29 December 2008

the blood just barely dried.

table garnish @ tart.

man, oh man. so much has happened since my last posting.

so, i was supposed to go to boston from dec21-28. however, the night before my flight was scheduled to leave, it got cancelled due to weather in the northeast. if my flight had been out of LAX, i probably would have rebooked it and dealt with all the pains of holiday travel. however, since it was out of the significantly smaller airport in long beach, i decided to opt out of it all and just spend the holidays here in LA. and i still managed to get sick. bah.

one benefit to not heading east, was that i was able to go with my brother to sign our new apartment lease! yup, we are renting a 2 bedroom condo on the west side, and we move in january 17! i can't even begin to express how excited i am. the place i awesome, and the landlords are very nice, responsible and on top of their sh*t.

christmas day i was up bright and early (but to be honest, a little late due to the time difference) to video chat with all the family over in boston. i missed the physical present opening by a few minutes, but still got to see everyone, including my adorable niece and nephew. and for the first time, i got a good & meaningful present for everyone in the fam (mostly due to the fact that i now have an income). i ended up helping dan and his sister cook christmas dinner, and spent the evening with him and his fam.

the day after christmas i went with mike to a post-christmas dinner with the whole tango crew at some korean bbq place. i think between the two of us, we probably ate a whole bulb of raw garlic.. needless to say i was nice and stinky by the end of the meal, but it was well worth it. saturday night, zai had a little shindig at his malibu house so i went there for a short while, but ended up leaving early because i was tired and trying to recover from my nasty little cold.

and now, it's back to work, but only a 3 day week. then new years weekend! i'm especially excited for this one even though i have no plans.. (=

15 December 2008

KROQAAC08

went to an fx artist's apartment on saturday night for a little holiday party. it was the whole white elephant gift exchange thing, and i managed to walk away with a sweet little 4 coffee mug and spoon set.

sunday night was the kroq almost acoustic concert at the gibson amp. my first one! and i've been wanting to go for years. it was soooooooooooooooo amazing / awesome / [insert equivalent or better adjective here]!! every band was incredible to watch, minus scott weiland's weird little number - but it was a good thing because it allowed us half an hour to go use the restroom and grab some food. and there was no wait time between bands either since it was a rotating stage.

the absolute highlights of the night:
franz ferdinand playing take me out - first time during the night the WHOLE place stood up and went nuts.
kanye-effing-west showing up as the surprise guest and performing 3 songs.
the killers the killers the killers!

i still can't believe how freaking awesome it all was.

11 December 2008

jealous, yet?

have i mentioned that i love stitching?


oooh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, dan and i managed to snag a pair of tickets to night two of KROQ's almost acoustic christmas concert featuring..


wait for it...





the cure
the killers
death cab for cutie
paramore
franz ferdinand
scott weiland
snow patrol
vampire weekend



yeaaaaa! other than scott weiland, who i had never even heard of before this (but yes, i do know stone temple pilots), i LOVE the bands playing! i don't know how we did it, considering the thing was freaking sold out in less than 2 minutes - and we got decent seats too. i'm so freaking excited - can't wait!! and yes, i've been saying 'freaking' a lot. *sigh*

in other news, this week marked my six months of employment at dreamworks. whew! i don't say it nearly enough, but i love my job. (=

09 December 2008

plus obsessions.

acquired over the past month:
shiba inu puppies.
using lemon zest and herbs in cooking.
cooking, in general.
the killers' day&age.

acquired over the last year:
old man sweaters (aka cardigans).
a few bands (kings of leon, vampire weekend, black kids).

long standing obsessions:
skinny jeans.
hot apple cider.
cupcakes.
hot dogs.
bottles.

hoodies, jackets, coats.
cameras.
stationery.
kitchenware, food, restaurants.
tattoos.

02 December 2008

that consumerist time of year.

consumerism at its best, and yes i can see my lens is really dirty.

ah, december. time to start thinking of and planning all the money i'll be spending on others - it's so silly, but so rewarding!

the fog the past couple days is unprecedented (as far as i'm concerned) and it's been a bitch to drive in at night. hopefully it doesn't last too long.

29 November 2008

black friday milonga.

dutch(?) masquerade mask at an old fort outside of kaohsiung, taiwan.

i avoided black friday shopping this year - thank goodness. instead i had a low-key day, and went to a milonga at night. it was the first i'd been to in quite awhile so i was quite rusty, but i had fun. perhaps i should start taking classes again, especially now that my ankle is finally back to its old self.

27 November 2008

thanksgiving dinners' menus and photos.

pre-thanksgiving dinner with dan. arugula gnocci made from scratch. yumy!

home-made arugula gnocci, raw.


home-made arugula gnocci, with a butter sauce.


thanksgiving dinner at mike's, with mum, dad, mike and zai. i would have to say it was quite a success.

thanksgiving dinner for five.


tomato salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and basil.


scallops with spinach and herb butter.


mussels spaghetti in basil lemon wine juice.


bacon, anchovie, sage and garlic stuffed potatoes.


baked lamb shanks with rosemary, herb butter, veggies and white wine.


fresh fruit tart, from wholefoods.

a little non-traditionalism.


ah, today will be my first thanksgiving in california in a few years. and the first one that i'm cooking all by my big-girl-self.. this should be interesting, and hopefully not disastrous. i did not grow up on traditional thanksgiving fare, and my mom's not a big fan of turkey, or stuffing, or cranberry sauce, or mashed potatoes, but i've planned out a good meal i think - i will post the full menu and photos afterwards.

23 November 2008

super bark, super bark!


two celebrity spottings this weekend!! johah hill at mozza pizzeria, and james cromwell at hollywood & highland, where they were holding some CNNHEROES event.

we went and watched disney's bolt in 3D on saturday night. i was pleasantly surprised by the story, the visuals as well as the stereo; it's the best disney movie since lilo&stitch i think and i liked it much better than pixar's wall-e. it's a bummer that it came out the same weekend as something as silly as twilight. however, we saw it at the el capitan theatre in hollywood, which was cool when we first walked in since they had a live organ player playing classic disney tunes. then they showed the previews, and as we're waiting for the movie to start, a live disney musical with mickey, minnie, goofy, etc etc started on stage and went for a good half hour. i mean, wtf. but other than that, it was a good experience.

19 November 2008

get funky.

strictly funk, spring 2008.

funk had their fall show this past weekend.

16 November 2008

puppies and lofts.

fishballs and meatballs at a taichung, taiwan street market.

it's silly, but we've been looking at prices and maintenance information on puppies and lofts.

i just made a very yummy dinner out of jamie olivers cook with jamie book: asparagus, mint and lemon risotto. it came out quite tasty, especially since it's the first risotto i've ever made from scratch.

the fires throughout southern california have left the air constantly smelling like smoke - which sends me back to my webb days. it feels too hot for mid november, but then again, i've been in philadelphia this time of year for the past 4 years, so my memory could just be bad.

15 November 2008

puppies part 2.

so if i get a shiba inu puppy (that's the type of puppy in the live video feed of my last post), i've decided to name him shabu shabu. a name so nice you say it twice. and yes, i just quoted madagascar 2. ahh, i really want a puppy. *sigh*

puppies - live!



found this via matt's blog, i'm addicted - i want one!

13 November 2008

unpleasantries.

santa anita race track, arcadia.

i've had an ongoing headache now for 4 days. it's not constant; more like shooting pains anywhere from every 3 minutes, to every hour or so. it is quite unpleasant.

on a happier note, new google video chat is pretty freaking sweet.

hear me roar.

from the palace of fine arts, presidio, san francisco.

yesssss, upgraded to leopard! finally. though, if we get a big enough bonus at work this year, i might still buy myself a new macbook (read: go watch madagascar2 if you haven't so i can get myself a new toy!).

caramel apple spice is back at starbucks! it's literally just caramel sauce and hot apple juice, but it's just so damn good.

12 November 2008

an arcadian shoutout.

ah, the little town of arcadia, california (aka arcASIA). home of the los angeles county arboretum, santa anita racetrack and a pretty decent mall. my family moved there when i was three, and i'll be honest in saying that i'm not a huge fan of the place. however, some people think differently.

They're known for horse racing, birds and nature, but Arcadia has another claim to fame as one of the BusinessWeek's Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2009. Based on a variety of factors from school performance to diversity and air quality, considered cities had to have at least 50,000 residents and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000. "Wouldn't exactly say Arcadia is 'affordable'--much of the homes start at $1 million. The high schools students' cars rivals their teachers," an LAist tipster wrote in an e-mail. "But hey--there are peacocks!" Diamond Bar and Monterey Park follow the San Gabriel Valley city as runners up.

Link
HA.

11 November 2008

i love this one.

motion blur.


uhm, i kind of want the new macbook. and the iphone. but i would settle for an upgrade to leopard and an ipod touch.

i'm currently giggling. (=

10 November 2008

perks of the job.

the past week has been pretty insane, or at least interesting, at work. wednesday we got the art of madagascar : escape 2 africa books, and the directors were there to sign them. on wednesday, jeffrey katzenberg had a cross-site company toast where he boasted the movie's ukraine and russia numbers, talked about the dvd release of kung fu panda, and updated us on the status of shrek the musical.


mad2 day @ dreamworks.

friday was mad2 day! there were african drummers and dancers on campus, as well as people in penguin and alex the lion costumes.
view the photoset here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157608822154341/


john stevenson (director), melissa cobb (producer), jeffrey katzenberg, jack black, angelina jolie, jack black.
SotFF premiere and KFP dvd release event, hollywood.

secrets of the furious five (a kung fu panda supplementary short) had a red carpet event at the chinese theatre in hollywood on sunday morning. they closed down hollywood blvd between highland and orange, and had people in panda suits, chinese dragon dancers and gymnasts for entertainment. and best of all, dustin hoffman, angelina jolie and jack black showed up. i shook jack black's hand and managed to get quite close to angelina (no, brad and the kiddies were not there).
view the photset here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157608818798688/

onto less exciting news. discovered a great seafood market (courtesy of my brother): santa monica seafood co. went there this weekend to buy mussels to test part of my planned thanksgiving dinner. also, dinnered at nook tonight - their burger is quite delicious.

03 November 2008

quick thoughts.

mar vista hockey.

woke up at 4am today to take my parents to the airport. it was a long day.

also, it feels like fall. at least for now.

02 November 2008

28 October 2008

quotables: halloween card!

plane flying over los angeles.

my three-and-a-half-year-old niece called me yesterday (yes, she actually did the dialing). this is how the conversation went:

me: hello?
natalie: hi, jennifer!
me: hi, natalie!
natalie: i made you a halloween card!!
me: really? wow, thank you!
natalie: yea, i made it for you.
me: wow, natalie. thank you.
natalie: i mail it tomorrow!
me: that's great! i can't wait to get it.
natalie: yea, the mailman take it tomorrow.
me: thanks, natalie. did you make a card for grandma and grandpa too?
natalie: .... ooh... yeeeaaaa.. but you just get one!

hehe, she cracks me up. (=

27 October 2008

hipsters have no rhythm.

getty center tram stop at night.

this past weekend was quiet and pretty uneventful. we did go to a small concert at the getty center on friday night. the 'band' performing was called devil makes three and they're supposed to be an acoustic american blues band with a punk twist. it's a pretty decent description i guess. i really like their stuff that wasn't country, so i liked about two-thirds of it. the audience dynamic was funny though. a majority of it was old while couples, the type that typically go to the getty for these little museum/musical excursions, but there was a small group of hipsters that showed up (fans of the band, i assume) who got out of their seats and danced in the corner of the auditorium. apparently, hipsters have no rhythm. who knew?

also, i finally watched the nightmare before christmas from start to finish (i've only seen bits and pieces before), and while it managed to be even wackier than i expected, it was still pretty freaking awesome.

23 October 2008

hack hack.

dining hall floor detail, alcatraz.

despite the never-ending summer here in los angeles (sunny and high in the 90s), i've managed to catch myself a cold. it's mostly a sore throat and a mild cough, but it's still rather unpleasant.

22 October 2008

merely a paradox.

amidst all these debates between parties and about propositions, my brother reminded me of the ayn rand "characterization of the american conservative-liberal divide."

Both camps hold the same premise – the mind-body dichotomy – but choose opposite sides of this lethal fallacy.

The conservatives want freedom to act in the material realm; they tend to oppose government control of production, of industry, of trade, of business, of physical goods, of material wealth. But they advocate government control of man’s spirit, i.e., man’s consciousness; they advocate the State’s right to impose censorship, to determine moral values, to create and enforce a governmental establishment of morality, to rule the intellect. The liberals want freedom to act in the spiritual realm; they oppose censorship, they oppose government control of ideas, of the arts, of the press, of education (note their concern with “academic freedom”). But they advocate government control of material production, of business, of employment, of wages, of profits, of all physical property – they advocate it all the way down to total expropriation…

Yet it is the conservatives who are predominantly religionists, who claim superiority of the soul over body, who represent what I call the “mystics of spirit.” And it is the liberals who are predominantly materialists, who regard man as an aggregate of meat, and who represent what I call the “mystics of muscle.”

This is merely a paradox, not a contradiction: each camp wants to control the realm it regards as metaphysically important; each grants freedom only to the activities it despises… “Control,” to both camps, means the power to rule by physical force. Neither camp holds freedom as a value. The conservatives want to rule man’s consciousness; the liberals, his body.

19 October 2008

san francisco getaway.

randomly found in san francisco.

went up to san francisco with dan this past weekend. it was so much fun. stayed at the W, which was amazing. the madagascar2 screening went really well - the movie looks great. and the after party was ridiculously entertaining - i think it helped that i was downing vodka orange cranberries all night, and i haven't even touched vodka in about two years. it was awesome to meet all the PDIers face-to-face (as opposed to over video conference) and hopefully i didn't make too big of a fool of myself. i won't give too detailed a description of the weekend, but just a quick itinerary. my feet and legs hurt from walking everywhere (seriously, we only took a taxi once. and the bart to and from the airport. everything else was walked).

friday.
take a sick day, fly up to san francisco.
lunch at r+g lounge - salt & pepper crab!
wander chinatown, fisherman's wharf, alcatraz.
purchase chinese signature stamps.
dinner at goat hill pizza with eli.

saturday.
brunch at perry's with eli.
wander marina/cow hollow, golden gate bridge area.
early dinner - room service!
madagascar2 crew screening and after party at the metreon.

sunday.
hung-freaking-over.
late lunch at king of thai noodle.
shopping in union square.
flight back to los angeles.

wednesday. (i almost forgot, from earlier last week!)
kings of leon concert @ the nokia theatre. the stills and we are scientists opened. awesome.

14 October 2008

photoset : NLCSgame4 dodgers v. phillies

dodger fan.

i am quite sad about last night's game. it was very painful to watch. and my undefeated record at dodger stadium this season has been shattered. but i haven't given up hope just yet!

photos from the game: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157608030708890/

not as many as last time as i tried not to take the same exact pictures (especially since we had the exact same seats). we did leave work early enough to catch the end of batting practice though.

13 October 2008

coworker weekend.

santa monica pier at night, taken with a holga.

friday night i went with johnM and lauraH to watch chalkboy at the alexandria hotel in downtown, which stars benG's wife claire. it was a very cool, old, kind of creepy/eerie little community theatre in an old hotel turned apartment highrise. afterwards, we all (including the small cast and their plus ones) went to the kitchen in silverlake (i think) and snacked and chatted until almost 1am.

saturday, after a successful shopping stint in the morning, i headed up to allen&jisun's house where several other dreamworks people were over to lunch and hangout. i spent most of it playing with thier son asher, who is too cute and funny for words.

oh yea, gooooooooooooooooooooooooo dodgers!!

06 October 2008

can you dig it?

santa monica pier.

i took the above picture with my newest toy, the plastic holga camera. other than a majority of the film (my first with this camera) turning out red for some reason or other, and a minor glitch due to some loose parts, i was quite happy with how the roll turned out.

today was my first day in my new office space. it's still a 3 person office, but i like the space better than my last office, and i like my new officemates better too.

photoset : NLDSgame3 dodgers v. cubs

dodger fan.

as promised: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157607793624519/

05 October 2008

look like a lush, talk like a tease.

dodger fan.

man, oh man. i was at game three of the dodgers v. cubs NLDS game this saturday. it was in-freaking-sane. a sold out game, with 56,000 in attendance. they handed out rally rags at the entrances so those were waving everywhere and people were just going nuts the entire game. i've never seen dodger stadium or dodger fans that way, and the game was just so crazy and fun to be at. after the dodgers won (sweep!!) we stuck around for awhile and heard some of the players talk, joe torre said a few words, tommy lasorda said a few words, and we got to watch the insanity in the locker room via the jumbo screen. it was, in a word, awesome. i can't wait for the NLCS, which dan and i also have tickets too. i mean, i've been to nine games now this season, and they dodgers won every single one of those games, so fingers crossed!

i took a lot of photos at the game, but my internet is slow so they are still uploading. however, i also got my first roll of holga film developed this weekend, so you can check those out here. they're not quite as nice as i would have liked, but hey, it's a plastic camera and that's kind of the point isn't it?

02 October 2008

oh my freaking goodness.

my nephew dylan's first dodger game (in san francisco).

i thought it would be fitting to put up a picture of my nephew dylan and my brother john from their trip to san francisco last week - especially since i bought that jersey for him, and the dodgers just won game two of the national league division series against the cubs. i can't wait to go to the playoff game saturday! i almost hope the cubs win the next game, so that i have another game to go to on sunday.. but then that would ruin my perfect record this season at dodgers stadium.

01 October 2008

hello, october.

semi-homemade dinner from this past weekend.

went off-site for lunch today - nishi-ya sushi, in a tiny little strip mall (where the liquor store scene from superbad was filmed). it was some damn good sushi. seriously about as fresh as it gets. no nonsense with any cooked foods or silly rolls. just excellent quality fish. mm MM!

dodgers won playoff game number one against the cubs, at wrigley no less! i can't wait until saturday night's home game, which we have tickets for....!!

went to the so you think you can dance show at the nokia theatre tonight. awesome! i heart katee. and i miss dancing.

29 September 2008

strange weather.

baja california, mexico. sometime in the early 2000s.


i woke up this morning to the sound of thunder and pouring rain, even though the sun could still be seen. halfway to work, there were neither clouds nor wet roads. how freaking weird. and then it randomly started raining after lunch for a little bit.

28 September 2008

end-of-september-ness.

orange parasol at santa anita race track's kids area.

i organized a TD outing for saturday, that turned out to be far more successful than i expected. first we grabbed lunch at din tai fung in arcadia - and we had twenty people show up! the food was great, and cheap (for such a large group) and it was a good time. it's nice to see the TDs outside of work, not talking about work. then, about half of us went to watch some horse racing over at the santa anita race track. it was a sweltering hot day, but still a lot of fun. i was able to take a lot of good pictures too!

the rest of my weekend was pretty low key consisting of watching baseball, lilo&stitch, playing around with my new holga at the santa monica pier and cooking semi-homemade meals (thanks, trader joe's!).

the phillies clinched the NLeast, and the brewers got wildcard, which means the dodgers will be facing the cubs first in the NLDS. i'm completely torn, but i've come to the conlusion that i'm okay with the cubs knocking the dodgers out this early in the post season ONLY if they end up winning the world series. otherwise, i'll be pissed. i also hope that whoever loses this series, that they don't get swept, so that i can go to two games in LA. wooooooo - october!

25 September 2008

ohana means family

fresh mushrooms at a street market in tainan, taiwan.

ah, so this news has appeared on a couple animation blogs already so i feel no guilt at saying it - chris sanders, writer and director of lilo&stitch (and the voice of stitch), is the new director for how to train your dragon (the movie i'm working on)! woohoo!

ALSO, after last night, the dodgers magic number is down to ONE. playoffs here we come..!

22 September 2008

valentino!

snake at the philadelphia zoo.

dinnered at valentino this weekend with dan, mike, zai, juney and lucy. it was wine&dineLA (or something) and they had a $60 pre-fixe menu. it was absolutely fantastic, and i still can't stop thinking about the home-made cumin pappardelle with braised short ribs and chesnut ragu. or the pea soup with scallops! or the ricotta palate teaser! mmm.. i'm hungry just typing about it.

in baseball news, dan and i have tickets to dodgers playoff games!! i'm so excited.

17 September 2008

ocean side living.

building mid-demolition in philadelphia.

it was a milestone birthday for my brother this past weekened. and a completely unrelated bbq was thrown at zai's beach house in malibu - always a good time. also dinner'ed at nobu malibu - the omakase dinner we had was excellent, though less focused on sushi/sashimi and more on izakaya, and while really good, i don't think it's quite worth all the hype and cost. i'd rather go to takao any day.

09 September 2008

clean palate.

paper lantern in taiwan.

dinnered at palate in glendale last night. it's a very surprising place given its location. the food menu was small and nicely priced - but the food was excellent, as was our waiter. the wine selection is kind of ridiculous. and the buttered is churned in-house. i won't go into much detail or anything, we started with a cheese plate and the heirloom tomato salad. for the main course i had the brodetto - clams, shrimp, monk fish and halibut over grits - which was amazing. we split the flourless chocolate cake for dessert. nothing was very large, but i wouldn't quite say it was small plates / tapas style.

i've also been to a lot of other really good places lately, but i've been too lazy to review. here's a quick list of some of them (off the top of my head):

amandine (breakfast/bakery)
c&0's (italian)
cobras&matadors (spanish tapas, BYO)
lattitude thai (thai)
little door (french/mediterranean)
mao's (chinese)
palmeri (italian)
sasabune (japanese)
taiko (japanese)
takao (japanese)
tasca (spanish tapas and wine bar)
toscana (italian)

08 September 2008

addendum.

tulips in washington, DC.

despite my previous post making it sound like i'm unhappy with things right now, it's not that i'm unhappy or that things are terrible. no, they're not perfect or optimal, but i really am damn lucky to be living the life i am right now, and i really have no real basis for complaint.

06 September 2008

balance.



so since moving home, i've been trying to balance the level of independence/freedom i'm accustomed to in college with being the good taiwanese daughter by living at home and dealing with all that entails. well, it seems that i've finally hit the point where that isn't really possible without some major stretching of the truth (read: lying and deception). *sigh*

on a happier note, since their eight-game losing streak recently, the dodgers have come back and won six in a row, and are only half a game behind the dbacks. hopefully they beat them again tonight and jump nicely into first place.

02 September 2008

a winning record.

dodger stadium.

i've been to eight dodgers games this season. they've won all eight! now if they could only make it to the playoffs and maybe end the season above .500? just maybe..? obviously i need to go to more games.

29 August 2008

we are a nation of irrational idiots.

file organizer.

ah, yes. the democratic national convention. fancy speeches in a frenzied environment filled with stretched and twisted 'truths'. all i've heard lately is how great obama is, how great his speech was and how he's going to change this country. blah blah blah. i didn't see his speech, but i read it. read and actually thought about it rather than let the energy of the event and everyone's unnatural loving adoration affect my judgment. it was a great speech, very well written, and i'm sure, very well performed. however, some of the things he said just seemed a little too far-fetched, so i decided to go to factcheck.org and it verified my suspicions about his speech.

don't get me wrong, this is politics and both sides play the game this way. but i just wish people would take him off the damn pedestal he's on and realize that he's a politician just like all the rest.

27 August 2008

K-K-Kuo!

baseball signed by hong-chih kuo.

whoa! turns out my parents have a baseball signed my hong-chih kuo, a dodgers pitcher from taiwan!! and it's been two feet from my bedroom, for years! who knew.

25 August 2008

swept.

green mesh.

my life has been pleasantly uneventful as of late. i am thoroughly enjoying it.

20 August 2008

crashing in a crowded room.

backstage at the academy is... february 2006.

there was a new employees meeting with jeffrey katzenberg the other morning. there were about thirty or forty of us in the theatre and he sort of just talked to us about the state of the studio and its various projects and undertakings. and then he allowed us to ask him questions. he was surprisingly candid about everything and very un-CEO-of-a-studio-like.

as for the new the academy is.. album fast times at barrington high, it's definitely a good, solid album. i haven't listened to it enough to have developed a decisive opinion on it, but there are definitely a few things i can say for sure. first off, this is their third album, their first two being almost here and santi. almost here is quite possibly one of my favorite albums ever - every song is in my iTunes top 25 played list. i was not a huge fan of santi initially - it was nothing like i expected - and it took a lot of time before it grew on me - it was kind of all over the place but i understand that they were experimenting and testing their limits. fast times is what i would have expected to be their sophomore album to sound like - lyrically it is much closer to almost here, and musically it is less confused (for lack of a better word) and much more cohesive.