last week: 3 consecutive days in the city

on wednesday, i drove up to san francisco after work to attend a special screening of the latest documentary by a former student of mine. despite the traffic (an hour and a half from palo alto), it was worth it to see her and her film. sharmeen obaid-shinoy was a student in the program i worked for back in 2002. this was my favorite cohort i worked with. it was the first year of students i worked with from application to graduation. start to finish. sharmeen went on to complete a master's in communication. which was nice because she was around for an extra year. i haven't seen her since 2004. it was really lovely to see her.

her latest film, iraq: the lost generation, is amazing and i admit, a bit difficult to watch. it's raw and touching. what documentaries are made of, i suppose. in a matter of a few months, she visits iraqi refugees in syria and jordan. the tribulations as a result of war is beyond devastating. it's hard to imagine it, right? the violence, crime, and poverty as result of wartime on the lives of women, children and families is utterly horrendous. and to think this was just a glimpse of what's happened. if you get the opportunity to watch this film (or any of her documentaries), you'll know what i'm talking about.

sharmeen was scheduled to go to the airport after the screening so i was able to catch her for a quick hug and chat. she's coming back in the fall so hopefully, we'll get to plan something and spend more time together.

on thursday, my good friend joe was up visiting from LA. so we planned to go to popscene to see maps & atlases and foals. the last time i was at popscene, was early may when the mary onettes played there. the last time i was there or any club with joe was nearly a year ago and more. as we are waiting to get in, jorge says to me, your bf is here, (points to joe) i'm telling.... at the exact moment, who else walks out but chris, my popscene bf. i never expect to see him there. i kinda always hope to see him but am mostly disappointed. i'd given up on him a while ago.

seeing him is just what lisa says it's like when guys see a beautiful girl. dazed and confused, kinda. just looking at him puts me under this spell. he's got this great smile. and his eyes are nice and big. and beautiful. and i'm like putty in his arms. he gives the best hugs on top of the irresistible smile. even joe said he had pretty eyes. haha. we hung out for a little bit. he left early so i walked him out and waited with him for his ride. it got cold so he put his jacket on me. when his ride came, he kissed me sweetly on my neck and said he'd call me. it's always nice seeing him...

foal was fowl, so joe and i left for some munchies. we went to sparky's in castro. i think i got to bed by 3 am. fun fun fun.

i'd taken friday off to hang out with joe. we planned to have lunch at xanh. i'd never had lunch there before. they have this great lunch special for $15. you get soup, an appetizer and an entree. it was sooo filling! mmmm...

luckily, we were heading up to the city to walk around (to walk off our lunch!) and shop. joe and i took bart to the sf shopping center from millbrae. it took longer than i thought it would despite being so close to sf. we were there for 3 or so hours and surprisingly, i came away with nothing. joe got sunglasses. that was it. it was the start of the memorial weekend sales and nadda. i'm still in disbelief that i didn't get anything...

may/june plus clear scan bonus

i've been looking long and far for a navy shoe. i don't know how long it's been. finally, they've found me. at 70% off!

so i got them in plum too. heehee.

the big move...

...is coming. soon, i hope. but there is no word on when we will be occupying the new space as inhabitants. having moved a great deal of crap there yesterday (if you have been to my place, you know that i have a lot of stuff) for nearly the entire day. while waiting on my sister's bf (who built our closet organizers, thanks allen!), i spent a great deal of time staring out my new bedroom window. the view is out towards a hillside on which the new house sits on. there are sheep that populate the hillside across the way. it's beautifully serene. despite all the work we'd done and all the work we've yet to do, i felt a simple sense of peace and relaxation. albeit short-lived.

there's still SO MUCH to pack and move. wish me luck!

double shows, double the listening pleasure

venue: bimbo's
artist: elbow
who: rich, pati & lou
when: 8 may 2008 (thursday)
doors open at 7p

the last time i saw elbow was in 2002 (i think?). they were opening for the doves. my friends wanted to go for the doves, i wanted to see elbow. i ended up liking the doves more and rich ended up liking elbow. funny.

we had sushi in north beach for dinner before the show. when we got there, elbow had started playing. i didn't realize how popular elbow is. i don't think the show was sold out but bimbo's was packed like it was. we got lucky and found a table in the back. i've yet to sit back there. i always like sitting up close on the side or something. guy garvey is the singer of elbow. and he is brilliant. his voice live is quite beautiful. it sends chills down my back just thinking about it. listening to elbow on cd is no comparison to seeing and hearing them live. reminds me of how i felt about the shins when i saw them last year.

even though we missed (i imagine they played it) asleep in the back, the show exceeded my expectations. i hadn't been sure i wanted to go but then rich mentioned he'd go with me so i got tix. and so happy that i did! as always, we reminisced old times. it's hard to believe i've known these guys since 1993-4ish.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

it was great and perfect timing because the mary onettes were playing at popscene the same night. elbow ended at around 11ish and we headed over to 330 ritch for some dancing and more live music.

venue: popscene
artist: the mary onettes
who: same group as above
when: 8 may 2008
doors open at 10p

we got there in time for a little bit of dancing before the band came on. many of the bands that i see at popscene (they have live bands every other week if not every week) aren't that good. most of them, as a matter of fact, suck. big time. very few are good. and the mary onettes were one of these rarities. they were surprisingly fantastic. everyone enjoyed them. i was estatic that i caught both shows in the same night. i was afraid i'd have to miss the last part of elbow's show to miss the first part of the mary onettes. but i caught the entirety of both shows. definitely a successful night of music.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

origins of "show your scars" aka showurscars

in 2001, i moved back to the bay area from san diego. i was going through a really tough break up. i'd found out that the man i thought i'd spend the rest of my life with wanted to spend his life with another. and so, i left. i took a personal leave from my job. packed up and relocated to the bay area. i didn't have a job. i didn't know what to do with myself. i couldn't sleep or eat. 15 pounds melted off of me in a matter of weeks. i felt dead inside. i cried for days. and couldn't imagine moving on with my life.

i moved in with my brother and his wife. they welcomed me with open arms and took care of me. i spent my time with my pregnant-at-the-time sis-in-law (with jaden). we walked and talked. window-shopped and stuffed ourselves with whatever our hearts desired. i started to feel brand new. refreshed. alive again. but i had all this anger. i actively tried yoga and meditation. in months time, armed with a slimmer body and a new wardrobe (donated from my sis-in-law), i got back to dating.

dating wasn't so easy. i'd been so badly burned that i didn't know how to ever let my guard down. when internet radio first came out (free), i stumbled upon this song by elbow. and it kinda spoke to me (see lyrics below). it was beautiful. guy garvey (singer of elbow) has this unnervingly romantic voice. the songs make you stop and listen to the lyrics, carefully. and to find meaning in the words. in relation to life. the song is called asleep in the back, also the title of the album. this love song is perfect in the way that it reflects how unfortunate real love can be. it starts off gentle and tender. slow and beautiful. even clumsy and one-sided. the song just spills out emotions and pain. in the second verse, i heard these three words. show. your. scars.

were you crushed
did i rush you
all my time is yours
my twisted heart is yours
the faithless shit is yours
the shameless fits of love that only smother you for moments
until i fold them up and leave
all yours
(chorus)
oh you had to ask didn't you
oh you had to know
show your scars
not to rush you
the hieroglyphic hints in all the toilet scrawl
guilty little pins
and all the things i never talk about
are spilling with the gin
test how tough you are
all yours
(chorus)
not to rush you

i suddenly had this revelation. it was okay that i had these emotional scars. that if i let my guard down just a bit, i'd work through these "scars" and even be better. also a reminder that no one is perfect. everyone has scars of all types. and that essentially, i'd be ok in the matters of love.

still going strong... kinda

... celebrating, that is.

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.
afterwards, we went to the steps of rome café for some espresso drinks and dessert. i'd been craving gelato since i started my low-iodine diet. i ordered a double capp, which unfortunately, was more like a latte. next time, i will just get a single. the gelato was really rich and totally hit the spot. this resulted in me being a very happy full girl.

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. :(

photo taken with lisa's LG enV2

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?

unofficial thyroid cancer survivor

it's unofficial because i'll have to hear it from my endocrinologist in june when i see him. he's in charge of my thyroid cancer. but this morning was my 5th year of body scans. most of the technicians (not to mention the doctor) have been there since my diagnosis in 2003. and most of them remember you. it's really nice to see a familiar face when you go through such a important yet very stressful ordeal.

i'd like to thank everyone who has supported me through the years. it's hard to imagine going through it without my friends and family. thank you all! i really couldn't do it without you. ♥

i am radioactive girl

i got my i-131 pill this morning, after two days of injections in the upper cheeks of my derriere. the pill comes in one of those lead containers that you imagine dry ice starts flowing out of. the technician who administers it used to handle it with these huge forceps but now have it down easy. it goes from the lead container to a plastic cup to my mouth. it's hard to imagine that something the technician won't touch is something i have to ingest. but i suppose if she's handling a ton of these pills a day, the accumulation would be harmful.

i am not quite glowing but slightly radioactive. i have this special card that i take with me in case i travel and set off security alarms. craziness huh?

death cab birthday

venue: the fillmore
(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

twin peaks weekend

the other day, i was reading this story on lara flynn boyle. they mentioned her and how she was much prettier when she was in twin peaks. not as skinny and healthy-looking. it got me thinking... i should watch twin peaks. haven't seen it in a while and have the entire 2 seasons, plus the pilot which previously sold separately as well as the fire walk with me movie.

in case you couldn't tell, i'm a huge twin peaks fan. my sister and i even threw a twin peaks themed halloween party back in 1997. last night, she and i were re-watching season 2. just hearing the music in the opening credits took me back to 1990. i was a sophomore in high school. my friend simone and i used to be on the phone as we watched twin peaks because she was too scared to watch it alone. it's really ironic that even though twin peaks is far from innocent, it was certainly a time of innocence for us. ah, youth...

last meal

my last meal before my 10-day diet. i had two generous helpings of this spicy mac & cheese with tomatoes. it was delicious! my sister made it specially for me. she also made it for my birthday last year.

it's been 4 days on this damn diet and i soooo want a bite of this mac & cheese... and ice cream would be nice too. :(

i am officially starvin' marvin.

shoe friends

this morning, as i headed towards the marguerite shuttle from the train station, this girl comes up to me and says you know, you really have to stop this. and i'm thinking, what the hell? she continues to say you have to stop wearing such cute shoes because it's making me all jealous. hahah!

after taking the train and shuttle together for the last 4 or so years, we finally introduced ourselved to each other. her name is valeriana. very pretty name. pretty girl too. i've noticed her outfits and shoes during the last few years as well. we chatted it up on the shuttle. she told me she really liked the red pair i'd worn last week. and yesterdy, i wore my zebra print boots and she mentioned those as well. i remember people on the shuttle sort of glaring at me when i stepped on the bus and sat down. but i didn't think that people actually talked about what shoes i would wear this day or that. it was a nice beginning to the day. and has made my day so far. :)

upcoming body scan

this morning, i saw my endocrinologist for my 5th and hopefully final body scan. i had bloodwork done for this appointment last week. it turns out that my thyroid levels are too high out of the range (0.8-1.8, i'm currently at 2.2) and may potentially do harm internally (organs, bones, etc.). my dr is prescribing a lower dosage to alternate with the current dosage to offset the levels. i see him in two months for that as well as my body scan follow up.

here is my upcoming schedule:

april 17th, thursday - start low-iodine diet (ugh, i'm going to be starvin' marvin ALL the time)

april 23rd, wednesday - get 1 of 2 thyrogen injections in upper butt cheek (ouch)

april 24th, thursday - get 2 of 2 thyrogen injections in other butt cheek (ouch again)

april 25th, friday - get bloodwork done first, then i-131 pill to be administered in nuclear medicine at o'connor

april 28th, monday - whole neck and body scan in nuclear medicine at o'connor

june 12th, thursday - official scan results and follow-up with dr

every day after a negative scan result - c e l e b r a t e   l i f e!!

3rd bernie date

bernie was in town this week from nyc. we made plans to hang out on saturday night. he drove down from sf to pick me up and drove us to mt. view for dinner at tsunami sushi. we had sushi for dinner on our first date as well. since my nyc trip, my feelings for bernie have somewhat started to dissipate. i think there was too much hype and build up for the nyc trip, that when it didn't go quite as expected (still not sure what i expected from that trip) that it turned out a little disappointing. maybe more than a weekend was too long for the 2nd date.

this time around, however, could have lasted a bit longer. not that i felt rushed but i think it would have been nice to hang out a bit more. i still don't know what i want from bernie, if anything at all. he's a really sweet and fun guy. and i wouldn't mind continuing to casually date him.

french vanilla coconut cupcakes w/ marshmallow buttercream frosting

lisa and i made these cupcakes with french vanilla cake mix, 1 ½ cups of shredded coconut, and coconut pudding mix. the frosting is marshmallow buttercream with a piece of toasted coconut marshmallow and sprinkling on the top. trust me, it's much better tasting than it looks.

blaze of glory

venue: hp pavilion (free tix!)
artist: bon jovi
who: rich, louis & lisa
when: 08 apr 2008 (tuesday)
doors @ 7:30p

i'm as much of a bon jovi fan as the next person who grew up in the 80's and now listens to completely different music. last week, if you told me i was going to the bon jovi concert, i would have laughed. and in fact, i did chuckle when i got the text message from rich saying he had 50 tickets to give away. that's right, 5-0. i almost texted him back a "hahaha" or "are you serious" text. but when i mentioned it to lisa on saturday (at the deanza flea market), she said she wanted to go.

i actually park right across the street from the hp pavilion, every day to catch the caltrain in downtown san jose. so i told lisa, if she could get a ride downtown, i could take her to her car and we could save $20 on parking. hence, begins the adventures of lisa using public transportation. if you know my sister, this is quite a funny picture. it would be funny to see me taking public transportation if i hadn't been taking the train for the last 6 or so years. before the show, lisa checks out the light rail schedule. she's really good with researching things so i didn't think twice to help her. she'd asked her coworker and boyfriend and they told to her that it would be a 10-block walk. yikes. i know for a fact that there is a light rail connection to the caltrain station. but they didn't. so she told me her light rail plans and said she planned on getting off at the san fernando stop. i told her there was a caltrain stop and that she should get off there. looking at the map, the stop is on the other side of the train tracks. and no indication of the underground tunnel that takes you from the light rail platform to the main station. since my train got me to the station before hers did, i told her i would meet her at the light rail stop. it was so cute, like i was picking up my kid sister there. she was adorably pathetic.

we met up at this bar i've driven by everyday for the last 4 years. and yesterday was my first time in patty's inn. funny. we stayed there for a bit for drinks and talked about getting garlic fries. the hp pavilion used to be the sharks arena. so, stadium food is served including garlic fries. plus, i remember getting garlic fries there even though, the last time i was there was 2 years ago for the madonna show (that i'd forgotten to blog about, oops). actually, i didn't get garlic fries at that show. anyway... on arrival at the pavilion, we begin our search for garlic fries. there were fast food stands like round table, ¡una mas!, tied house and other concession stands. we walked and walked but nowhere could we see garlic fries on anyone's menu. so we decided on regular fries & nachos by where our seats are. but as we are in line, i see someone with different fries and told lisa to scope it out. it turns out that round table (we didn't think to check their menu for garlic fries) was selling them. but no nachos. so i went to get the nachos nearby and lisa got the fries (after waiting in one line only to be told later that she was in the wrong line). ridiculous.
bon jovi started playing right as we got in line for food. and we could hear you give love a bad name inside. we completely missed daughtry, who apparently was on american idol. we were in section 208, row 14 which is quite high up but facing directly towards the stage. i didn't know what to expect but i was pleasantly surprised. they were very good. it was interesting, most of the songs they played started off like it was their first song and ended like it was their finale song. there was so much energy. they played about 20 songs straight without any major breaks. i was also surprised that richie sambora had a nice singing voice. plus, jon bon jovi has aged very well considering the whole rockstar lifestyle. lou mentioned that he didn't have nearly as many wrinkle's as our friend ro's former coworker sun-min (or however she spells her name) who is asian and younger than him.

lisa and i stayed until they played living on a prayer which was the last song before the encore. luckily, rich got a copy of the play list from last week's show so we knew what he was going to play during the encore and it didn't interest us enough to stay and fight the crowds and traffic getting home. we both had a fantastic time. thanks rich!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ not sure that i'd see them again but glad i went...

non-stop saturday adventures

during the last few saturdays, i've been going to step class with my friend claudia. and then, we'd have a light breakfast afterwards. we've been friends since 1993 or something ridiculous like that. when she was at ucsb and i was at ucsd, we'd visit one another about once a month. we hadn't seen one another for a year or two and finally reconnected.

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.

parlez-vous français?

this spring, i am trying to learn french again. i took french in high school and a little in college but didn't really get to use it when i was in paris in the summer of 1998. ugh, that was nearly 10 years ago. i'm due for another trip...

anyway, i hope this doesn't end up being as sad an attempt as my spanish class was last year. at least this time, rather than trying to pronounce everything in spanish in french, i'll try to pronounce everything in french, in french! confusing, i know.

tweaked

after comments from my sister and my friend lou about the picture below, i decided to do some photoshopping (heehee, another form of shopping i enjoy!). they don't look like chocolate cupcakes anymore, right?

mostly martha

mostly martha made in 2001 is the original version of no reservations starring catherine zeta-jones & aaron eckhart. while i absolutely adore aaron eckhart, i don't think i will watch no reservations after having seen mostly martha.

i love foreign films. if there's a foreign version of an american film, i'd rather see the foreign version. i don't see a whole lot of german films but after watching this one, i think i'd like to see more. i thought this movie was really charming. it was happy, sad, romantic and funny. all good emotions to feel in a movie. if you want to see no reservations, you should skip it and see this one.

stella im hultberg

last friday, i went to an art opening of mrs. im hultberg's first solo show in san francisco with my cousin nina (thanks nina!). i really do enjoy art in most forms. especially music, as you can tell.

i've been admiring mrs. im hultberg's work for some time now. i discovered her work on the talented karen cheng's blog from perth, australia. she was in sf last year for a show but these shows seem to open on a friday which is when family dinners are at my parents' house.

back to the artwork... she depicts who i assume are asian women, in a very ethereal way. most of her work has a sense of flowing in them. on the one hand, the women are usually very ideal looking with the pouty lips, large eyes, high cheek bones, petite body frames and beautiful long black hair. as you can see, hair is one of the flowing elements. i purchased "lovely day" on the left. it's a gorgeous piece of work. she also paints on tea stained paper. brilliant, really.

this one on the right is one of my favorites. the expression is a combination of relief and/or anguish. and very sultry. the background colors of the purple and pink blend beautifully with the mauve in the leaves in the subject's flowing hair. it's sooo dreamy. which is probably why it sold out many shows ago. it was this piece that made me want to go see her work in person.

april/may shoes

okay, okay. they are not brown. and yea, yea, i know i'm not supposed to buy shoes until april, er, i mean june. clearly, every other month isn't working for me. so i'm changing it to every 6 weeks. which means, i get a new pair in may/june. they are sexy, oui ou non?

adding baking to the mix

most of my readers know (all 5 of you) that i do some baking from time to time. actually, i bake once a week. anyway, my sister suggested that i start taking pictures of the baked goods and post them. so, these delightful strawberry cupcakes (thanks to kelly for the recipe!) are the first to display. they are a really pretty pink color. not sure that my camera phone does it justice. click on the image for a closer look. what do you think? do they look good?

i ♥ ♥ jens lekman pt.2

venue: bottom of the hill (sold out!)
artist: jens lekman (soloact) & a horrendous opening act
who: ro
when: 23 mar 2008 (easter sunday)

yep, ro & i saw jens lekman two nights in a row. the two nights were different. the bimbo's show was bigger with a full band. and last night's show was him, his guitar and tammy from the band. oh yeah, the easter bunny came to last night's show too.

the opening act was called something-claro (with a rolling rrrrr). as soon as he started singing, he lost me. i was answering work emails (thank goodness for my phone). it was the longest set ever. and one of the worst openings i'd had to endure in a long time. his songs were repetitive. and the worst part was that he couldn't shut the fuck up inbetween his songs. ugh. if he didn't talk between his songs, it would have felt like one long boring song. thinking about that guy gives me a headache.

during the opening act, EVERYONE was talking and no one was listening. when jens lekman came on, it was completely silent. you could hear the bar serving drinks. and again, he was better than perfect. the sound there is pretty awesome too. the only negative thing for me, personally, is that i couldn't really see. but that's sort of the case at most venues. especially the small venues. that is, if i'm not sitting at the bar or something. the bottom of the hill is a much smaller venue compared to bimbo's. the song list was slightly different. and songs were played differently as well. he transition into songs without a beat and seamlessly. he can really bellow out those notes. he's amazing. it's hard to believe he wrote black cab when he was 18.

during the encore, he sang se a vida é (that's the way life is) by the pet shop boys from their bilingual album. jens's version was slow and beautiful. this show was really very special.
after the show, he had this sort of meet & greet thing. after the last two shows at bimbo's, he says he will come down and dance with the audience. we never stayed for those. and i rarely make the effor to meet musicians unless they are at their merch table. jens was different. i actually wanted to wait around with the rest of the crowd to meet him and get a picture. we waited a bit and followed the crowd to the smoking area outside. he was singing with his guitar. after which, i squeezed my way to the front to get a closer look and the chance to tell him how much i ♥'d him. he is so much cuter up close. he's tall, skinny, young and cute. and has the coolest white shoes. he's also as funny and down to earth in person as he is on stage. i was so nervous and as a result, was a total retard. i kinda froze. told him how much i enjoyed all three shows and glad he did this afterwards because i could barely see him from where i was. and then, he hugged me! i don't think i've ever hugged a rock star before. well, maybe we hugged the caesars but that was after hanging out with them all night long. anyway, i think i'm still feeling shiny & happy from last night.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
i would have seen him a third night if he played another show in the area, alas, he is in portland tonight...

i ♥ jens lekman pt.1

venue: bimbo's (sold out!)
artist: jens lekman & the honeydrips
who: ro
when: 22 mar 2008 (saturday)

before the jens lekman show, we went up early to get some dinner. lou (thanks lou!) recommended rogue to us. he said to get the kobe burger and a hazelnut beer. he's been into hazelnut flavors lately. i personally love hazelnut anything so i'm not complaining. ro & i order the exact same thing. a kobe burger with their white cheddar and a hazelnut beer. the burger was soooo good. and for some reason, ro got twice as much french fries as i did. the hazelnet beer was also quite delicious. we could only eat half of it but wow, it definitely hit the spot. we were happily satisfied and ready for jens.

we got there around 9:15ish. which just so happened to be the end of the honeydrips set. i think we were there for 1 and a half songs. we concluded that he played for like 20 minutes. weird.

the show was sold out. his show back in november was pretty packed and surprisingly not sold out. this show was everything i remembered except better because i knew most of the songs. he also sang a new one about google maps. and the nina story, i don't think i'll ever get sick of it. here is a line from the chorus: nina i can be your boyfriend, so you can stay with your girlfriend. and if you want to hear the story, you'll have to see him live. it's totally worth it. he's also very interactive with the crowd. for example, he asked people to whistle because he was missing a sax player on one song. and there was the pocket full of money song where the crowd sings part of the chorus. it was so much fun.

i think he sounds better live than his recordings which is already flawless. he sings every word perfectly that it makes you listen to his lyrics more carefully. he's totally brilliant. it's so hard to describe how good and wonderful he is. just thinking about him and his music makes me all warm & fuzzy inside...

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

i am legend

last night, i watched i am legend starring will smith. the only thing i knew about it was that it was based in new york and there was some sort of zombie invasion. when i was in new york with bernie, we saw cloverfield also based in new york. after the movie, bernie's roommate pascal said he was sick of seeing movies where new york is the target of vast destruction. i guess they both had seen i am legend. and i remember thinking, everything bad happens here. or los angeles. what's interesting is that the movie is based on richard matheson's 1954 novel originally set in LA, not NY.

anyway, i'm probably the biggest chicken shit when it comes to horror films. and this movie was no different from the others. as a matter of fact, it was one of the scariest films i've seen in a while. needless to say, it scared me shitless. there were parts i couldn't bare to watch. i actually had to talk through the scary parts to keep myself distracted. and i stayed up reading to keep my mind off of the movie.

i know, that's why i call myself a chicken shit.

learning cantonese, again

when i was in elementary school, my parents put me and my sister in chinese school. it was convenient because chinese school was at vinci park, which was also where i attended elementary school. i was even in the same class. essentially, i went to the same school 6 days a week. yuk. initially, we were put in school to learn mandarin but after a few weeks, we were taken out and put in a different school for cantonese. we lost our saturdays for five years, on and off. until we were finally expelled for not attending the bible story portion of the lesson.

the best time to learn a new language is as a child. i see my niece and nephew absorb languages like sponges. english, vietnamese, some cantonese and whatever spanish dora and diego teaches them. but if you don't keep it up, it goes in one ear and out the other. when i was in chinese school, my parents didn't reinforce it at home. and so, the skill of craming was developed. i only ever studied cantonese the day before a test. some things stuck with us but most of it was lost. and all those saturdays of youth dissipated.

after high school, i wanted to be able to communicate with my paternal grandfather (the only grandfather i knew). it pained me that i couldn't understand him. at that point, both my vietnamese & chinese were obsolete. those were the only languages he spoke. i decided, i'd learn cantonese to communicate with him. but it was harder than i thought. i was relearning both french and cantonese at the same time. and spending time with your grandfather in san francisco is not conducive with being a young adult. i only ever saw him with my family. and those visits became fewer and fewer the older we got.

you might ask, why cantonese? why not mandarin? true, mandarin is more widely used and easier to learn. but i found that many cantonese speakers pick up mandarin much easier than the reverse. in any case, i know more cantonese than mandarin at this point. why not just keep going with it, right?

in my previous education of cantonese, i learned writing, reading and speaking. while i enjoyed the writing part, i think it best to concentrate on speaking. so i purchased some cds in which my sister and i plan to learn how to speak cantonese together. we'll practice together and it's very exciting!

the rosebuds

after their show last friday, i've been listening to their stuff nonstop. his voice reminds me of someone i can't quite place. it's familiar and euphoric at the same time. makes me think of my younger days... so long ago. ugh.

i've also discovered their blog here. kelly crisp posts the blog entries and she's hilarious. she's clever, funny, and cool. and i think i might have a girl crush...

dark brown (non-suede) boots... at last!

they were on my new year's resolutions for 2007 and would have been on this year's had i posted a list. actually, i don't know how long they've been on my list.

my sister has two pairs of j.crew brown boots and absolutely loves them. i've loved them too. everytime she wore them, i admired them with a veil of jealousy. i think she noticed. but no more!

until recently, j.crew did not offer shoes in my size. it's funny because my size is actually in the special sizes section. as soon as these went on sale, i jumped on the opportunity to get my dark brown boots. i ordered these in january but they were on back order until march. lucky for me because that was a reason to purchase the last pair. yay!

our tubby bubby

my nephew is nearly a year old (in june) and has gotten so big! he's crawling now and has at least 3 teeth. he's a smiley baby and doesn't quite talk yet. he's also got all sorts of rolls all over. what a cutie!

noise pop pt.2

venue: mezzanine
artist: the rosebuds (noise pop)
who: ro & lou
when: 29 february 2008 (friday)

yes, this makes two shows in two nights. despite being a bit under the weather (ok, more than a bit), i couldn't miss the rosebuds. i'm really happy that i didn't miss them this time. they were awesome. the rosebuds are a duo from raleigh, nc. a husband & wife which is always kinda sweet. this couple separately have style and sex appeal, not to mention talent. she's gorgeous and he's mysterious. they both sing, however, i particularly enjoy ivan's voice. it's a perfect blend of rock, folk and pop. it was really a fantastic show.
this was the third time i'd been to the mezzanine. previously, i hated it. it was crowded and there's really no place for sitting. the set up is more like a club venue than for shows. plus, there's this big pillar in the middle of the club which is in the way of a very small stage. it's hard to imagine that all five members of hot chip rocked out on stage together with their instruments. this time, i didn't mind so much. plus, it wasn't nearly as crowded which was also very nice.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

noise pop pt.1

first to tommy's joynt before stellastarr*,
and stops at hemlock tavern & a tranny bar

venue: gamh
artist: stellastarr*, birdmonster & 2 other openings we missed (noise pop)
who: ro, lou, jen & what's her 40-y/o face and lesbo friend di
when: 28 february 2008 (thursday)

we went to tommy's joynt for some down home cooking. very filling food at very economical prices. the only problem is that it's cash only. i had the burgundy beef (mmm meat...) with rice and a cucumber salad. we then headed over to the hemlock tavern for a few drinks. it's some sort of tradition lou has every time he goes to a show at the gamh. so we had drinks there. my tom collins was really good actually.

we met up with jen & ro's 40-something y/o coworker (we'll call her 40 for short) on the way to the gamh. we made it in time for the birdmonster. they weren't too bad for an opening. surprisingly. they were good. if you want a listen, check out their myspace page here.

before stellastarr* came on, this overly emo version of ted walks right by me. complete with long emo greasy hair, skinny jeans and a members only jacket. blegh. at first, i didn't recognize him but there was something familiar and so repulsive about him. i remembered his myspace page from whenever i go onto my friend joe's page. he's the one who introduced us and is still friends with him. and i saw the elf gf. they ended up hanging out right behind us. i was trying to get a pic of him to put in this post but couldn't do it without them noticing. the guys didn't recognize him either. 40's friend diana showed up so i told her what was going on. then she says to me, i know we just met and this might sound weird but you wanna make out? she said it was to show him that i had someone better not to mention give him (and everyone else) a show. nice gesture but i passed. i don't really go that way.

i saw stellastarr* for the first time nearly a year ago. i'd listened to their stuff online before the show so most if not all the songs they played were songs i knew at the last show. however, last night was a showcase of their new unreleased stuff. this is fine because most bands play shows to promote their new songs. i was disappointed that they didn't play a few of their better songs like lost in time. their new stuff didn't quite hit a chord with me but then again, i might have been a little distracted.

last year, i gave them 4 ♥s but this time, they fell short one ♥.
rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

afterwards, we went to divas, a tranny bar. it was my first time. we went in for a drink. it was interesting and our bartender was hilarious. i'm not allowed to say much else about this place except that i had fun. hehe.

diamonds are a girl's best friend

as most of my friends know, i don't really wear jewelry. except for the earrings my sister gave me that i never take off (not even in the shower nor to sleep). i can't wear watches because, while i've yet to lose any, i always end up taking them off and leaving them somewhere. i did have a jade bracelet i used to wear all the time. only because i could never take it off myself. it was taken off for my thyroidectomy though. very very painful. rings are the worst for me. i lost the last one that was given to me by my sister. :( it was our sister ring and i lost it like a month after i got it. i'm still mad at myself for that.

a couple of years ago, i'd seen this swirl ring by carriere in a nordstrom catalog. it was love at first sight. i'd never known love like this before. last summer, it went on sale. and clearly, a sign that it would soon be mine. i never thought i was much into bling either. but the way this ring sparkles right after it's been cleaned makes me feel like a giddy schoolgirl. i ♥ ♥ ♥ my diamond ring.

my office space

the other day, my manager starts telling me about how i should hang out in the computer resource center on campus. that she saw a cute guy there but that she didn't know they existed on campus. it's funny, despite having crushes on my faculty, i'm not at all interested in meeting anyone at work to date. anymore. after nearly 7 years of working here, i've realized that i don't want to date academics or students (watch, knowing my luck, my next relationship will be with one of the two and i will have to eat these typed words). prime example was the kid that lied to me about his age. okay okay, so i met him at popscene. he was still a student here.

back to my manager, basically, she's scoping guys out for me! it turns out she went to a meeting and met some IT guy who was really cute. funny. then she was trying to make an excuse to get him to come over and help us so i could meet him! so sweet of her to be looking out for me like that. she's super awesome.

it's things like this that make it nearly impossible to leave this department. alas, the only way to move up is to move around. still, i'm so happy here... it would have to take an unbelievably fantastic offer or a horrendously bad situation to make me go.

thoughts on facebook

i hate it. don't get me wrong, it's great to be able to stay in touch with former students, my sister (that i live with) and others who aren't on myspace. but, even though myspace is for 12 y/os, i still prefer it to facebook. facebook is making me so angry right now. grrr!!!

don't get sucked in like i did! thanks sis!

shoes shoes shoes

one of my new year's resolutions this year was to cut down on shoe purchases. rather than buy one pair per month, it will be one pair every other month. here is the first pair of the year.another new year's resolution... rather a new rule for me is anything but black. taken from the wisdom of my dear sister and her expertise as a fashionista. in case you're wondering, the color of these mary janes are espresso which is almost black but not quite. still brown.

plus, i desperately had to replace my brown mary jane wedges i got two summers ago. the strap on one of the shoes keeps snapping off. even after repairs at the cobblery. they were one of two closed-toe brown pairs i had that i could wear in the rain.

day out with the kids

today, i took the kids to lunch. but since we ate so much (pizza, mac & cheese, cheese polenta, salad for me, and gelato), we headed over to the mall to walk off our lunch. i never put them in strollers because if i'm going to have to walk, they are going to walk too. plus, both of them are too old to be in strollers. but not necessarily too big. i just want them to get some exercise with me.

at the mall, we came across this photo booth and decided to go in... this was the last and best pose we took.

my brother's dog

about three months ago, my brother's dog was dognapped. she was taken from their backyard and had not been seen since. she even had one of those chips implanted in her in case she gets lost. but we'd heard nothing for months. we knew she'd been stolen. until last monday... she was found in vallejo. that's about 2 hours or so away. probably less, it's on the way to napa from here. it turns out that she was sold and didn't like these new owners. it was so bad that they couldn't take it anymore and took her to the pound. which is where she was scanned and my brother's information showed up. unfortunately though, he recently changed his cell phone number which was the number listed. they'd been trying to call for a week or so until they called the house number. so she's back (sorry for the outdated photo above, i'll try to post an updated pic, she's a beautiful dog). my sister-in-law tells me that she was super clean and a little chunky when they picked her up. apparently, she was taken care of really well. and we are very happy that she's home.

dinner with the ladies

last monday, we went to xanh before the new xanh opened. my friend caroline was in town visiting her twin, grace. funie & kristina also joined us. it was just one of those fantastic nights where you end up staying until closing but didn't expect to.

ugh

seeing my picture below makes me think that i need to wear more make up and get a hair cut... yuk, yuk, yuk.

happy chinese new year!!

tonight was the grand opening of the new xanh restaurant now located at 110 castro in downtown mt. view.
this year is the year of the brown rat. i think it's the earth rat. as it was the 7th in china earlier today, many celebrate the new year tonight. as i am celebrating the new year with my family this weekend, i choose to start my celebration at the new xanh. the picture on the left is the lounge. there is a wall of water on rocks. it's really cool. they now have a full bar with specialty drinks. i hope to become a cocktail waitress here. when it gets warmer.
there are 6 new plates. we had three of them and one of the two new desserts. they now have vietnamese desserts. they also have pho on their menu, as an appetizer. everything was delicious, as always. i was there on monday (two nights ago in my purple dress below) and what a difference! while both places are very hip and trendy, this new place allows for more space between tables and is at a grand scale of hip & trendy. bathrooms always say a lot about how i feel about a restaurant. i remember nice bathrooms. and their bathrooms are totally awesome, except their locks. they are a little tricky...

new fcuk dress from dc

sorry for the blurry pic but i can't seem to get anything in focus sans the flash. i got so many compliments on this dress from work that i had to post a picture...

dc trip, part deux

i found this lovely picture of the couple from their wedding website. i really wanted to take a picture of the cake and steph in her cheong sam. despite her being kinda hidden, she still looks gorgeous, doesn't she?tuesday, 22 january
let's see... tuesday was the day i ventured out on my own. i didn't really know what to do. i had dinner plans with terrence that night. i'd been to dc multiple times before. i used to date someone briefly who lived out there. so as far as being a tourist, i'd already been there and done that. it was so cold out that i didn't care to see much. but i had to do something. so i did what i do anywhere and anytime i need to kill time, i went shopping.

the problem was, i didn't know where to go. i went to the mall at pentagon city and the mall next to it. i had lunch at the nordstrom there. i don't know how i ended up at the smithsonian metro stop. i think i figured, if i can't find any shops, i'll go to the museums. i took a quick look at the national monument and took a picture identical to the one i took the last time i was there, over 3 years ago. after walking around a bit, it started to rain. it made sense to take shelter in a museum for a couple of hours but i wanted to shop. from a distance, i could see the very familiar red italicized h & m sign just a few blocks away. yay! to my surprise, zara was next door. i found a cute wool blend dress from zara on sale. i got my shopping fix and started to head back afterwards.

terrence and i went to zaytinya for dinner. apparently, they are the "mezze specialist." mezze are basically middle eastern and eastern mediterranean tapas. to top it off, restaurant week in dc was extended to this week. so there was a prix fixe menu. 4 mezze and dessert for only $30 per person. we had 8 plates between two people and two desserts. needless to say, we were happily stuffed.

wednesday, 23 january
my last full day in dc came at last and as with most vacations coming to an end, the 5 or so days i was there felt so short. the end came so suddenly. i wished i had more time there. i had to remind myself that my vacation wasn't coming to an end, i was leaving for nyc the next day. i spent most of wednesday doing laundry and packing up. and making plans with bernie. when you sleep in until noon or so and then do laundry for a few hours, 4pm comes up really quickly. i met up with yung-mei after (her) work at oya for happy hour. oya is a japanese restaurant/lounge. very cool inside. i guess it's usually packed but turns out, wednesdays are the days to go because it wasn't too bad. i was on my second drink when yung-mei showed up. i decided to have some sushi rolls to soak up the alcohol. the first drink i had was pineapple goodness. the other two where soju cocktails. the last one was this cucumber and lime soju drink, it was refreshing and quite delightful.

after we were done with our rolls and drinks, we headed over to matchbox for vintage pizza and miniburgers (aka sliders, very popular on the east coast). it's a lot of fun hanging out with yung-mei. she's so much more friendly and talkative than me. so you make lots of friends when she's around. i left to use the restroom and came back to yung-mei talking to two guys at the bar. and after we sat down, we made friends with the guy sitting next to us. poor thing, he ordered the crab cakes and failed to notice the pizza and miniburgers piled high surrounding him. i guess the waitress is to blame too. we teased her and gave her a hard time about it. and shared our miniburgers and pizza with him. he bought us drinks. what a sweetie.

that was a fantastic end to my dc trip. i was a bit sad that it was over. i'm hoping to head over to the east coast again sometime in april or may. after my last body scan, i'd go to celebrate... in addition to having a huge bash here, of course. yay!

dc wedding

initially, my east coast trip was just for dc. but then bernie came into the picture and well, how can i say no to adding a leg to new york?

friday, 18 january
i arrived at dulles on the 18th and found my way to arlington where my dear friend yung-mei lived. i was staying with her for the duration of my dc holiday. she was also my date to the wedding. i know yung-mei from work. except, i never worked with her. she was the predecessor to my former position and whenever she came to visit, i'd always go along. we got along very well. it turned out that we are both tigers and sagittarians. plus, she's half chinese. in 2003, i visited her in manhattan while she was there for grad school. i stayed with her then as well. she had this great apartment that was clearly an administrative mistake. that was my first new york trip.

by the time yung-mei and i met up, it was dinner time. she lives right by the mall at pentagon city. she suggested some places including ruby tuesdays. i'd never been there but have seen countless annoying commercials for them. so we went there for mini-burgers, chili and salad bar. it was yummy. saturday, 19 january
the big wedding day. we squeezed everything in before. like shopping. and more shopping. and getting ready. we got there just in time for the ceremony. the wedding was at the washington club on dupont circle. it was built in the early 1900's. apparently, the building was originally a residence and later housed the first women's club in dc. there is so much history there. it's really amazing. and it's been kept up beautifully.

the ceremony was lovely. from the dresses to the officiant's speech. steph, as you can see above was breathtaking. there were a couple of opera singers performing. i don't think i've been to a wedding with opera singers. fancy. the reception was right after the ceremony. after cocktail hour, that is. i was on antibiotics so couldn't partake in the alcoholic beverages. the reception was in the room next to the ceremony. i think there were about 150 people there. i'm really bad at gaging things like that and height (random). it was a good amount of people. what was interesting about this wedding was all the single women there. yung-mei tells me that there's a huge population of single women in dc and new york. i guess it's a good thing i'm in the bay area. less competition i suppose. hahah.

back to the reception... the speeches were awesome. there were 4 total and a couple of them brought tears out. her father's speech was super sweet. her best friend's speech was the big tear jerker. fantastic. the best man speech was, to say the least, entertaining but the most inappropriate. and finally her sister's speech was quite nice too. the slideshow lasted a bit longer than most but i enjoy seeing childhood pictures of my friends. the food wasn't as bad as i've had at weddings. i had a great time. i just wish i wasn't on antibiotics so we could've gone out afterwards.

sunday, 20 january
steph and erik had an open house as a post-wedding event. they have a 3-level home with this great backyard. there was still a lot of snow out that day. it was one of the coldest days, mostly because of the wind. i'd left yung-mei's with wet hair and the wind chill went right through me. i think i got wind burn on my cheeks. they were still red the next day.

i didn't get to talk to steph or erik much at the wedding so it was nice to catch up with them there. i chatted a bit with her parents, his cousin ilsa from minnesota and ate way too much. a former student and friend of my mine, terrence, was there was his lovely wife gayle. we met up at the open house and has dinner afterwards. i'd never really got to know gayle previously. they invited me to their wedding but i couldn't go. damn that ted. anyway... they are having their first baby so it's very exciting. for dinner, we went to this yummy pizza place (fomerly the thai room). at the wedding, i was seated next to them at the reception. and spent a good amount of time catching up. terrence (as he knows) was one of my favorites when he was a grad student. i'm happy that we've been able to keep in touch through the years...

monday, 21 january
i spent monday in annapolis, md, visiting an old coworker and her family. i worked with danie at scripps in san diego. i think she was there for her bf at the time (husband now), chris. my ex and i used to house sit and dog sit for them when they were away. they were part of my san diego family when i lived there. she was like my big sister.

the last time i was in dc was october 2004. danie was pregnant with her second child. before that, i hadn't seen her since i moved from san diego to the bay area. that was 2001. i decided to spend the day with her and the rest of her family. her kids are now 6 and 3 and totally adorable. at first as with most kids their age, they were shy but by the end of the day, her 3 y/o was telling me she loved me. super sweet. ugh, i wished i'd taken more pictures...

we ate at this sushi restaurant in downtown annapolis. it's right by the water so it was freezing there. i know, i'm such a wimp. the kids were running all over the place but well behaved. it's nice to see what a wonderful mother danie has turned out to be. and get this, these kids eat raw fish. they were eating the sashimi like chicken nuggets. it was amazing to see. i didn't start eating sashimi until well into my adulthood. crazy. at one point during dinner, danie says to me, wow, leaving san diego was the best thing for you! this is the absolute truth. when i think about who and how i was back then, i think, who is that girl? yuk, yuk, yuk.

when we said our goodbyes, it was a little sad. after spending the day together, it made me want to visit more often and keep in better touch with them. they are really good people.

i think i'm going to finish the last two days in dc later...

i'm baaack...

well, i got back sunday night but have been completely overwhelmed at work. and so, have yet to catch everyone up on my trip. i apologize dearly to all 5 (or less) of you out there. let's see... i'll start from recent to old as i'm sure you've all been waiting to hear about my...

weekend at bernie's (in brooklyn)

hahah. ro gave me the headline for a post ages ago. long before our fantastic first date. i flew from dulles to jfk last thursday. it was much anticipated. i don't know how long i've been looking forward to this trip. it's been a couple of months but feels like a lot longer. especially with all the flirtations on the different modes of communication (email, text and phone), it felt a little like we were dating but not. bernie met me at baggage claim. i saw him right away and headed towards him. he noticed me shortly after. and the chemistry was still there. very exciting.

we took a cab to brooklyn. i'd never taken a cab in new york before but everything i'd heard about new york cabbies were totally true. i couldn't see much but i could feel the constant swerving. not to mention the constant honking. a few times in the cab, bernie held my hand. i think he sensed my unnerving fear for my life.

about 45 minutes or so later, we got to his place. it seemed to take forever. it was frigid cold there. the snow was melting. the sun was out for a bit but not us. we stayed in my first night there. his roommate, pascal introduced quick silver screen to him which was nice for me as they didn't have a tv to entertain me with. lucky for me because i'd teased and flirted with him over the phone for the last few months, i was afraid that once i got there, i would just stand there and say, um... hey, what's up? hahah.

it all came together fine. it was a lot of fun actually. he was sweet and wonderful. he told me how much he loved it there and wouldn't trade it for anything. got it. he's not coming back. i'm glad he likes it out there. i'm also glad i have someone to visit the next time i want to go to new york. and finally, i'm happy to say that i'm not/won't be having a long distance relationship.

everytime i went outside, (and this happened in dc as well) my eyes would tear uncontrollably and my nose was like a waterfall. sorry, gross huh? but as soon as i got anywhere inside, i was fine. everything turned off like a faucet. hahah. he took me to this quaint french cafe called cafe luluc for brunch. apparently, he and his roommate go there a lot. the two of them usually split an omelette and pancakes. so i was up for that since that's what i do with my sister. except, we get an omelette and crepes to share (at los gatos cafe). but these pancakes... wow. delightfully delicious. they were probably the best pancakes i'd ever had. they were thick like a layer of cake with a nice crunchy crust, kinda. ugh, i'm craving them now... i never crave/order pancakes because i can just make them at home.

he and pascal wanted to see cloverfield. yuk. i remember watching the previews on tv and thinking, god, everything bad happens there. doesn't it? hahah. they knew nothing about it. unfortunately. it turned out to be like the blair witch project with a bigger budget. just thinking about it makes my head hurt. this is why i don't watch movies anymore! i'd much rather spend bernie's $11 seeing a lame band at popscene than watching lame movies like this one.

it was really a nice relaxing & chill weekend. i'd been busy every night that i was in dc so i didn't want to do much except hang out with him. we ate in most nights and watched a lot of ramsey's kitchen nightmares. i highly recommend the british version as opposed to the american. it's so much better when you get to hear gordon ramsey swear as much as he does and not have to deal with the bleeps.

on sunday, i packed up and got ready while he made me breakfast. i didn't think about his show until sunday. and well, missed out. bummer. :( he ordered a car to take me to jfk all paid for in advance. he took great care of me. i will definitely go back to visit him. that is, when it's warmer. a lot warmer.

leaving tomorrow

tomorrow is my big east coast trip! i leave for dc very early tomorrow morning from san jose. i have a wedding to go to on saturday (according to weather.com, it's supposed to snow that day. yuk.) for one of my former students from my first job at stanford. i've kept in touch with her since she graduated in 2002 (i think?). it's very exciting. i'm also planning to visit an former coworker from san diego. she lives in annapolis with her family now. i haven't seen her since 2005. it will be nice to meet her daughter and catch up. i'll be in dc through mlk jr. and i leave for new york next thursday (1/24) for a few days which is also quite thrilling because i'm finally visiting bernie in brooklyn. plus, he's got a show on his brazilian photographs. very very exciting...

see you on the 28th!

home computer sick

on sunday, my laptop kinda died. it won't start. it says it's missing a file. no more dells for me. no more dells for anyone i know who had one. i'm getting a macbook next. hopefully. i suppose this dell made it through 3 years but still, i'm not ready for it to die quite yet. ugh. i still have files on that thing i need to back up. grrr.

back dating...

happy new year!

happy 2008 everyone! i hope everyone had a safe & fun new year's eve!

my holiday events

at work, we started our winter shut down at 3pm on 12/21 (scheduled to return to work on 1/03) which didn't leave me much time for last minute shopping. i think i was mostly done anyway. i just had to finish baking. this year, i baked 400 cookies (snicker doodles, oatmeal butterscotch w/ pecans and holiday chip cookies) for work alone. i baked another 250 on xmas eve for distribution in holiday tins. so, i baked nearly 700 cookies last month alone. can you guess how many i ate? none! i had to balance not working out with not eating my cookies.

we had xmas at my parents' house. it was a potluck and our cousin from oregon came down with his 3 daughters & wife. it was lovely. my mom's birthday is xmas eve so i brought a cake & strawberry cupcakes (i'd baked that morning). my sister made her very yummy & spicy mac-n-cheese. she made this for my birthday. it was delightful. we exchanged gifts, spent time with one niece & two nephews, and ate so much food that i will be dieting the entire year as well as going to the gym at least 3x/week if not more. our cousin's daughter said they had so much fun that they wanted to come back the next year. it was warm, cozy and even a bit exciting. a perfect time spent together with family.

my new year's eve was spent at my long lost cousins' house with my sister-in-law's family. i made white chocolate bread pudding (from nordstrom) for the first time. it's my brother's fav. i meant to make it for him on his birthday but ended up picking some up from the bistro at nordies. anyway, it took ALL day. there were so many steps i had not anticipated that i made us late an hour to dinner. luckily, they were not quite ready for us when we came. the bread pudding turned out fabulous. i made so much that we have bread pudding for the next couple months. before we left, we had some asti to toast in the new year.

before new year's, my mom asked us to go see our sponsors in pleasant hill. we were sponsored here from vietnam by two families, the underwoods & the williams. there's this unspoken love between us. we are so grateful to them for giving us opportunities we wouldn't have had we not come to the states. and they are as proud of us as grandparents would be. they come to weddings and we visit once every few years. recently, mr. williams suffered from a stroke and is getting on with his age so my mom feared it wouldn't be long before he left us. so the underwoods hosted a little gathering. we spent about 2 hours catching up and hearing stories about us when we were younger. they also briefly discussed the ordeal it took for my parents to get us here. i was only 2-3 y/o at the time and don't remember much. it turns out we were stuck in japan before coming to the us for a year. there were problems getting into the us. and apparently, they knew someone in japan who pulled some strings for us. i never knew about that. they also still have letters from my dad. it would be great to read those some day.

pictures to come...

i spent a good part of my break sleeping 10-12 hours/day and hanging out with my chunky monkey of a niece. she was my shopping buddy. sleeping so much and not working out at all was fantastic. but alas, back to dieting & getting to the gym again...