companywhoismissingout.com but even then you can email the contact person.  
6. Industry specific: since I apparently seemed to be fully embedded in the green industry, it's a small one and I always mentioned something like. "Perhaps I'll see you at X conference, event, etc." sometimes I knew I was going to see somebody at a specific event. 
7. Non-profit specific - mention that you'd be interested in volunteering, perhaps helping the dept/position you were denied for, if anything you'll gain experience.

So Jasmine is hired

It hasn't sunk in yet. Let's have a real serious post.

For the past 3 years I have been searching for a job. Sure I've had little respids during Americorps gigs, etc but essentially for the past 36+ months I've been searching for a job. For the past 3 years I have been ridiculously poor, sometimes making less than 500 a month while living in one of the most expensive places in the country.  Always knowing that eventually that I'll have to put the resume out there again.  Needless to say it's not quite easy to say "Yep, I'm done with the search."

It's sort of become an ingrained behavior to constantly network and search.  An in-grained behavior to be super-frugal. I mean I haven't bought a loaf a bread in so long (bake my own) or a piece of fish,  I can't remember the last time I did. So I'm transitioning to a purely networking mindset.  Nevermind the fact I had gone as far as buying a one-way ticket home and started packing my stuff. I started telling my NorCal pals I was leaving and my Dixie family and friends I was returning.  I even started applying for a food license to sell some baked goodness at farmer's markets in South Carolina till I found a full time gig.

And then I was offered a position at Community Energy Services.  it still hasn't sunk in. The first 3 days have been going fairly awesome, I can't wait to really get into my work. That's the other thing, don't get me wrong everywhere I've worked has provided excellent training and been super helpful when I had questions, but I'm used to having x amount of months to really make my mark in life. You should have seen my face when the HR person told me about "after my first year"

I need a California driver's license. My Georgia license expires this birthday, yep staying in California. It's bittersweet, so happy to have a full-time position, happy to stay in the Bay, and yet I had finally accepted the fact that I was moving back home.  That for the first time in my life I'd actually be living in North Carolina instead of just constantly visiting family there.

So what about Hire Jasmine? Well I'm working on my personal site and it will soon be forwarding to there so stay tuned for all the exciting details.

Temp-ing at Solar City

So today was my last day as a temp at Solar City.  Say what? Solar City!? One of the nation's largest and awesome solar/ energy efficiency companies?  Yep!

It was a really great gig, in the short time I was there I think I made a good impression on my supervisors and others I did work for.  I worked in Asset Management, I did a lot of work in Excel, and some other fun stuff.  The last week I got to do interconnection stuff and so needed to check out the single lines.  Awesome stuff, I love any excuse to check out a schematic.

From day one, I felt like a part of Solar City, even though I was "just a temp". Maybe it's because I already knew so many people there in other departments. Or that I had been to the hallowed halls of HQ thrice before.  Maybe it was because I was already" from the industry" and so I really understood all the stuff I was doing.  GRID holds alot of weight in the world of solar. Everybody was so nice, and were willing to answer my questions, even when it was necessary for me to know it, just my own curiosity.

The first days the commute about killed me. waking up at 5:15 to be ready and walk to BART to catch the 6:20 train to the City (SF) to ensure I would be there for the 7:30 shuttle to take me to San Mateo. and then making sure to be out front by 4:30 to take it back to BART to get home around 6:30-7pm.  It was rough. Luckily, I was able to carpool and it helped alot. Only had to walk a few blocks to the meeting point. got to wake up at 6:15. Getting home around 5:15-5:45pm, and in a stroke of irony I carpooled with a bunch  from Engineering.  Oh, the questions I asked them, and too they were so nice about it.

HR was really helpful in helping me in applying for more permanent positions. I even had an interview for a drafter/design position which taught me, I need to re-learn AutoCAD with the fierceness. The design questions were pretty good though.

Overall I really enjoyed it and was surprisingly sad to end my time at SolarCity.  As I often say, the green world is a small one, so you never know when paths will cross again.

(I mean, Solar City is kinda taking the nation by storm)

So why did I leave an awesome temp job and an equally awesome company worthy of name-dropping even after a few weeks?

I got a job offer. Where? What? Did I succumb to another year of service?

stay tuned for details.

43T update: giving up on this goal

My interests have changed in life and while I’m still very interested in design, my thoughts have moved back to my engineering roots.
My design interests lie more in renewable energy, solar, and related things now.
Who knows, one day this goal may return. Never say never.

See more progress on: get my degree in Industrial Design

Things I've learned in my current job search

After 3 years of job searching for a stable permanent position, you think I would have turned desperate.  However, I've found the times that I have gotten jobs it was more from a smart approach than the desperate approach. So this time around, I've observed the things that are and aren't working and the things I'm still figuring out.  The results? so far I've had a far higher application to interview ratio  (5:7 this year as oppose to   1:5 in 2010-11.)  so I thought I'd share what I've learned.

Searching for jobs

• Job fairs are mostly a waste of time - . Summer of last year I decided to stop going to job fairs.  When I was going to job fairs it seemed that 50%+ weren't actually hiring, 20% of the places there were schools, 5% were assistance programs/services for the people looking for work (childcare, health care etc).  only about a quarter of them were looking for work and mostly in health and hospitality. A friend of mine recently went to job fair in middle Georgia and notice the same thing. Insult to injury, as a volunteer coordinator I have received calls for people to come to their job fairs for volunteer opportunities for the job seekers. Volunteering is a great thing to do when you're un/undemployed but having it listed as a company at a job fair seems a bit much. That being said if you haven't gone to a job fair at all in you should check out a few to see if this is the case in your area. Also if someone in your network is going to be at a job fair or it's at your school, etc., you should go. 
• Apply for online jobs with 'a grain of salt Most of us know this one but after having the opportunity to talk with recruiters and HR folk and my years of national service it is really who you know.  In some fields you're much better off hitting up the local networking event. It's about 10-20% success rate, it's mostly about who you know

Resumes and Cover letters

• Everybody prefers different resume types/cover letters As an engineer who's found herself in the non-profit world I can tell you that formatting is my constant battle. Under 25, Education first? Experience? Objective or summary? Formal letter or no letter at all? It really just depends who's going to be reading your application. HR at big companies oft skip reading the cover letters until they filtered out, some companies use software to filter so keywords are important, smaller companies HR or the dept you're applying to may read it. The more technical people seem to love list while my mother (a former ED with 20+ years nonprofit experience prefer traditional cover letters) So what does that mean? Research the company you're applying for.
• The bullet list cover letter works! (for some)  I like writing for fun like this blog or technical writing for work but I admit it I hate writing cover letters. My first thoughts are "capital idea: let's post a technical position and have the candidates write a page on why they are a good fit. Can't I just solve a math problem, or draw some plans, or write a project schedule or something related to my field?"  (and yes I've probably said this outloud no few than 100x to during my job search).  These days you have got to write a individual cover letter for every position and for me that can take alot of time. I finally found a formula that works for me. 
• Introductory paragraph
• List of my qualifications related to position
• closing paragraph with contact information

I wasn't sure this would work but I've noticed that the only callbacks I have gotten is for this format not my attempt at traditional cover letters. It really is about knowing your strengths! 

Next post I'll share what I've learned about interviews.  Any other tips are always welcomed

Second Americorps year is over!!!

Corps at GRID!

Well my second AmeriCorps year is officially over!!!


GRID has a bunch of different types of Corps from Americorps VISTAs to their own SolarCorps. As a member of Climate Corps Bay Area assigned to the position of Volunteer and Training Associate at GRID Alternatives Bay Area office I have learned so much and had fantastic experience.

In the past 10 months:

• Completed 1800+ of my 1700 hour requirement
• Managed over 3000 volunteers in the Bay Area of which...
•  I've trained 613 Volunteers on GRID, PV and Construction Basics
• Assigned volunteer crews and team leaders to complete 87 residential PV installs for low income home owners
• Developed relationships and increased our local job training attendance by 40% 
• Participated in 9 installations along side the awesome GRID construction crew and volunteers
• Snagged a Eat24 coupon just for the volunteers
• Planned 2 awesome Team Leader BBQs
• and invented an award that is just as fantastic as the 2 Team Leaders that earned them: the golden conduit bender!
• ...so much more!

Golden Conduit Bender Award

GRID has offered me work as temp employee for the next month to train the next latest and great Volunteer Coordinator and wrap things up (and be employed while I continue to search for a full time job!) of which I'm super psyched about my last month and finishing up everything I started.

Two years of Americorps have been an amazing experience. I've learned so much about my new home of the SF Bay area and myself. Two (3 including the middle year of unemployment) years of poverty is enough though, I'll see you in Senior Corps!

3phase love

When I was in college, I spent my last 2 years falling in love with Electrical Distribution and Transmision.

I had finished wading through 1.5 years of Java, Object Oriented Programming theory, discrete math, and Calculus 2 and 3. Signal Process was looming in my future. And as I started to store all this knowledge it started to weigh me down.

Then I took "Electrical Distribution Systems" and my world changed.  Sounds corny but it's true. Learning about 3 phase power recharged my love for Electrical Theory.

Now I find myself in the Commercial Solar class at Solar Richmond.  A great organization in itself and one of GRID's job training partners.  Similarly to Japanese, this is my first true "solar" class despite being in this not so new brave world of Green for about 2 years.  It's always interesting because I find that when it comes to some things (i.e Programming, Circuit Building, etc.) I learn better first in the class room and then applying it. However when it comes to solar, 10 or so installs I've done with GRID have helped me learn way more about solar basics.  It's good though because I can ask some truly random questions about PV and learn some finer details.

So far the class is aimed at the labouring side of things, though there are quite  a few of us for various reasons  , who are not trying to become labourers but rather salespeople, designers, owners, etc.  I'm personally hoping that some design comes my way.  PV System design is fun stuff.

This weekend we'll be learning 3 phase power, and I can't wait to help my classmates understand the concepts and see it an actual way.

HFCS, it's not psychosomatic

I admit I am health skeptic.  I don't believe in fad diets, I understand why I'm still over weight but am healthier than I have ever been in my life.

Since I've moved to California I've met people with very unique diets.  Vegans (no honey or white sugar as it's processed with bone char, some wine is too), Gluten Free, Vegan and Gluten Free, Paleo, Fruitarian, Raw and Pregnant, Low carb, and of course good old fashioned vegetarians and pescatarians.  

Me, I'm an omnivore to the point that I can be. I can't really eat beef, or digest pork meat at all. This is because of my surgery, though I admit I occasionally fall to temptation and have slider and regret it. I also use bacon in some dishes without trouble. Rosemary Bacon scones are awesome, period.  Also my genetics and metabolism are not in my favour. I have family members who have gained weight going vegan or as vegetarians.  Myself included.  Of course the reason for this is lack of a balanced diet. It's hard for me to eat vegan and balance. I do much better with yoghurt, fish, honey, chicken, etc.

But my crusade against HFCS in my life is showing its merit. Not just because of the fact I object to companies charging me for "premium" sweet treats that have HFCS instead of sugar. Not because HFCS is in everything including some frozen crabcakes (Yep, keep checking those labels!). Not because there are somethings that just need to be corn-free like icecream, wheat bread, and yes crabcakes. It's the honest change I've felt, the decrease in my sugar cravings, satiation of said cravings when I eat real natural sugar (honey, cane sugar, agave nectar, fruit, etc.).  I can't apparently digest HFCS very well anymore.

Last week we had a cook-out for our monthly potluck. We had chicken sausage, veggie burgers, chicken, tons of sides, I made an awesome Lemon and Strawberry Tiramisu.  I didn't eat any of the bread that day but we had plenty of leftovers.

Monday comes and I had some chicken hot dogs in the fridge. I hadn't really ate much that day so I fixed a hotdog before going to the gym afterwork. With a Sara Lee Wheat hotdog bun.  About 10-20 minutes later it hit me. I felt so lethargic like after a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It was all I could do to walk the 4 blocks or so to the bus stop. I had to make myself go to the gym. Once I got their and drunk some water and started I felt better but it was so odd.

I went home to find out that the Wheat (healthy with whole grain says the label!) had HFCS as the 3rd ingredient.  I didn't know it was in there at all, I assumed it wasn't.  Now I'm re-affirmed that HFCS is just something to stay away from.

BPI Building Analyst at last

I found out a few weeks ago that I actually passed my field exam. I say actually because it was quite an event.

I took my exam on Saint Patrick's day, with an impending cold, after a horrible weather week. I'm a nervous field test taker as it is and adding to my nerves was the fact that my proctor was the instructor I work for at Laney College where I help him and even write experiments for Building Science and show students how to use the Blower door, infared camera, and duct blaster.  I.e in order to this job effectively I ought to be able to pass this field exam.

I was doing pretty well, I felt very comfortable if a little nervous about the time. A candidate has 2 hours to complete a house energy audit, which isn't as easy as it may sound.

At the CAZ (Combustible Appliance Zone: hot water heater, furnace, etc.) testing is when things went a bit awry.  I was doing my worst case depressurizaition test. Basically you make the pressure in the house as negative as possible by turning on every fan in the house.  Kitchen hood, bathroom fans, dryer, if attached garage then the garage fan (which I honestly think most garages should have), perhaps the air handler.  You then go about the house starting at the point farthest away from the CAZ zone with a manometer to open and close doors to get the house at a very negative pressure.  Then you test for spillage and draft.  This test is an example of "worst case" if the house is full of folk the hot water heater and furnace are in operation and somebody is cooking, people in all the bathrooms, fans on, and maybe mom is in the garage painting and has the fan on.  If someone open the door to the CAZ zone it could cause spillage or flame roll-out.

Well the dhw (domestic hot water) failed worst case, so I set it back to "natural conditions" (turned off fans).  I had to set the dhw to pilot, I accidently turned it off and so I went to light it back to pilot and THEN BAM

5-7inch fireball brushed by me.  I sort of lost my calm, mainly due to the fact it was a sealed combustion hwh and so no part of me expected that to happen. In hindsight I realized it must be that propane leak.

I seriously had a hard time concentrating the rest of the test but I did finish everything.  I was sure I had failed and as trying to figure out how I could get 200 dollars and time to take the test again. My company did agree to pay for the test but if I failed i felt a personal responsibility to pay my myself.

I was so ecstatic when I found ot I passed.  Now I have my certifiacte and my patch. Energy effiency has a cozy place in my heart for sure.

10 year annivesary of my WLS

10 years ago in early May 2002, I embarked on a journey that changed my life.  It's been a decade since my gastric bypass surgery. Some 10 years later, 4 inches taller, over 150lbs lighter, my life has changed in so many ways. As nervous and scared I was about having the surgery, I know that had I not had the surgery 

I would not be here today.

I've learned so much and even though I've still got a ways to go: I'm so proud of what I've accomplished.Every year is more healthier than the last. I'm so grateful to the universe, my parents who made the decison for me to have the surgery, Doctors Martindale and Billingsley (Surgeon and Peditrition) and all of my friends and family that love me for who I am and support me before, during, and since.

Do you know that most WLS patients only lose 40-65lbs? That the death rate may be as high as 1%? That over 50% of people who have WLS gain the weight back within 10 years? 

Sometimes I still miss beef, especially philly cheesesteak.  I don't miss sweet tea, pop-tarts, or regular tinned icing.  I'm happy to have discovered tofu, wheatberries, and other healthful foods

It's not a magic bullet at all. It was a lot of hard work and the best is yet to come.

So what will the next decade bring? Hopefully the next 4 years will bring my health goal.      

If you ever want to know one person's reality about WLS, feel free to just ask

Vegan Alfredo Sauce: The EZ Way

So it's Lent, Great Lent to be exact. and I have a little more than a week until Pascha.  In typical American Orthodox fashion I will be at the Walgreens on the 9th to get some discount Easter Candy for Pascha on the 15th.


It's been awhile since I fasted completely from animal products for Great Lent.  Admittedly I had a few slips but I did well, the crazy thing is I honestly felt alot better (on work days at least ) eating vegan.  I wonder what that means?  Maybe I should start packing more vegan lunches.  

The 2 things I've missed during Lent is Béchamel(white sauce) and Greek yoghurt (Fage to be specific). Well I tried some other yoghurts, nothing quite compared though Soy Yoghurt was OK.  I assumed that my Béchamel  were going to be the same until I started fiddling around in the kitchen.

There are few things that I prepare almost weekly, roasted garlic and Italian salad dressing are 2 of them. I just throw a couple bulbs in the oven when something is baking on low. Also I whisk up Italian Dressing, during Lent adding a bit of nutritional yeast in lieu of Parmesan cheese.  Last weekend I whipped this up alfredo recipe up and it turned out fantastically.  I know there are better more complex recipes out there but sometimes you come home and you're just like, "want, food, creamy, food, grrr" *chibi-hulk smash*  

You can also find this recipe on my Recipefy account

Vegan Alfredo Sauce: The EZ Way 

1 can of coconut milk

1 tbsp flour ( I used rice flour b/c I had  corner left)

2-3tbsp italian dressing

3 cloves roasted garlic smashed

Sea Salt and black pepper to taste

Fresh ground nutmeg

Directions

Drizzle Italian Dressing in to skillet, turn to med heat

Add garlic, stirring so it infuses in the dressing

Stir in flour throughly

Add Coconut Milk, whisk quickly, turn down heat to low

Let reduce to preferred thickness

Serve with favourite pasta, miscellaneous toppings to taste. I had some Italian breaded "Chicken Tenders" and wheat gnocchi.  That was good.  Ground a pinch of nutmeg on plate before serving.

Storage: I put mine with pasta in a storage container. Last night made a second batch and put in a Glass jar in my fridge, it's not going to last long so I'm not sure of the shelf life

Pacific Energy Center: Free Education for the win

Everybody in life is different.   Lots of people are going back to school right now. For me, I think that going to grad school at this point would be "throwing money at the problem."  I feel like I haven't gotten my "return on investment" for my undergraduate degree so I can't talk myself into grad school just yet.  Also, when I started undergrad I "knew" I wanted to be a computer engineer, I realized that I should be a electrical/field engineer which is how I finished. I have no idea what to study in grad school.

Last year this time I was in Laney's Green Jobs program, free tuition.  Now I'm still in a few classes there, auditting but most of my new knowledge comes from the PEC, Pacific Gas and Electric's Pacific Energy Center.  They have classes, 99% of which are free 1 day classes on a variety of topics.
So far I've taken: 

1. Energy Audit Skills: Tools, Data Collection Techniques, & Calculations 
2. Integrating Energy Efficiency & Renewables in Home Retrofits
3. Climate Based Daylighting & Analysis
4. EnergyPro Nonresidential Software for Beginners
5. Energy Auditing Techniques for Small & Medium Commercial Facilities (3day class)
6. Photovoltaic (PV) Site Analysis and System Sizing

In the next 90 days I'll be taking:


EnergyPro Nonresidential Software - Advanced
Inspecting Photovoltaic (PV) Systems for Code Compliance 
Sketch Up Software for Solar Geometry
Smart Grid Fundamentals


They have a system where some classes qualify for Architects and they give "participation certificates" no matter what, so I think it's a good resume builder too.  I'll try to start talking more about these awesome classes. 

BPI Building Analyst, almost there!

So I spent most of February working, going to school, and turning another year older. I've been taking a class at Laney College to prepare for the  building Performance Institute Building Analyst exam.  I've only been learning this for about a year but I will admit the concepts were pretty straight-forward.

Of course this all sounds well and good until you sit for the 100 question test that you have 2 hours to finish.  It was a little more difficult than I'd imagined and I was a little concerned I'd be on the "line" of passing.

Fortunately I did better than I expected, my personal favourite accomplishments  include

• Concepts of Building Science 97%
• Analyzing/Optimizing Building Systems 100%
• Measurement and Verification of Building Performance 88%

So I passed!  Now all there is the field exam that I have in 1 week.  I've been studying and working on a "script".  Basically on the field exam we have to audit a house in about 2 hours, remembering all the important things like "Combustible Appliance Zone " Draft and Spillage test and the Blower Door test. It's actually a lot of things to do in 2 hours and it's where a whole lot of people fail the overall test.  To add to my nerves the instructor I work for at Laney is going to be my proctor. You know, the person who hired me to be his assistant for "Building Science" classes and work in the Enviromental Controls Technology (HVAC) department. No pressure there!

So to help me study for the written exam I made some flashcards on Quizlet.com so if any of you are studying for it, maybe it will help you too.

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards

Till next time,
Jasmine DK

Me, my Wii, and Hulu Minus...err Plus

EDIT: So I find that with "low quality" viewing, it's decent streaming. Still takes longer than Netflix but workable.  But on some of the shows low quality is looking really bad on 42", probably wouldn't be as drastic on a smaller screen.

My day had finally come, I've loved Hulu most of all the streaming websites for quite awhile now. I like that have free services, that occasionally you can sit through a 2 minute ad an essentially go commercial free, and their honesty of having when shows will expire.  I admit that haven't been watching it as much lately since my "video cpu" became  my "main cpu". So I've been using my wii, which I admit has probably voided its warranty in more ways than one, to watch Netflix. Honestly, Netflix and  Qwikster-gate kinda soured me on them.  I like Netflix okay, I just missed all the classic television via Hulu. And while MeTV does make up for it, with my schedule as of late, sometimes I can't stay up for Perry Mason at 11:30.

So when HuluPlus came to the Wii (at long last) I was ecstatic.  I quickly downloaded and signed up for a 2 week free trial with full expectations of suscribing to the $8 a month program.  But after 3 days of waiting, and waiting for videos to load, honestly I doubt that will happen.

I admit that my Economy Comcast internet may be the issue, it just may.  But while I can still go to Netflix and watch movies and  things without interuption, maybe 15% of the time do I get those "Retrieving" load bars. With Huluplus I've gotten easily 90% of the time. I've yet to be able to finish a episode of the Bob Newhart show and that's 22 minutes. Also you can't press the home button when it gets stuck to reset the application. You have to turn the system off and start over.

The fact HuluPlus has ads is a bit lame, and not all of there shows are available for streaming for example "Modern Marvels" .  I can still watch Hulu on my PC just fine, with the general 15% chance of load pauses.  Maybe if I shelled out some bucks for a Ethernet Adpater for my wii, this would work better. And as they're fairly inexpensive I may just do that for Netflix. My dilemma is this though: Said adpater will probably arrive after my trial is over and I'm not going to shell out $8 to try HuluPlus for a month and it still do the same thing o my Wii.  Maybe when I become a bit better employed but... then I could just fix my disabled cpu to make it a "video cpu" and keep it moving.

I'm sure for the people who can afford to pay over $50 a month for internet (yep, that's economy comcast internet in the SF Bay included modem leasing, and tax) it works fine but for those of us looking for a cheaper alternative to cable it's not worth it to me right now.  Lastly I gotta tell ya, I'm not in love with the dark imminence of the interface.


PS in the 20 minutes it took me to write this, I watched exactly 3 minutes of an episode of Bob Newhart, it's been loading for 16 minutes now...

Corset Story Review

A few months back I ordered a few corsets from Corset Story.  The engineer and tomboy in me debated how to write this review since showing the product is key with a clothing review.  It is really hard to take a picture of yourself in decorative corset without looking ultra-feminfied. I'd like to note to any future/current employers I don't dress like this on daily basis. Normally polos and jeans are my main stays...

I took advantage of their seemingly never-ending 3 for 2 sale.  I bought 3 steel boned corsets for $145.00 shipping included, I prefer steel boned corsets as they keep their shape better and if you're a plus size gal I really think they're the best type.

defective corset T_T

They came super-fast, in about a week from London with standard shipping.  I wonder if they came from the Long Beach warehouse though Corset Story (CS) says on returns go there.  The corsets are beautiful and I set to trying them on, all with tying a not just a little tight.  The long brocade broke, well the boning crack when I sat down. I was sad. The others were completely fine.  So then I had to email CS about the issue. I think there may have been a little confusion on the  issue. I felt the boning before and felt it was defective (that 1 in 1000 type). The boning didn't poke at my skin, so I was thinking I was just going to have to keep the broken corset and try and fix it.   It took about 2 weeks to clear all the confusion up but in the end they sent me a brand new corset. I didn't even have to waste my money shipping the broken one back. So yes now I have 2 corsets of the exact style, one of which is broken.  I ended up being able to fix it so it one poke through to my skin and so I plan on wearing that one when I'm going out and about and the correct one for formal occasions as I had planned for this particular corset.

16" silver and black,

The quality is very good for the money, especially with the sale.  The three corsets I purchased have 3 distinct shapes. So far I've been wearing the silver and black the most.   The one I bought as my "might as well" turned out to be my favourite, the oriental design one. It's beige and pink and gives a very 1950's style figure, near my natural bone structure.  The 18" red brocade is more like my actual shape and it's long for me (5'3" or 162cm) I have a long torso so I wouldn't reccomend it for most short ladies.  I'm going to have to get some longer lacing for this. They use the same length lacing for the corsets it seems and this could've definitely used some more.

15" Oriental Design.

Overall I'd say Corset Story is great quality at such an affordable price, so you should definitely check it out! http://www.corset-story.com/

Apple Dumplings Classic Version

It had been a long time since I had apple dumplings. There a southern child hood treat of mine.  I had a relative once who made them at every family gathering in Charlotte. That was in the  90's and the Hungry Jack brand had a version of Cinnamon Biscuits that made this recipe ridiculous easily. Honestly all you need was to season the apples and use the reserve liquid on top of the dumplings.  That was the version I'm used to so I embed my biscuits with cinamon and it makes a difference.  I call this the classic version since I have another version that I use crescent roll dough with.  You can also find this recipe on my account at Recipefy

Picture courtesy of Pilsbury website

Prep. Time ĺ 20 min
Cook Time ĺ 35 min
Level ĺ Easy


Ingredients for 8 dumplings
1(16.3-oz.) can PillsburyŠ Grands!Š Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits
8teaspoons butter or margarine
4small to medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and halved
3/4cup brown sugar
3/4cup water
1/2cup butter or margarine, melted
1teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon (separated)
3 tsp ground ginger (separated)
juice of 2 lemons


1. Heat oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease 13x9-inch glass baking dish.
Juice of 1 lemon over apple halves
Sprinkle apple halves with 1 tsp of ginger and 1 tbsp of cinnamon
Stir to coat evenly
2. Split Biscuit in half (so you have 2 circular pieces
Lightly powder each biscuit with a bit of cinamon
Flatten biscuits with rolling pin. (or with your hands as one stretches pizza crust.
Place 1/4 teaspoon butter in the core area of each apple half.  Wrap each biscuit around 1 apple half. Place seam side down in greased baking dish.
Combine sugar, water,remaining ginger cinnamon, ginger melted butter and vanilla; pour over dumplings.
Bake uncovered at 350ƒF. for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and apples are t

Tea at the Biltmore

I contemplated for weeks what to get the ladies in my family for Christmas. Finally it hit me. We decided to spend a few days after Christmas in Asheville, North Carolina which is one of my favourite places in the world. It's so serene and ecletic full of natural beauty, high class, and  eclecticism. I decided to give them a tea at the inn on the Biltmore Estate. It was so lovely!  One amusing note was the simple fact it was a tea. My sister-aunt,  thinking it would be light tea was planning on order something for afters but we had a plenty.  We each got our choice of teas ( I had the mayan chocolate truffle) it was decadent and wonderful. A savoury plate, a champagne cocktail, and ginormous tray of sweet delights.  The Inn was lovely as always.  I hope that one day this will become an annual tradition of ours.

You can check it out on the mixbook I made for the occasion

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2012 Resolutions

After much contemplation, it was hard because I give myself a 3 resolution limit.

1. Get a full time permanent position in the engineering/energy efficiency/ renewable/etc. field
2. Learn to knit a pair of thigh high socks
3. Pass the October EIT exam

2011 Resolutions How did I do?

Blogging is a powerful tool. Normally aside from the obvious(lose weight) I forget my resolutions but having them up in the cloud makes it hard to forget. Around this time last year I posted

1. Get a full time job, constantly updating hirejasmine.com, refining my CAD skills, networking and going to any job fair I can within a 50 mile radius. updates on Wednesday Well I decided to join a Americorps again so I do in fact work full time and I worked as lab assistant at Laney College. Not exactly the pay I desired but hey at least it keeps a roof over my head some food on the table and help me keep goal number 4.
2. Get out of the plus-sizes, reduce alcohol and sugar consumption, exercise 60 minutes a day 3-5 times a week. Avoid synthetic foods. updates on Monday. Well I'm still a plus size gal. But I did lose 15lbs this year. The quest continues.  I did better diet-wise.  HFCS is but a memory. I contemplate getting rid of artificial colours but for the time being I will just try to eat more healthfully. 
3. update the blog more. By updating on my year resolutions on a weekly basis. Well I posted 17 more posts this year vs. last.  making progress.
4. Stay in California, by completing goal 1 Done!  And can you believe that now I am highly considering moving back to the Deep South especially North Carolina

I haven't firmed on my 2012 resolutions yet. I'm contemplating just making it simple.  My goal is to have guidelines down by the 5th.

2011 in Review

2011 in review on Prezi