29 November 2014
jimmy's back
26 November 2013
birthday extravaganza!
first and foremost, i'm a proud h-o (home owner)! i finally got the keys to my condo on the 19th which is perfectly timed before my birthday. i was supposed to close last month and get the keys in october but this is just as good.
now onto the good stuff... birthday food adventures!! i started off my birthday with dinner at justin's in santa clara just down the street from where i now live. my lovely and fabulous bff took me.
clockwise from top left: fried ravioli, baked brie, beet salad, winter prix fixe tasting w/ beers: salmon salad, rabbit & chocolate panna cotta; and sea bass.
on sunday, i was invited to hot pot at my friend funie's place in el cerrito. the food was abundant and delicious! and the company was awesome and fun. it wasn't for my birthday but gets to be included in the birthday extravaganza.
21 December 2012
birthday dinner slideshow
28 November 2011
birthday goodies!!!
as i have in previous years, i spent my birthday with my dear sister. she took the day off to go to the city with me. the rings above are from her. they represent us and our birthstones, in the form of diamonds. they are cognac diamonds on yellow gold (topaz for november) and blue diamonds on white gold (turquoise for december).
i picked up this pair of shoes for such a bargain! i picked up some other goodies too. we finished our day in the city with a birthday dinner at the house.
the monday i returned from my birthday week off, my office staff surprised me with these flowers. this was the first year that my staff has done something like this for me. they are too sweet.
and this was my 3rd year taking all of thanksgiving week off. i'm hoping to make it a tradition.
14 November 2011
20 December 2010
holiday festivities

after dropping funie off, i got home at 1a. i was out for nearly 9 hours! it was like a work day, if i worked the swing shift or something. and on sunday, i didn't leave the house... at all.
12 December 2010
birthday presents!!
as usual, i bought myself new shoes, two pairs, though only one is shown here. the other pair are snow boots, not particular exciting but necessary if i should ever find myself in snow again. i'm not planning on it anytime soon but you never know, right?these are gray wedges that are close to 5" high with platform heels. they are quite comfortable and i am super tall in them!
this year, my dear sister took me to a french bistro called chapeau! for my birthday dinner. they are known for their foie gras and highly recommended by friends and yelp. the food was quite delicious, especially the foie gras. she also gave me a turntable earlier that morning. i have 5 vinyl records but didn't have anything to play them. i've always wanted a record player, however, it didn't seem practical. there is something really special about playing vinyl. it feels nostalgic even with new music.
on black friday, i purchased a new camera. i've had this camera in my "cart" for half of the year. it is always fun to have a birthday around thanksgiving, as there are so many opportunities to shop for yourself. on cyber monday, i got myself a clarisonic mia. it is yellow and works really well. my face feels so much softer and smoother. it's great for daily use on sensitive skin. i highly recommend it!
i also received these beautiful tulips (my favorite flowers) from my dear friend ashley. she is a sweetie. all in all, it was a fabulous birthday! thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate! ♥
29 December 2009
know better learn faster
venue: the independent artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down, the portland cello project w/ david schultz
who: john
when: 21 november 2009 (saturday)
last month, i went to my last show of 2009. and similar to the number of shoes i purchased, it came out to a low total of 9. in 2008, i went to a total of 17 concerts so 9 is quite sad for me. i actually saw thao back in september with ro. and had planned to see her while i was in chicago over halloween. unfortunately, it didn't work out. what's funny is that i was going to see thao in chicago with john (who lives in chicago) and ended up seeing them with him here.
before the show, we went to dinner with my friends, grace and bob. we ate at espetus churrascaria in the city. if you've never been there, it's a fancy brazilian steakhouse smorgasbord. all the m-m-m meat that you can eat. and i ate and ate and ate. i took a break and ate some more. i ate more than john did. in fact, i ate my money's worth and his! i think he was a little scared of me afterward. hahah.
after dinner, we walked grace and bob back to their place (also where we parked) and headed over to the independent. we got there early so we could get good seats. in my ripe old age, i find that i don't mind sitting through opening acts if i can secure a seat. normally, i don't care for a good view as i can't really see anything unless i'm on the second floor. the independent does not have a second floor that is open to the public. however, the areas next to the walls are spaces that are a few steps above ground level. and i was pleasantly surprised by the opening bands. david schultz started off the night. he was charmingly folky. next up was the portland cello project. i really didn't know what to expect when i realized it would be mostly if not purely an instrumental set (with the occasional vocalist stepping in). they did a bunch of instrumental covers but the most impressive of them, was the super mario brothers video game theme. it was very entertaining.
by the time thao came on, the venue was packed. it looked like a full house. she was so excited about being back in the city (it was the end of their tour). when i saw thao and the get down stay down play back in september, it was prior to the release of know better learn faster. they played one song (body) from the new album. back to the current show... seeing thao live is a treat. she is so uniquely energetic and genuine. i don't think i've seen many (or any) musicians move the way she does while playing her guitar. it's interesting because she doesn't have the prettiest voice out there, nor are her lyrics particularly thought-provoking. what she does well is how she combines her vocals and the music (with the help of an awesome producer). the end result: amusing, upbeat and catchy tunes that i don't want to stop listening to.
rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ yep, still girl-crushing on her.
22 December 2008
04 December 2008
03 December 2008
day of mmm birthday food
first stop, was santa ramen in san mateo. this is the new santa location. the original one was a hole in the wall. this one is much bigger but works the same way as the former location. you wait in line to get in. you also order before you are seated. the one on the left is the miso ramen (mine) which comes w/ pork. lisa got the soy sauce ramen w/ corn. it was mmm goodness. good comfort food after a night (& result) of 10+ drinks.
the next meal came after a visit to the california academy of sciences and some shopping right before closing time. it was dinner at the house in north beach. lisa took me here back in early may. we ordered the exact same thing we did the last time (minus one appetizer & one entree). we started with the deep fried salmon rolls. that's me ready to inhale my angus flatiron steak cooked medium complete with their yummy wasabi noodles. mmm meat. next to me is lisa, with her grilled sea bass and soy noodles with green beans.
and last but not least... dessert! again (as we did back in may), we went next door to the steps of rome as the house does n0t have the extensive dessert selection or espresso drinks that steps of rome carries. clockwise from left: me w/ lisa, white chocolate profiteroles, the boys who took our picture, and finally, panna cotta with strawberry & chocolate rightness. it was mmm so wrong but it feels so right all at the same time.
30 November 2008
birthday drinks & cupcakes @ xanh
two saturdays ago/the day before my birthday, i had a very last minute birthday celebration. i figured, i'd squeeze in some drinks with some friends & family after my sister cooked me a very yummy dinner. having it at xanh is always convenient as the only thing i had to take care of were cupcakes. i made strawberry and coconut cupcakes while my sister made my birthday dinner. i meant to take a picture of the cupcakes. the above collage include the few pics i got with my camera before the batteries died due to overwhelming flash use (and forgetting to recharge the batteries). there were boys thrown into the mix of ladies later. all in all, it was a very good birthday.
21 November 2008
love is all
venue: bottom of the hill(sold out!)
artist: love is all, vivian girls, & one other opening
who: ro & lou
when: ro's 33rd birthday
much to my excitement, this was the second time i saw love is all. i caught them at their sf debut show at popscene. to my dismay, my memory serves better recalling voxtrot at that show than love is all. i didn't mention it in the post but i do remember that love is all didn't suck.
ro & i met up with lou at goat hill pizza in potrero hill before the show. we got the meat lover's special. it was mmm meat good! it was strange because i found myself having this bizarro sense of deja vu there. it was because i had eaten there almost exactly 3 years before. i was there with my ex when we were looking at a place to rent. i remember, he dragged me all the way up to the city through traffic after work. and i actually liked the place. i think i was more excited about living with the landlords/owners than i was about the place. my ex wasn't too thrilled about either things.
the bottom of the hill was only a couple of blocks away from goat hill pizza so we walked over. the show was sold out and i'd never seen a line there as long as the one waiting for us to wait in to get in. the last time i was there, it was at the jens lekman show w/ ro. **sigh** the night he hugged me. ♥ i am so easily distracted, aren't i?
back to the show... we got in just before the vivian girls (btw, that's lou w/ them at the bar on the right) from brooklyn. they were ok. nothing special. maybe they were too much rock for me, i don't know. i just know i didn't really care for them. live, anyway. but love is all on the other hand were different. i thought their sound was very fantastically unique. josephine, their lead vocalist, is uber cute with a cool pixie cut. her voice makes their sound unique. they reminded me of the yeah yeah yeahs, with a twist. it was an amazing show. lately, i've seen lots of good bands with amazing female vocalists. very cool, actually.rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
10 November 2008
yay! presents!
i started opening up birthday gifts early this year. not to mention sending them to myself early. i got these boots for myself. i also got some bling earrings from my very sweet sister, uh, last month. which i've been wearing since um, last month. they are sparkly and so pretty. they also go well with the rest of my bling.
in addition to these lovely ankle boots, i got myself a new camera from amazon. i've always been interested in photography. mostly, i enjoy looking at them and being impressed by the many very talented photographers out there. sometimes, i surprise myself with a lucky "money" shot. even more recently, i've wanted to take better pictures. as a result, i decided it was due time for a new more advanced camera. not quite at the slr level, i settled on the canon sx110is in black. newly released in august, the sx110is is the new version to the sx100is. while the sx110is is a point & shoot camera, it has some manual settings of an slr. and is certainly a step up from my 2 y/o elph sd450. you can check out my practice shots on my flickr page.
in addition to early birthday gifts, my girlfriends and i have a long tradition of commemorating our birthdays all month long. it is really just an excuse to go out & celebrate. since november is my birthday month, betty and i decided that the ladies' night out would be part of my month long festivities. before meeting up with funie, we went to kirala's for sushi.
it has been ages since we were last there together. i can never complain about the food here, especially since we always seem to overeat. one of the sushi chefs, conrad, always makes us "extras." the grilled squid is especially beautiful there. i should have taken a picture of it. but when we saw it, we just inhaled it. it was as delicious as it was beautiful. afterwards, we got gelato at naia's and then headed over to the mission for ladies' night out with funie. fun fun fun.
28 October 2008
emily turns 3!
the next project was a birdseed feeder on a cylindrical roll that's glued on with peanut butter. this project was quite messy. it was taken home in a bag. thank goodness, otherwise, emily would have gotten 2 extra feeders. the last project was the pumpkin painting one. after the kids painted their own pumpkins, they could sprinkle them with glitter. and who doesn't love glitter, right? surprisingly, out of about 8 pumpkins, only one of them had a face.
despite the projects, the kids had a good ole time just playing with each other. the chunkster made a new friend named david. they even talked about going to each other's homes. they played together with my lollipop head the entire time. well, until david had to go home. it was really really sweet. 
we stayed for a very long 5 hours. two hours before, i was begging the kids to go home. finally, i told them, ten more minutes! i felt bad staying so long but the kids were having so much fun getting to know each other. by the end of the party, chunky & emily were "bffs." super adorable.
12 July 2008
collecting & selecting
jonna was celebrating her birthday at bar kitty's in emeryville. at first glance, i couldn't imagine meeting any cute boys at this place. it just wasn't the type of place i'd go to. but i wasn't there for me, i was there for lovely jonna. as well as heather, melissa and charles (who incidentally also knows my scar buddy). lucky for us, jonna greeted us outside in the line we'd been waiting in for 20 or so minutes and got us in soon after. the bar was surprising. there's an outdoor patio that takes you inside where there's a bar and a itty dance floor that was really packed. our friend heather towers above most people so it was easy to find the rest of the crowd.
we were served one very good and generously-made irish car bomb (as long as we didn't throw up, i guess people can't hold their liquor) and a tom collins. the car bomb took me two breaths to drink instead of one and it hit the spot. it made me feel all fuzzy inside and ready to hit the dance floor. i saw this cute boy there but he was with some chick and was too young. after working up a sweat for a bit, we retreated back to the bar.
collection
while we were catching up, the same cute young boy came up to me while totally checking betty out. as if i didn't notice. he introduced himself (boy #1) to me and waited to cut in on betty. when he leaned in, i told him that she's engaged and not interested. then boy #1 tells me that he's hitting on me and brings me outside where his friends were sitting. he introduces me to boy #2 and boy #3. i asked boy #1 how old he was but refused to tell me. i asked boy #2 how old he was, 33. boy #3 wouldn't tell me either. boy #2 was really cute and harmless-looking so i sat myself next to him. he told me i looked 22. major brownie points. even if he was lying a little bit. when he told me his age, he added '1974' so i asked him when he turned 34. december. which meant i was older than him. fortunately, boy #1 got the hint and left. boy #3, was coming on to me really strong. told me that both he and boy #2 were interested in me. all the while, i was trying to talk to boy #2. asked him if he was single and told him he was really pretty. boy #3 joked that was because boy #2 was gay. and invited me to his birthday party next weekend. boy #3 even offered to pick me up from san jose to take me to his party. even attempted to entice me with my new pretty gay friend, boy #2 being there. finally, betty and heather came over to save me. the bar was closing so we had to leave. but before that, i decided i wanted to say goodbye to boy #2.
selection
i spotted him and came up behind him. he told me it was really nice to meet me and asked if i was coming to boy #3's birthday party. i told him i was actually more interested in him than his friend. so i had to decline. he said he could tell. i guess i was more obvious than i thought. but apparently not obvious enough to give his friend the hint. boy #2 asked me for my number which is a little fucked up because i told boy #3 that i didn't give out my number. but couldn't help it and gave it to him anyway...
16 June 2008
tubby bubby's first birthday
05 May 2008
still going strong... kinda
to those who came out to my preliminary celebration at xanh, thank you all for coming on such late notice. i'd also like to thank my brother & his family for their generosity. and for those who sent me congratulatory messages via text, phone and email, i am much appreciative to you as well. they (as well as you, the sender) mean a great deal to me.
it's been so busy since the last post last monday. at work as well as home. i'm moving soon (next week? maybe? hopefully?). and, i have two meetings this week that i have to prepare for. another meeting next week. yuk.
let's recount the previous week...
monday, april 28th
clear body scan (see post below)! woohoo! i went to nordstrom for my traditional double capp right after but this time, no cousins there (it had been caroline there for at least 2 of the 5 years) to get a congratulatory hug just yet. i later got one from lily (thanks!). then off to the office to see my coworkers and tell them the news. i'd brought some mac & cheese from the last meal. and of course, after work, met up with people at xanh from 6p until closing. i didn't think i'd be there that long but people kept coming and going. i was getting messages left & right about the clear scan. i truly felt loved.
friday, may 2nd
for the rest of the work week, it was hard to get anything done. i was still in this surreal state of mind. did i really beat cancer? i was completely fearless about spreading my happy news, despite being unofficial. finally, friday came and lisa took me and another friend out to dinner. but before dinner, lisa and i went to verizon to get her a new fancy phone.
she got the enV2 (maroon), the newer version of my phone (orange). it had just come out. it was so new, they didn't have any samples at the store to play around with. and going for $179.99 with a 2 year contract. i showed some skin and she only paid $79.99. score! we got a family plan together, got the phone, transferred over her address book and all this was done in less than an hour!
she'd made reservations at the house at 9p. even at that time, it was totally packed. apparently, they are known for their grilled sea bass with garlic ginger soy. and that's what lisa had the first time she'd gone so she had it again. the house is also known for their warm wasabi house noodles with angus flatiron steak, which is what i ordered. we also had two appetizers, the ahi tuna tartare with roasted nori chipstuna and the deep fried salmon rolls with chinese hot mustard. i'd never had anything like those rolls. they were crunchy, soft, flavorful, spicy, and delicious! very special. i could barely eat half my entree as i enjoyed the appetizers completely and tremendously. the wasabi noodles were also full of flavor and with just the right amount of spice i like. the steak (cooked medium) was sooo good. slightly chewy and yet still melts in my mouth. mmm meat. just thinking about it makes me salivate.
saturday, may 3rd
we celebrated my dad's 68th birthday on saturday. wow, 68. and there's no other place i love celebrating than at xanh restaurant. they have these sectioned off rooms where you can have private events. since we got there so early, this mini xanh room was essentially ours. we ordered nearly everything on the menu. there was so much food. i couldn't help myself. i totally oinked out. i'd been starving for 10 days before the scan. i indulged like i had the night before. it was great except that my sister-in-law had to work and missed most of it. :(
that night, i went to leisure with louis and betty. i hadn't gone dancing since the end of march. and even though there were a few 40-somethings, i was surprised to see a lot of kinda cute guys there. i was just so content to be dancing to music i love after so long of a period that i didn't pay much attention to the boys. i know, shocker huh? hahah
sunday, may 4th
the nordstrom private shopping event where they wine and dine you so you spend oodles of $$. that was the case for me anyway. not to mention my friend grace. heehee. it's more fun when you're not the only who spends a lot of money.
let's see... i got two pairs of kate spade shoes (will post pics once they are delivered to me), a cream marc by marc jacobs bag (always wanted a cream bag - see right), and tons of cosmetics. and tons of goodies came with my purchases thanks to my special sales person (thanks debbie!). makes me a most joyous shopper. but, no more shopping for a while!! right lisa?
24 April 2008
death cab birthday
(sold out)
artist: dcfc
who: betty
when: 23 april 2008 (wednesday)
doors open at 7p
since this show was scheduled the day after betty's birthday, it was the perfect birthday gift. so, i woke my ass up on a sunday at 10a (usually i sleep in on sundays) to buy us tix. i was only limited to two otherwise, i would have purchased more. and apparently, the show was sold out by 11a.
whenever we go to shows, even sold out shows, there are always scalpers offering tickets. last night, there were scalpers asking for tickets. it was kinda strange and exciting that we had tix to this sought out show despite them playing another show at the greek in june.
one of the best things about going to the fillmore for a show are the free posters they give out afterwards. they are limited and is an awesome souvenir to take home. i was quite excited about them as we were denied the posters at the beautiful south show back in 2006. wow, that was the last time i was there. towards the end, we waited by the exit to get first dibs on the posters. the staff said they wouldn't give them out until the band stepped off the stage.
death cab always puts on a great show. they sound pretty awesome live. then, there's ben gibbard's trademark sway-with-his-guitar-and-singing which may have been the cause to his slimmer, more toned frame. honestly, this loses some of his charm. the whole nerdy, black frame glasses and chunky demeanor was adorable. but he's lost the weight, the glasses and is sporting longish greasy hair. blegh. clearly, i am not a fan of his new look. despite the disappointment, it doesn't take away from the quality of the show since i could barely see the stage anyway. one more thing about the swaying and i might have mentioned this in previous reviews of death cab shows, it's kinda distracting. and constant! he does it through fast songs, slow songs and almost non-stop for the hour (or so)-long set. i don't think i've ever seen anything like that before.
last but least, i must comment about the crowd. not only we were like the only asians there (that i could see in the dark anyway) but we were easily the most attractive people there. it was really odd. all of sudden, i became aware that i was surrounded by nerds and unattractive people (even in the dark). there were quite a few fatties there. not just slightly overweight but morbidly obese fatties. when cheering for an encore, the ground shook like a 4.0 scale earthquake. i had to move away from under the chandeliers. there were a couple of really old people there too. old like 60 y/o old. there was this kid who brought his dad or granddad. and the white haired man was totally rocking out. it was kinda cute. anyway, i don't remember this at the last two death cab shows... totally bizarro.
rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ remains constant just like ben gibbard's swaying
08 April 2008
non-stop saturday adventures
last saturday, it started off as usual. with step class in the morning, only, claudia couldn't make it so i went alone. and then home to shower and off to the deanza flea market with my sister for some fresh kettle corn. mmm. we've graduated to the large bag now as well as eating like half the bag while we are there. the deanza flea market is the first saturday of every month. and we try to go every month to get our kettle corn fix satiated. we've also started washing our cars after the flea market. she is big on doing it yourself especially with a new/nice car. we didn't have the energy to clean the interior so we only did the exterior. despite that, gigi is now a happy clean car.
my best friend kelly was up from LA for her birthday. her parents threw a dinner party at their house saturday evening. after the car washes, my sister and i had a light lunch (we hadn't eaten anything except kettle corn) and i had to run to the mall to get kelly a gift. on the way home, i also picked up a burnt almond cake from peter's bakery for her. she's the one who introduced me to peter's.
i went home, got ready, wrapped her gift up and left. dinner was fantastic. we stuffed ourselved silly. for dessert, not only was there burnt almond cake, there was guave cake (from aki's) and this banana-pineapple dessert as well as fresh manju, fudge brownies and mango-coconut squares. omg. can you imagine?
i wanted to take her to the new xanh restaurant for a quick birthday drink since she hadn't been there yet. and since they have a full bar now, they are opened late. on saturday, they had a dj and were opened until 2am. almost like a club. we get there and like a club, there was a bouncer type guy at the front checking ids. the night was titled la femme bleue. i'd never gone on a saturday night and was happy to see that it was really hopping. crowds came and went but for the most part, it was packed. it was nice because the lounge area had plenty of seating and good lighting. i was pleasantly surprised.
as we were there celebrating kelly's birthday, i ran into all these people i knew. and they all got shots for kelly. she's a mom and rarely ever goes out anymore. it was fun just being the two of us. like old times. hahah. and randomly, we ran into people who went to high school with us. and it turns out, that some of these guys went to the same elementary school as me! small small world. then, there was the random guy who tried to play all mysterious and turned out to be totally annoying. he sat down next to us from the other side of the room. didn't even introduce himself. even after we asked him. it would have been one thing if he was really hot. but he wasn't. and guys can't really be mysterious and average-looking. he was young too. he had bad skin and bad b-o which is never hot. quite the opposite. blegh. what is wrong with boys? ok, i'm done griping.
it's hard to believe all this happened in one day. but it was fabulous hanging out with lisa and kelly, albeit separately. incidentally, i slept in all day on sunday. i guess i was low on my sleep levels.



