I remember when I first moved to America, I was most terrified of the inevitable high school hierarchy.

I knew for sure that as a FOB, there would be no way I’d be included in the popular group, nor did I particularly want to.

But all I really cared about was to avoid being in the loser group. You know: the nerds and the geeks who, according to the Sweet Valley series that I read religiously as a kid, are squashed to the bottom rung of the social ladder.

Well, guess where I ended up being. Yup, the nerd group. I was the one debating religion and science with my nerdy buddies, going to the mall with my friends only to spend hours at Borders bookstore, and taking every honors and AP classes I could.

But years of maturity later, I am now proud to be a nerd—because damn it, nerds are cool.

On my last post, I said I wasn’t ready for school. Well, I lied.
The moment I stepped into campus with cheeks flushed from the morning chill and lukewarm coffee in hand, I suddenly realized I’ve been ready all along.

No, I’m more than ready. I’m freaking EXCITED to be back. Oh. My. God. This semester. It’s gonna rock. It’s gonna be freaking FANTASTIC!!! YAY TROJANS!!!!
First of all, thank goodness I stocked up on sleep during the break, because I’m probably not going to be sleeping much this semester.

It’s only my second day of class, and I already have 5 Daily Trojan assignments, a 10-page research essay to brainstorm, new technologies to master, and desperate plans to hike 2 hours to Culver City every week.

But who cares about sleep!!!! I’m going to have the time of my life!!!!

You probably do not care at all, but I freaking don’t care that you don’t care! I’m too freaking excited!!! Can you freaking not tell with all the freaking “freakings” I cannot help adding to each adjective??!! Wheee!! 

We’re a small group of 10. Only three of us are print journalism majors. Apparently we’re a dying breed.

I already like all my classmates, and loooove my professors. My broadcast professor is 75. 75!!!!! How is his brain still working so acutely at that age? And he’s even more tech-savvy than I am with his Macbook Pro and iPhone!

For my journalism reporting classes, I’ve been assigned to cover Culver City, which is a city about 20-30 minutes drive away from home. I have to literally spend whole days there, snooping around for stories. I also have to befriend police officers and city councilmen so that they can give me the inside scoop. Problem is, I don’t have a car. And there’s no bus route that will take me there, either (L.A. public transportation SUCKS!!!!).

I’m freaking out a bit. I spoke to one of my classmates and apparently he’s gonna bike the 9 miles there. He said walking there would “only” take about 2 hours. “I’ve done it before,” he said helpfully. 

Hm. That seems doable. Not.

But then, Culver City does have a booming restaurant scene. I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of fuel once I reach that place. Still, that leaves the question of how I can charm police officers into loving me.

As for art: Ooh la la. I’m so happy to be back immersed in charcoal and hands-on drawing. This semester, we’ll be focusing on the human body, which is my favorite thing to draw. What is more beautiful and fascinating than the human body? I cannot wait!!

Okay, have I blabbered enough? Sorry if I’m overwhelming  you with my gross nerdy enthusiasm. But I foresee an interesting, busy semester ahead, and if you’re still reading, you’re going to be part of it, too.

I also predict less idle grocery-shopping. Gone are the days when I can stroll lazily up and down the shopping aisles with my granny cart. Again, a complete blessing, because I need to cut down on my food expenditure. Besides, I’ve got a stock-full of food in my freezer that I should use.

I kick-started Operation Clean-the-Freezer by finally cooking the 6 chicken thighs that had been ignored in the freezer for months. I recently came across a recipe for teriyaki chicken at No Recipes, and had bookmarked it.

But I didn’t have the sake or mirin that the recipe required, so I changed the recipe a bit. Here’s my version:

Teriyaki Chicken
(adapted from No Recipes)

For Brine:

- 1 cup water

- 2 Tbs soy sauce

- 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

- 3 Tbs dark brown sugar

- 2 Tbs rice wine vinegar

- 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

- 6 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs

For teriyaki sauce:

- 3 Tbs mild flavored honey

- 4 Tbs soy sauce

- 4 Tbs rice wine vinegar

- 4 Tbs balsamic vinegar

- 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Combine the brine ingredients in large container and add the chicken thighs. Let this sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

To make the teriyaki sauce, just add all the teriyaki ingredients into a small sauce pan and boil over medium heat until the sauce is glossy and slightly viscous.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, turn the broiler on and move the oven rack up to the upper position. Put a wire rack on a baking sheet (I used the rack out of my housemate’s toaster oven), and put the chicken thighs skin side down onto the rack (the idea is to keep the meat elevated off the pan). 

Brush some of the teriyaki sauce over the chicken.

Broil until brown then flip so the skin side faces up. Baste the skin side with teriyaki sauce and continue to broil until the skin is golden brown with just a few charred spots.

Obviously, I forgot about the oven for awhile and let it char a bit more than I was supposed to. I came running into the kitchen when the smoke alarm went off.
But they still turned out really, really tasty.
The caramelization on top was sticky, sweet, savory, and full of flavor all around.
Since I like my meat a bit on the burnt side anyway, the deep char didn’t bother me at all. Except for the fact that my hopes for a perfect golden-brown photography was dashed. But hey, can’t deny that they still look drool-worthy!
Please leave the skin on when cooking. It keeps the meat inside really nice and juicy. Unless you want to boil or poach your chicken, you want to get skin-on chicken.
 I am keeping half of it for later…maybe I’ll make fried rice or yaki noodles to go with it, like Yoshinoya. Or maybe pile them on top of a burger bun with coleslaw. Yummm… 

Okay, I need to stop dreaming and get back to work. Tomorrow, I have back-to-back classes from 9 a.m. till 6:30 p.m. I also have to review a new restaurant opening tomorrow and turn the article in by the next morning on Friday.

Wish me luck! It’s definitely gonna be a tough semester, but I plan to enjoy it as much as I can. You only die once, and that’s in college.

Question of the Day: If you could be back in high school, which social group would you want to belong? Which social group were/are you in reality?