home sweet home

this is the monstrosity of an office building that i come home to everyday. our apartment is actually in the top right corner of the house with the two windows facing the side.

devoted

venue: broadway studios (north beach)
artist: julie plug
who: jen & lou
when: 12 july 2008 (saturday)

i can't believe the last time i saw julie plug was in 2005! i think this was my third julie plug show. their singer, des, is super cute and has a fantastic voice.

before the show, we had some pizza and drinks. drinks at gino & carlo's conveniently located next door to the pizza place. it was good stuff. totally hit the spot. north beach is a really hopping night spot. it was lively and crowded. much fun!

after our pre-show adventures, we headed over to broadway studios which is located in the middle of the strip clubs. it was my first time there. we hoped to miss both of the opening bands but we were not so lucky. we caught pebble theory. ugh. they were horrendous. their sound was generic and noisy. nothing really original. despite having slept past 1 or 2pm that day, i couldn't stop yawning through their entire set. yes, they were that bad. and to top it off, they weren't even cute. damn them.

i thoroughly enjoy seeing julie plug. not to mention the fact that i always see them with lou. which is always fun because he knows des. he is quite the devoted fan. their songs are cute and catchy. really poppy but indie. takes me back... ahhh. i've been listening to them for quite a while. it's a shame they are not bigger than they are. they are a musical gem. you can have a listen here, on their myspace page.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

august/september booties

i couldn't help it. they were 70% off and i really like booties. they are dark gray patent leather with a 3 ½" heel. i know it's not august yet but this just means there are 3 pairs left that i can buy until the end of the year...

our toothless baby

she lost her first tooth!

collecting & selecting

last night, betty and i saw the ladies from the ashby house. i haven't seen them since 2006. it was july for jonna's birthday as it was again last night. that's when i first heard the term, collect & select. the theory behind this phrase is that you get all the guys you are crushing on and/or the ones chasing you in one room. the best scenario is to get them all at an event where you are the honored guest, such as a birthday event. and at the end of the night, you select. brilliant, if you ask me.

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...

july 4th adventures

popscene re-established 2008

last thursday, i went to popscene with betty. we haven't gone dancing there in sooo long. there have been a lot of changes since the renovations took place back in april (?). it wasn't just a face lift. it was also a lift of two of our very favorite popscene people. we assumed the two left popscene. however, it was the opposite. it also turns out that popscene is now new home to douchebags as well as emo kids. an unlikely combination but as it is, they both suck, in every way possible. i'm afraid that my popscene era is coming to an end. it's no longer as fun. there's no more eye candy and hardly any room to dance. big bummer. i suppose it's time to put my dancing shoes away. i'm getting too old for this anyway.

at least jason is still there. we also heard that josh now works at the beauty bar in the mission. apparently, he still does sound checks for bands at popscene. we decided to call it a night and head out to the beauty bar to see if josh was there. it was 1am when we left and there was still a line outside of popscene. this never happened before.

a funny thing happened as we drove into the mission. we were stopped at a stoplight when i noticed this guy in the car next to us just staring at me. i don't know why, but this always makes me laugh. and as a result, the guy thinks i'm smiling (really big) at him. luckily, he went straight and we turned left. after we parked, we found ourselves surrounded by 3 french men. or so they said. at least that's what i thought. one of them was telling me that they were from france and asked us where we were headed. i told him the beauty bar and i asked him where he was from. he said dijon. like the mustard. my response? shut the fuck up!! dijon my ass. i referred them to betty as she lived in france for a year or so. when she heard they were from dijon, she said, oh? i lived in marseille. oops. oh well, i wasn't interested anyway. they got the hint when we saw josh and completely ignored them. later, josh asked us if we came with those guys. hahah.

4th of july

i spent the 4th recuperating and hanging out with my niece and nephew. we watched fireworks that night from the new house. they were small and aside from the two large trees blocking our view, but we could almost see all that was going on from the front steps. next year, we are hoping to watch the fireworks on the rooftop. that should overlook those trees.

saturday adventures

on saturday, i went to the deanza flea market with my sis for fresh kettle corn. i heart kettle corn. especially when it's nice and warm. i can't really eat kettle corn otherwise. spoiled, i guess. we had pizza for lunch afterwards.

i had planned to go to the fillmore jazz festival with louis & rich (& pati!) but was invited to a housewarming at my friend thao's place in south san francisco. it started at noon but i didn't get there until after 4p. which was ok because the party goes until 9p. i thought i'd be able to head over to the festival to meet my friends but it was getting too late. i'd decided not to until i spoke to rich and he said they were waiting for me. so i headed over and met up with them for an hour or so. i'd never gone and they said it was better last year. there's really something about being able to drink in public. we ended up at the boom boom room for a while. that was fun. i spent most of the time chatting it up with pati. afterwards, we went back to thao's for some munchies. both louis and rich had previously met thao, ages ago at popscene. despite being such a full day, i'm glad i made it to all my events!

ian curtis & control

i finally saw control on netflix. aside from the poor yet typical male behavior, i enjoyed it on a deeper level than i imagined. it's hard to believe that ian curtis was only 23 when he killed himself.

for those who don't know, ian curtis was the singer of the band, joy division which spawned new order, after curtis's death with the addition of gillian gilbert. new order is my most favorite band ever. yet, i was never really a joy division fan. generally, i think joy division fans aren't really new order fans either. the music between the two bands are very different.

back to the film. it plays like a documentary. i guess that makes it a mockumentary? the title is very fitting to his life. it was all about control. and after reading an interview with his widow, debbie curtis, it reminded me of how ted treated me. like ted, ian wanted to control her. from music to books and whatever else she didn't mention. it's controlling in the subtlest way but worse because you don't know it. i have yet to read his biography by her but i plan to. i also want to read the book that tony wilson's ex-wife wrote in collaboration (maybe just referenced) with the other woman, annik honoré. it sounds like you get both stories with those two books.

despite being attracted to such musical genius, (which i admit is very appealing) how do you go further and steal someone else's husband/wife? i know this happens all the time but i just don't get it. especially someone with a new baby. don't even get me started with ian curtis as a man. he really sucked. seeing things like this really make marriage so unappealing to me. ugh, sorry, this is beside the point.

the point is the music. the movie made me want to listen to joy division. and after doing so, i found the darkness of the music is really very beautiful.

in case you didn't notice...

after i got the official cancer news (see below), i chopped off my hair...

july/august booties

can you believe it? july is in two weeks already!
the heels are 3 ¾ inches high. and the leather on my new booties are so soft.

tubby bubby's first birthday

two sundays ago, we celebrated my nephew's first birthday. he is so soft and cuddly. has the rolls of a michelin he's only one and weighs almost as much as the chunkster who just turned 5! it was a carnival/bbq themed party, complete with a green cake. yes, that is a green coconut cake. it was delicious!
and here is the chunkster being the cute little helper she is. actually, i think she is "in training" for her parents' restaurant. what a sweetie!

june/july red pumps

i found these on ebay going for $300! fortunately, i paid much less for a brand new pair. and yes, the shoes are red & gold and oh-so-pretty!

it's official...

i beat cancer's ass.*

*thanks to ro for the catchy phrase. :)

once in a while...

...comes a great indie/foreign film that is so heart felt that it is worthy of a blog post. this movie, once, has achieved such greatness. at least with me it has. and since it won best foreign film for the 2008 independent spirit awards®. maybe it wasn't just me. as with many other great films i've seen via netflix, it was recommended to me by my manager to put into my queue.

i decided to watch it very late after a day of packing. i missed a bit of the first part but was pulled in soon after. the music is amazing. glen hansard (from the band frames) sings with an aching passion. the movie has a documentary feel to it. it's awkward and real. songstress markéta irglová plays opposite hansard in the film as well as a music collaborator. she also sings beautifully, especially in if you want me. i was blown away by her voice. earlier, i got chills just talking about it (the music) with my coworkers.

the music was so good, i plan on purchasing the soundtrack.

burrrr...

i am wondering why it is nearly june and i am still wearing my winter coats. was it this cold this time last year? or it is just me?

week #3 of the big move... and counting

we finally have the go on the move, however, there is no hot water until after next week. which means, we are still in the process of moving. i hope to reside in the new house by next weekend. and i'm happy to announce that i am at least 45% moved, if not 50%. it's hard to say as we are leaving a lot of furniture here. if anyone needs anything out there, let me know!

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...