diana's 30th

me with my dear dear cousins at xanh restaurant

happy 30th, diana! ♥

kelly's birthday surprise

months ago, my best friend kelly's husband wrote to her girlfriends to invite us to a birthday surprise girls' night out. he planned one last year and it was very successful. she had a fabulous time. so he decided to do a part deux. unfortunately, this time no one was available. due to the numerous health conditions i suffer to which i have relating medical appointments scheduled throughout this month, i thought it was be the perfect opportunity to see her for her birthday. especially since it was the weekend following her birthday (last friday). and if i waited until after my appointments, i couldn't see her until may, for her april 6th birthday. that just wasn't right.

i volunteered to fly down to surprise her. i booked the flight and made reservations for sunday brunch. it was easter sunday and most brunch places were full. it had not occurred to me how terribly busy it would be but i will get to that later. this also worked out well because i was scheduled to go on my low-iodine diet starting the 12th of april. it continues for 10 days. this diet is actually good after our pig out feast last sunday. i'm hoping to shed a few pounds.

back to kelly's surprise birthday weekend. so far, everything is good. she's got no clue. i'm scheduled to arrive when her husband is leaving work. everything is perfect. on the day of my flight, it turns out that my flight is delayed. over an hour. and while i am waiting at the airport for my flight, who calls me? kelly. of course. as we are chatting, suddenly, there's an announcement made about my flight over the intercom. if you are on flight... going from san jose to burbank... oh shit! i ask her if she heard that. she said no and asked where i was.
me: um, at the airport. her: oh, are you going somewhere? me: no... i'm... waiting for... er, someone. (yikes, dead give away but maybe she won't notice?) her: um, i gotta go. (crap, she figured it out)

later, i called her husband to update him. first, the flight is delayed a bit longer. and second, i blew it. kelly knows. he said she'd called him about 4 times and mentioned it. so he 'fessed up. but she was still surprised. i called her back and told her as well. she was still very excited and that's all that mattered.

for sunday brunch, we went to the castaway restaurant which sits on top of a hill in burbank. the view would have been lovely had it be a clear day. but all we saw was white fog. and despite having reservations at 11a, we weren't seated until close to noon or later. it was easter sunday and completely packed. the food was decent. their cappucinos were pretty awful. we were pretty hungry so we couldn't really complain. i think i did 3 rounds of eating. finally, i was so stuffed, i could barely move. when i looked around, no one looked familiar. we'd out-eaten everyone who were seated at the same time we were. it might have been 2 hours later. oink oink.

we spent the rest of her birthday weekend eating (at old country cafe with joe in alhambra, a cute french cafe in pasadena, and port's in burbank) and shopping (h&m). and i was able to spend quality time with her daughter emily, whom i adore dearly. she is my future niece-in-law. i miss her! ♥

behind in postings

kelly's surprise birthday

on april fool's day, my best friend's husband decided to surprise her by planning a surprise party the weekend before her 32nd birthday. he offered to fly me down to burbank but i couldn't take him up on it and since i was planning to visit her for her birthday anyway, i booked my own flight. i had a voucher so it didn't cost me anything. and surprised she was! seeing her speechless and confused was so wonderful!! i was so happy to be part of the occasion!

we decided to take her out on an all girls' night out to asia de cuba in west hollywood at the mondrian hotel. joanne and karen drove up from san diego to also surprise her. gail, her landlady and friend was also in on it. kelly's husband stayed home with their 5-month old daughter. i was told that everything at the mondrian in white. the staff/waiters are all dressed in white. when we pulled in, it looked like there were a bunch of house painters in spotless uniforms. it was really posh and fun. apparently, there are celebrity sightings at the mondrian.

we didn't actually see anyone but had tons of fun. the food was so good. it was an asian and cuban fusion. i'd had asian fusion before but not with cuban food. we had 3-4 appetizers and 3 main dishes. it was family style and more than enough food for the 5 of us. i had a pineapple mojito which was their specialty (they also had mango mojitos). i'm not a big mojito fan but it was delish!!

we started with lobster potstickers, grilled pesto shrimp, fried riceless sushi rolls, butter fish, pan-seared ahi tuna on top of wasabi mashed potatoes, and a cuban chicken dish thai coconut sticky rice steamed in a banana leaf. it was all soooo good.

we all had a lovely time and kelly felt like a regular person again, being out and about. happy 32nd kel!! xoxo!

wow weekend

december 2nd

last friday, my cousin's girlfriend, nina who is one of my childhood friends, turned 29. i've known her since i was 10 and she was 8. nina and her brother morris lived across the street from us. my sister and i played with nina almost every day. nina was in the same grade as my cousin lam. and we really wanted nina to be our family so we thought it would be cool if she married our cousin so she can be our cousin too! we used to tease them... nina and lam, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g... heehee.

little did we know the harm or rather delay it would cause. when they were at school together, they would avoid each other as a result of our teasing. but somehow, they eventually got together sometime in high school. i think it was on and off and then off to other relationships. about 5 years ago, nina came back from school in new york. we all went out to a club in downtown san jose and despite nina coming to the club with some other guy, she and lam sort of reconnected that night. but then it was off and she went off to paris with a divorcee. then, two years ago, it was on for them but they had their issues but soon after, they were together and definitely on.

so, back to last friday... nina opened lam's gift last. it was in this big red box. i remember thinking to myself, everyone is here, friends, family, her parents, his mom, would he propose in front of everyone? i'd hoped so. and as soon as i saw the jewelry box (unaware she'd asked for one), i knew there'd be a ring inside. if not, there would be a huge sigh of disappointment. from the girls anyway. i felt as though i was going through the drawers as fast as she could. finally, the very last (and hardest to remove) drawer, was a 3-diamond ring on an engraved band. that's the extent of my knowledge on diamonds and rings. next time i see her, i would photograph the ring in detail. but it was beautiful. lam had help from his sister, debbie in picking out the ring. so, when the ring appeared, lam got down on one knee and proposed, in front of everyone. i couldn't help but cry. it was like a fairy tale. of course nina said yes. it was such a special event and i'm so happy to have witnessed it.

december 3rd

the second annual rock against aids benefit featured julie plug as its headliner. i hadn't seen them in a while and they always put on a great show so we decided to head downtown (despite my hate for the dt san jose scene). doors were supposed to open at 8p but it was pushed to 8:40p. the first band started unusually on time, at 9p. there were supposed to be 5 bands but one was a no show and so rather than julie plug started at 1a, they started at 11:15p or so. i think they only played 4 songs and suddenly, the dj started playing some no doubt song after at the end of the song julie plug was playing. everyone was in a state of confusion. perhaps everyone but the club workers and djs. the band was in disarray not really knowing what to do. as the audience booed the club and yelled julie-plug, it was to no avail. dev from the band tried saying something but the mic wasn't working and soon, the organizer made an announcement that the benefit was over but with no reason for the abrupt end. so half the audience rushed out of the club in utter disappointment and anger. damn that club. please join in banning the san jose angels lounge. they suck BIG time. try all you might to hide the ghetto out of your club, no number of white sheets can hide that.

december 4th
i had breakfast with my favorite (out of the 10 or so i had) college rommie. despite having lived with her for only a quarter, she's the only one i still remain friends with. i hadn't seen her in a while. she drove me down to LA to see ted on our first date from fresno. that was may of last year. we'd been trying to meet up ever since but failed miserably in doing so. finally, on her way back to fresno, we met up for breakfast and caught up. along with my friend betty, we were contemplating a new book. to be called be blassé. in order to attain happiness in a relationship or not, every woman should remember her individuality and try very hard not to mold into a man's ideal because in the end, you won't be happy.

later in the evening, i went to the private shopping event at nordstrom. this year they skimped out on their treasure chest BIG time. plus, they limited the amounts to one per customer instead of one per $100 you spend. i'm taking back half of what i got. damn them. i should've gone to the stanford shopping event.

happy 33rd to my big brother!!

last friday, my big brother turned the big 33. my lovely sister-in-law (his sneaky wife) sent out an email saying that they were throwing him a birthday party on saturday with him included. then she turned around and sent outanother email excluding my brother about his surprise birthday dinner at maggiano's.
here is my 4-year old nephew in his fancy tuxedo that he never gets to wear. the story was that i was taking him to a dress up party at my friend's place and that there would be other children there, um, yeah right. likely story...

us girls with the birthday boy & two little boys

all the men

after the parents left, the shots came out. it was a grand ole time for all but 3 sick ladies. too many shots, apparently for some...

baby shower number 2

on saturday, my best friend kelly had a surprise baby shower in santa barbara at her mother-in-law, cece's house. kelly's husband chris grew up in a great house, complete with a swimming pool and huge back yard, not to mention minutes away from the beach. and... cece used to bake wedding cakes, yum.

so my day started bad, i was lame and got to the airport when my plane was taking off with at least a 30-minute wait in the security lines. don't ask, it's unexplainable. so i got a flight two hours later and got to the surprise shower late. fortunately, ted and i arrived when kelly's sister joy and her little family arrived. so we came in together. and surprise! kelly didn't expect to see me. i was glad to make it. cece was a wonderful hostess with a delicious spread.

the shower was also a great opportunity to catch up with some college friends. even though i hadn't seen nilda since last october at the trash can sinatras show at the troubadour, it wasn't until the shower that we actually got to talk. and i met her boyfriend glenn with who she had her first date with on the day of the trash cans show. she looked gorgeous and so happy. after talking to her again, it took me back to college. i remembered how witty and sassy she is. karissa and kirk were also there. i hadn't seen them since kelly's wedding in may. i actually never got to speak to kirk until the shower. kirk was hilariously funny. karissa and kirk make a very cute couple. we stayed to play poker with them and others.

we finally left at 10p to drive up to san jose. i'm not sure how long i lasted (awake) for the road trip. i'm so glad that ted drove. we got back to my place sometime after 2am. and ted stayed for the weekend... but i miss him already.

jon brion & surprise guests

venue: largo
artist: jon brion
who: ted
when: 05 august 2005 (friday)
doors open at 8:30p

as we walked to the reservations line, i think i see rhea perlman. then i think, nah... but once we get to the end of the line, i see this really short man who looks exactly like danny devito! then i hear him say, rhea! check this out! they were there with their family. it was very cool to think that danny devito and rhea perlman would go see jon brion.

so, we get in and they show us to our seats. prime location! right at the front. it was better than the last time we went! when you get reservations to the jon brion show, you get a table which requires dinner. so this time, i got something different. i got the honey baked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and salad. not only was the salad very yummy, i had to eat all of it but the rest of the food was good too. ted usually gets the chicken caesar salad because it was safe to get. he liked my entree though.

jon brion is really utterly amazing. you feel like you're in the presence of pure genius. not only does he play all sorts of instruments but he also sings. so, he does original songs, then he takes requests but puts in his own thing. oh and another thing, being so close, i couldn't really see any wrinkles on his face! i think he's in his 40's? and well, maybe some on his forehead that his hair covers up but nowhere else!

we stayed for the second set this time. we'd prepared ourselves and took a short nap earlier in the day. last time i went, i was fighting to stay up and ended up having to leave before the second set. so, there are some surprise guests in the second set and it's fiona apple and nickel creek, this folk band. i didn't really like fiona apple before, i just thought she was too angry. ted is a huge fan. and after seeing her live, i was very impressed. i don't think i can say that i don't like her anymore but i kinda do now.