i went over to my parents' place to have some lamb noodle soup for dinner. it was good but could've been better. there was just too much other ingredients so it sort of masked the taste of lamb, which was the primary reason i got it in the first place. the skin had also completely rendered during the stewing which left an oily broth. next time we'll go with a clear broth for a more natural flavor. some ginger, some salt, some white ground pepper, some daikon radish.
hailey always seem to get crazy whenever i'm in the house. not sure if she wants to play or just wants to be let outside. or maybe she's hungry. there's a squeak toy that's shaped like a red chicken that she's deathly afraid of. 
she didn't recognize it when i showed it to her but when i dropped it to the floor her whole demeanor changed. suddenly all the energy was drained from her body as she climbed onto the couch and hid next to my father. not sure what it is about that particular toy. the sound it makes isn't even scary, sort of resembles wet flatulence, but it totally freaks her out. later, after she was back to normal, i tried imitating the sound. she wasn't scared at all, and even seemed to be annoyed as she attacked my face, trying to get me to be quiet.
tonight's intense discussion with my roommate was about the geopolitical significance of central asia. we also continued our talk about the crisis in gaza and speculated about israel's plans for the palestinians. i asked if he would ever consider retiring to k-land and he said he may send his children there to go to school and to learn more about their culture, something they can't easily do in china.