a long day's journey

some weekends are over in the blink of an eye. . . but this weekend was different- i'm not sure if was all the activity or people or being outside my usual groove- but it felt incredibly long and full.

i flew out of work at 1:30 to meet up with VK at azusa for lunch. . . beef negimaki for her and sashimi for me and plenty of conversation regarding work frustrations all around. lunch was short because VK had to go back to work and i made my way back home to clean to run errands and await my parents' arrival. my parents are notorious for getting lost- in particular- on their car rides to come visit me in NYC. their ETA was 7ish but when i called around 5 and heard they were still in the maryland area- i knew it was gonna be awhile.

luckily, i had plenty of company. around 6ish, theng and hosmillo stopped by for a visit, bearing treats of buffalo flavored pringles and cookies. i broke out the wasabi peas, almonds, chips, salsa, beer and whisky and quickly passed the time gabbing and munching on all the goodies. sometime after 8pm, the boy arrived and joined our impromptu gathering. around 8:30 pm, the efforts begin to help navigate my dad through the nyc area streets. equipped with the boy's most direct and simple directions and hosmillo's guidance on the phone, my parents miraculously did NOT get lost!

after helping to unload the car, theng and hosmillo headed their separate way and the rest of us went to felice for a late dinner. delicious as usual. we shared a couple of bottles of wine and the cheese/meat platter. the boy and dad both ordered the risotto di mare, the special fish dish for my mom, and pollo disossato e ripieno for me. it was the perfect meal- hearty comfort food executed exceedingly well. we dropped my parents off at my apartment then went to larry lawrence for a drink.

saturday morning got off to a slightly skittish start. exhausted and groggy from a restless sleep, the boy and i decided to veer off the usual route via canal and ended up taking an unnecessarily long and indirect path to golden bridge for dim sum with my parents. crankiness was swept away with iced coffee and greasy, carbolicious brunch. after tucking away an impressive amount of food for four people, we went to south street to check out david byrne's exhibit "playing the building". super interesting- essentially an installation with a "piano" centered in an enormous room that was connected to all sorts of metal beams, pipes, etc that would sound with the touch of the key.

next was shopping in soho before heading back uptown to check my parents into the hotel and so that everyone could rest. nap for the boy and gym for me. big bro and his wifey arrived around 8:30 and so we all met up at hearth for dinner. i'm glad to say that this long anticipated visit did not disappoint and the food was every bit as amazing as i had remembered. pictures and reviews to follow.

the kids decided to stay out for a few drinks- decibel was the venue of choice. we ordered a bottle of otokoyama but sadly, the majority of us were too worn out to really drink much. when weariness turned into nausea, i decided i was done for the night and the boy saw me home then drove back to CT. after a solid's nights rest i felt 100X better but rather than lazying the day away as i might on my own, i was up and about again with the family. we had a nice family breakfast at the barking dog luncheonette before my parents started their drive back to VA. then big bro, nissen, blondie, and i headed downtown for some sneaker shopping. alife rivington was the highlight of the trip. then, nissen and i decided to take a break from all the trekking and headed to gama for some refreshments. bro scored a pair of sneakers and happily settled down for some blue moon and korean grub. a few more stores and we were all worn out.

by 6, everyone had left and i had my apartment to myself once again. gym, shower, dinner. a little time to blog and unwind.

i. am. beat.

time to sleep.

enjoying the best of summer

the summer days are rapidly dwindling down. perhaps it's the fact that we had a late start to the warm season or the countless thunderstorms that rained out my plans, but til this past weekend i feel that i have not taken advantage of the plethora of activity (often free offerings) the city unveils during this season.

this weekend, i managed to make up for some lost time!

i found myself attending not one, but two, concerts in central park, taking in the buckminster fuller exhibit at the whitney, and enjoying a sausage from gray's papaya on the steps of the park. the concerts were fun- though it was somewhat disappointing watching sharon jones and the dapp kings from the rock pile south of summerstage. the exhibit was fascinating and i left with the distinct impression that bucky was quite revolutionary in his thinking and not unlike most crazy smart/brilliant people- he was more than just a little "off". . .

and somehow, the work week is already in full swing and i can't help but feel a little wistful- evidently the saying is true- time flies when you're having fun.

whirlwind

work has been especially busy of late and i'm hoping my immune system holds up (i fear i caught my sister's cold which was caught from my niece) and looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend.

i suppose it's partly my own fault- i decided to take friday and monday off to enjoy a four day weekend. while i put in longer hours on thursday in preparation- it hasn't seemed to help. tuesday was full steam ahead and this week has had me clocking 10-12 hour days opposed to the usual 9-10.

on wednesday, i managed to sneak in dinner at kura sushi with celestial where aided by sake for me and plum wine for her- we vented about work issues, shared stories from the past week, and made plans for the coming weeks. a much needed outlet and entirely enjoyable.

it's funny- the boy observed that i almost never mention kura sushi. to me, it holds a special place in my life in new york. the sushi is cheap and good and the service is friendly. but more than that- it has become my regular once a week or every other week spot with my girlfriends. it's my go-to neighborhood spot where i can expect to have a yummy dinner, never wait for a table, and where it's unsurprising to run into one girlfriend when i'm out with another.

to each their own

by no means do i claim to be an eau natural girl- i love to dress up, wear makeup, play with different hairstyles and looks. . . and i think it's important to feel good about how you look and that comes from maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle with plenty of exercise, laughter, good food, and sleep.

however, i have a hard time coming to terms with an age and society where cosmetic surgery is the norm. i suppose because i believe it's absolutely fine to get wrinkles and look one's age. . . too often in the pursuit of eternal youth- people get overworked start resembling an alien race with strangely taut skin and frozen expressions.

so when i start hearing suggestions that i should consider preventative botox, i can't help but get a little riled up. sure, i suppose in moderation and with the right physician, it could be perfectly fine.

and while i would never tell someone not to do what makes them happy and impose my personal viewpoints on others (hey it's your body- do what you want), i just know that i could never make that choice for myself. i find the idea of injecting botulinum toxin into my face so that my facial muscles are unable to contract normally for 3-4 months so that i don't develop wrinkles just plain WEIRD.

broken english

sunday was a beautiful day and i spent the entire afternoon and evening vegging out and watching project runway season 5 and netflix on demand on my laptop. i should feel guilty about wasting the entire day being inside- but i didn't- it felt luxurious and decadent to do exactly what i wanted and watching sappy movies of my picking.

the first movie was bella which was just barely entertaining and the second was broken english which caught my attention- perhaps because it was particularly apropos to the increasingly frequent/common conversations i've had with my female colleagues, peers, and friends. essentially, the difficulty of finding a quality person to settle down with in a city that is a virtual playground for men and women alike. in broken english, the heroine is a pretty although slightly neurotic woman in her early 30s who lives in new york and is feverently looking for a man to love her.

what i liked about the movie was that the character was so believable that i found it easy to relate to her frustrations and motivations. afterall, i think at some point in time, all young women have felt the pressure to "settle down" from their parents or relatives or felt left behind when they see their friends, siblings, and peers pairing up and getting married or felt envious over some fabulous weddings. so often, we the purpose of marriage- to share your life and develop a partnership in every aspect of the word.

the cliche's. love yourself because no one can love you until you love yourself. you won't find "it" when you are looking.

but i think it really comes down to this. the first step is being the best you that you can be. the best you does not rely on another person to complete you or make you happy. the best you, knows your own value, knows what you are looking for and will accept nothing less. and the rest will follow.

unexpected delights

the festivities started friday and continued into the major part of the weekend- the reason is celestial's pre-birthday celebration as i am out of town next weekend and missing her actual party. since we both were fortunate to get out of work early friday, we met up at 5pm and headed to pata negra for an early dinner. over a delicious pitcher of sangria (well balanced and just sweet enough, that is, not very), we chatted about life, relationships, shared friends, work, and whatever else was on our mind. the chorizo and fava beans and degustation of patitas was simply perfection. the owner matteo was extremely personable and gave us excellent recommendations. pata negra has effectively been added to my roster of go-to tapas restaurants.

the rest of the night was almost a blur. we grabbed a couple after dinner drinks at b flat. the drinks were as expertly made as always and i had a nice time catching up with kenny. then more drinks upstairs at tokyo bar with some of celestial's friends. and finally a long, well needed, sobering walk to pegu club where we had calamari and escargot pancakes. unfortunately, i'd had my fill of drink and could only drink a few sips of my earl grey martini. we took off shortly after.

saturday we both slept off the boozy night and met up at 3pm to do a little window shopping and errand running. at 6pm, we met up with the nose for dinner at bon chon, home of the best fried chicken ever. we got a large order of chicken drumsticks, half garlic, soy sauce based half spicy, a seafood pancake, and a pitcher of lychee soju. the chicken was succulent and the skin was crunchy, chewy, and oh-so flavorful. . . the soju was refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to the chicken. next time i won't waste stomach room on pancakes or any sides, just the chicken. after dinner, the nose headed back to willie-b to get some things and celestial and i headed to pinkberry for dessert then to the angelika for a screening of brideshead revisited.

this weekend was a lot of fun. . . but, i'd have to say the best part of this weekend, was discovering how much celestial and i had in common. . . it is at once surprising and wonderful that without noticing, i have come to feel undeniably closer to her. we were introduced through q2 a couple years ago and ended up hanging out on more than one occasion when our meimei passed out early in the night and we kept on going. initially, i'd say q2 was our common link, in addition to a love for good food, dancing, and having fun. gradually, we began to hang out on our own and as we began to confide our aspirations, fears and share many ups and downs, i came to know celestial better. . . and what i've discovered is a kindred spirit.

so. . happy birthday celestial. you deserve happiness and all the best that life has to offer.

miss natalie

the funny thing about getting older- is how life's black and whites become increasingly gray. for some time, i've had a particular stance about nannies. the idea just didn't seem right- it seemed some how irresponsible or cold to have children and opt not to be the primary caregiver.


for me, a large reason to have children would be to enjoy the process of raising and spending time with them. plus, there are so many potential downsides to the nanny business. can you really trust another person to look after your children the way you would? how do you find a good nanny? will your children be resentful or distant if they spend the majority of their week with a nanny and would this ruin their emotional development? would you regret missing so many special moments and memories that occure in ordinary, day-to-day life?

taz challenged my views in a long conversation many years ago. . . and i began to see how done properly, a nanny can be an extension of the family and facilitate rather than replace parenting. this was highlighted in my trip to visit my sister and her brood in gainesville a couple of weeks ago.

this past spring, vern had decided to hire a nanny that could watch the kids on tuesdays and thursdays while she worked part-time. it was a tough decision that was met with much resistance from my mother and self-inflicted guilt on the part of my sister. however, miss natalie, a beautiful, sweet, woman-child of a character, has been working out beautifully. . . and because of my long stay in florida, i would have the opportunity to observe miss natalie, see how she interacted with my sister and the kids, and assess the general dynamics of the situation.

i'm glad to say that it works well. miss natalie was a natural with the kids. she's an interesting, bright young woman- so eager to please and quite lost in many ways. within minutes of meeting- she was confiding everything to me from her dysfunctional family who stopped supporting her at age 17 which left her working multiple jobs to pay for her schooling, bills, housing, etc to her current romantic relationship. her rough upbringing forced her to grow up too quickly and give her a bit of an edge that is oddly contrasted by an undeniable cloud of naivete and youthful bravado. she has big dreams and i sincerely hope that she manages to overcome her current circumstances and continue to better herself. however, as miss natalie talked in circles about her various interests, her desire to have a whole "football team" of children, and the details of her drama-filled-as-only-in-high-school relationship i foresaw that this would be no easy task.

but for the time being, the kids adore miss natalie, she's fun but firm and likes to play games and music, but as soon as mommy is home- it's all about mommy. not only are my niece and nephew as attached to my sister as ever, they are well adjusted kids who are lucky to be in such a warm, loving environment.

the inconvenience of small living spaces

it was love at first sight the moment i set eyes on my apartment. . . it's a small but beautiful space with amazing closets, a large (for ny) kitchen, nice hard wood floors, and to the ceiling windows. there isn't much i would change- except for more counter space and a bigger fridge.

a small (and i mean mini size) fridge means more frequent trips to the grocery store and eating fresher foods since i only have just enough space for a few days worth of food. this has proven challenging for dinner parties, finding room for leftovers, and stocking up at rare trips to stew leondards, chinatown, or trader joes. overall, i think it encourages a healthy approach to living so i don't mind.

while i have a decent amount of counterspace- i like to keep my kitchen looking as uncluttered as possible. . . for two years i only used a stovetop coffeemaker but eventually switched to a mini coffee maker as a compromise. i don't have a toaster, microwave, or toaster oven, blender, or food processor. while i manage without, some days, i feel a longing for the convenience of a toaster oven or microwave.

today is one of those days. by the time i rolled out of bed and the boy had left to head home, it was 2pm. i was starving and lunch would have to be quick and easy. tuna melt!!

i dumped a can of tuna in a bowl and mixed in some dijon. put the spread on whole wheat toast and covered it with a layer of wasabi cheese. ok, so now i need to warm up the tuna, bread, and melt the cheese. if i was at work, i would heat the tuna in a microwave and toast the bread. i don't have those options. . .so i crank up the oven to broil and pop in the sandwich for a few minutes. . yes, easy, but i feel it's such a waste of energy.

the anti-bachelorette party

it was a bit tough trying to figure out what to do for VK's bachelorette party. the majority (e.g. everyone but me) of the bridesmaids are on the west coast so it would be a small party.

the generic "get wasted and embarass the bride-to-be by forcing her to wear an obnoxious tiari/veil or outfit and carry out mortifying acts to the amusement of the bridesmaids" just didn't seem right. a strip club would be just awkward and not really enjoyable for anyone. . .

the idea of riding mechanical bulls seemed promising. . . perhaps it's because superficially it would be so out of character for VK but at the same time, i would bet money that she'd be good. she's stubborn as hell and don't let her slight frame fool you, she's got crazy upper body strength! but this activity also warranted a bigger crowd.

in the end, i opted for dinner at cube63 and a burlesque show at the slipper room. with the afternoon off, i was the first to head to the LES. i stopped by september on stanton and ludlow to pick up some wine for dinner and was pleasantly surprised by their extensive selection of bourbons/whiskey which included some small distillery stuffs. after getting a couple of recommendations from one of the staff, i was on my way a bottle of sweeter white wine that would please theng and VK and a dry sparkling wine for myself.

cube63 is what you imagine a japanese restaurant in the LES to be: gray walls with minimal decor (ikea-esque?), pumping music, and good- perhaps average- sushi (with small portion sizes). . . sigh, this is what comes from straying from the tried and true. . . nevertheless, we enjoyed the byob-ness of the place although we were unable to finish our wine and giving it to the table of southerners next to us. all in all, a fun spot and no serious regrets.

after a stroll through babeland- afterall, this was a bachelorette party- VK and i headed to the slipper room. unfortunately, my research proved me wrong and the show started at 9:30 rather than the 8:45 that i had previously thought. we chatted away the time and secured a table close to the stage. the 20's style band was great and got us into the vibe. the first act- superb. the performer had a great presence, sultry voice perfectly suited for a breathy, bluesy number, and voluptuous as you would expect. i was sold. but then the second act consisted of a poetry reading by a man dressed in greek/roman influenced garb. unfortunately, i don't remember a word he was saying because the whole thing really focuses on a plastic bag strapped to the man's pelvic area which is filled with wine being quickly emptied by two staged volunteers sucking on straws connected to said bag. i guess effective. it was downhill from there. . . after a completely unimaginative act by a young blond woman with a nice figure but no real pizazz, there was a very. long. break.

we waited. we waited. we waited some more. . then we decided to leave.

altogether, a fun night (hopefully for VK) where we got to try new things without embarassing anyone. the mechanical bull will have to wait for LA. . .

the conclave

this week has been busier than most. twice a year- the company flies in all of our department managers to nyc for 4 days of meetings that include strategy sessions, vendor presentations, internal discussions, etc. like a wedding- it feels like months of preparation slip away into just moments of time. . . although this week has felt far lengthier.

while i consider myself an early riser- being at work before 8AM has been a stretch even for me. so my week has consisted of rushing between the office and the hotel where the majority of meetings are held to catch whichever meeting, trying to get my normal workload done as well as catch up with last week's work since i was on vacation, and meet & greet key people. days end late with company dinners stretching into the evening.

of course- my high maintenance self has been struggling to retain some semblance of a routine but gym outings have been intermitten and sleep too scarce. but, it's almost over and i'm looking forward to easing into a laid back and restful weekend.

the problem with posting

i've been inconsistent of late. i start a post and never finish it. or the urge to blog passes and then days go by and i forget whatever incident spurred my desire to blog.

the boy suggested i use twitter- it's easy and doesn't involve the time committment and energy that writing a full post. best of all, it allows me to do what my initial intent of starting a blog was, to keep my friends who are scattered far and wide, up to date on my life.

so let's see how it goes. . . i have a good feeling.

Just a taste of Miami

“you are so white!!!” exclaimed vern (my big sis) as she greeted me at the baggage claim in Miami with Stretch, her husband, and kids, T and Wes, in tow.

V: yea, I hope to work on that this weekend!

Unfortunately, weather did not cooperate. After finding our hotel, Island Souse located on Collins near 14th st, we suited up and headed to the beach which was conveniently located just a couple blocks away. I laid out my towel and got situated and the kids raced to the water, vern trailing behind. Just as I started to get comfortable, I started to feel a sprinkling of rain.

V: uh oh. This is just my luck. . this doesn’t look too good.

Families and couples nearby started packing up.

Stretch: yea, looks like it may rain. Maybe they know something we don’t know?

V: well, let’s see if it passes.

For the next couple hours, the kids played in the water and sand, I chatted with Stretch, and waited out the weather. Though the clouds looked gloomy, the weather held out enough for us to have a nice little afternoon at the beach. Around 5 we decided to pack up and head back to the hotel so Wes could nap before dinner.

For dinner, we opted for Cuban and headed to Versailles based on my experience at an offshoot in LA and reviews attesting to its authenticity and warning of poor service. It was a huge restaurant with a cafeteria style meets garish décor but all I cared about was the food. We ordered calamari, a sampler of deep fried treats, ropa vieja, Versailles chicken, and a Cuban sandwich. What we got was comfort food at its near best- satisfying and filling! Despite being ready to burst, we indulged in flan and tres con leches. Deliciously decadent and worth the discomfort of an overly full belly.

I never slept so well! Unfortunately, our second day at the beach was not to be. The thunderstorms that started in the early hours continued on and off throughout the day. So instead, we decided to leave Miami early and head to Orlando, check out the Millenium Mall, and get dinner at Pho Hoa. While I was a little disappointed that our time in Miami was cut short, a real Vietnamese dinner all about made up for it!

farewells, impressions, and kielbasa

feeling 49% overwhelmed with work and 49% in need of a night in and relaxing, the chances that i'd make it to nel's going away party in brooklyn were pretty slim. however, i had already made plans with a couple of work friends, the nose and miss honey, to join the festivities and attend an art gallery opening earlier in the week.

by 4pm i was feeling pretty good with my progress for the day and the nose's email reminder about the evening settled the matter. afterall, work would still be there tomorrow and i would regret not saying good bye to nels and k before they left for iowa. so the three of us headed out to willie-b to radegst biergarden.

we easily found the group- mostly anthropology people - who was settled in at a large wooden table. we ordered a round of drinks and pate before testing out the kielbasa and bratwurst. the food was excellent (though the kielbasa was far better than the bratwurst), affordable, hearty, and perfectl complemented drinking. except for the surly barmaid, i think radegst is worth another visit and a fun place to hang out.

the crowd was a mix of familiar but long forgotten faces and mingling involved awkward and half hearted attempts at conversation. i suppose that's not unsurprising, i was never that friendly with any of them except for george. consequently, i found myself spending the majority of the night chatting with the nose and miss honey and at times feeling like the observer/referree. having had a couple of glasses of wine, the nose was loosening up and sharing his impressions of miss honey, our work place, etc.

the nose: you are so contrary to our company and don't fit in the mix. you are very refined. i can see you owning a boutique or working for a lingerie company.

miss honey: (with a look of alarm) what do you mean? i'm too refined? what about her (pointing to me)?

the nose: she will do great. she's got an edge to her. you are really refined. i don't see you wheeling and dealing. you have to be able to be tough and scary.

miss honey: i can be tough. plus, my boss says that is something that is developed with age and confidence.

v: (i watch as it all starts to unravel and miss honey taking it too much to heart, i subtly gain the nose's attention) hey man, be careful with what you say.

the nose: sorry, i've had too much to drink. my words are getting away with me. it's not that you aren't smart or able. i just imagine you marrying some rick european man and living in a chatelet and running a household. you'll be fully capable of managing a staff and firing people. chuckling.

miss honey: that doesn't sound too bad. . but it's not the 21st century.

the conversation eventually veers away, but i can see that miss honey has been unsettled and her confidence ruffled. i remembered a time not too long ago when i was easily swayed and unsure of myself. and so on the trainride back to the city i tried to point out what i believe was the nose's real message- that to succeed you have to find an environment that you can thrive in. if you are a more passive, naive, and laid back person, you will be unlikely to succeed in a more aggressive, corporate environment. if you are more calculating and focused only on individual advancement, you might not do as well in a small company that relies heavily on collaboration and teamwork. better to find an environment that suits your personality, because the happier you are at work, the better your work will actually be, and hence the more successful you will ultimately be.

unfortunately, i could see that my argument did little to encourage miss honey. . . so funny how that is, that you can hear 100 good things about yourself and forget them in a second, but one negative comment will nag you forever.

running on empty

the past week and a half have seen a flurry of activity that has left me a bit drained.

on friday, the boy and i headed out to philly to celebrate my bro's birthday. we had a relaxing 4th of july, take out wings and pizza and a few dvd's. saturday involved an eye exam, cheesesteak excursion, trip to a chinatown grocery store, and bbq/bday party prep. there was plenty of good eats, drinks, and music (btw, kudos to the boy for egging me on to experience beer pong for the first time in my life)!

we woke up around 11 sunday morning and lazed around a bit. big bro made us a yummy breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast before giving us a lift to the chinatown bus. we made our way back to nyc, stopping to get boba tea before heading back uptown to nap. for dinner, the boy and i met up with taz for 3 recession meals at gray's papaya (two hot dogs with toppings and a drink for less than $4 each). the 100% beef hot dogs were quite good and the snap from the casing gave way to the juicy center. the drink was good but a bit too sweet and smoothy like for my tastes.

after polishing off dinner, we headed to park slope for drinks and bocce. whether the hotdogs were not filling enough or we managed to work up an appetite, the next stop was schillers in the LES for a late night snack. the nachos were delicious as usual.

always the busiest day of the work week, this monday's dreadfulness was compounded by the extra reports and analysis necessitated by the end of the fiscal month and insufficient sleep. i managed to hold out until 6pm and headed downtown to meet taz, his new lady friend S, and VK for dinner at mercadito grill. to my delight, the fish tacos were excellent and better than the previous visit. i tried to stay focused during dinner, but ended up excusing myself around 9pm to head home for a quick workout and good night's rest.

tuesday was feeling back to my normal. the work week has been flying by as i'm trying to cram a week and a half of work into one in preparation for my upcoming trip to florida. had a nice dinner with taz at totoya where we deconstructed my behavioral patterns and various other topics. after dinner, we enjoyed ice cream from sedutto near my apartment.

a sudden change of plans with jpan and xiaopang have resulted in the cancellation of friday's dinner party which left me unexpectedly free tonight and tomorrow night. celestial and i decided to meet up for dinner at kura sushi where we were joined by Q2. the night ended later than expected and i find myself feeling weary from all the week's activity. . . . i think i need a vacation before my vacation!

the rage within

i hate the fact that when i get angry- my physical reaction is to cry. the angrier i get the more tears well up in my eyes. i can't help it and i find it utterly frustrating because the last thing i want to do is give off the impression that someone has hurt my feelings or that i'm weak. so then i get angry (now at myself) which only exacerbates the situation. and the fact that this is a common trait shared among my female friends, colleagues, etc provides me little comfort.

for the first time in a long time, someone pissed me off enough to make me (almost) cry. i calmed myself down before any tears were actually shed. the annoying thing is i have to turn around and deal with this a-hole tomorrow and will have to figure out a way to maintain some type of working relationship with the guy.

thinking about it, even hours later, still makes my blood boil. so let me put it out of my mind for the time being. but if anyone has a solution for dealing with the whole tears of rage thing- i'm all ears.

felice

one of my biggest complaints about the UES is the lack of good, affordable restaurants and cool bars. instead, there is a plethora of restaurants that serve mediocre, overpriced fare, fratty sportsbars, and twilight zoney diners (disclaimer: there are a handful of amazing restaurants on the UES if you are willing to pay a pretty penny such as sushi of gari). for the most part, i've written off the UES and head downtown or to brooklyn for dinners or drinks out. . . .until felice.

felice is a small, italian wine bar on 1st ave and 64th. the ambience is cozy, almost rustic, with an air of refinement. there are a handful of tables outside (love outdoor seating), a nice inviting white bar in the back, a communal table in the center of the room, and smaller tables along the perimeter. the menu is exactly what i like to see at a restaurant- short and sweet. to me this indicates a focus on doing a few things well rather than a lot of things just so-so. on the list was a selection of crostone, an assortment of meat and cheese platters, a handful of salads, pastas, and entrees.

we order two glasses of prosecco to whet the appetite and start the evening of festivities. i order a prosciutto and olive spread crostone and the cheese and meat platter to start until the rest of the group arrives. the prosecco is refreshing with a hint of sweetness and a nice contrast to the salty flavors of the appetizers. the crostone comes out with three pieces and topped with mounds of prosciutto. delicious and i feel captures the essense of italian cooking- uncomplicated, fresh, and comforting. the selection of cheeses and meats were excellent.

two more of our group arrived. fitz ordered a bottle of red wine so i don't recall the label (too much wine that night)- what i do remember is that it was a great red, dry, medium body and very food-friendly.

we ordered more crostone- this time with eggplant, zucchini, and a soft cheese. also delectable.

the last three of our group arrived. another bottle of wine. someone orders a ravioli in a pesto sauce in addition to more crostone. another two bottles of wine.

somehow, three hours passed by and i had a lovely time. the best part, was being able to walk home from the restaurant. . . and felice may very well become my new regular.

unroutine check up

it's been YEARS since i've had a regular physical and for the most part i've done fine without it. however, during a recent bout of coughing that persisted for weeks, i decided it was important to have a primary care physician that i could go to for whatever odd ailments arose.

my appointment day finally came- i was scheduled for 3PM. the office was a shared doctors/optometrist office. the reception room was cramped and a bit dingy. i checked in and after filling out all my paperwork the reception explained that there were two patients ahead of me. i mentally prepared to wait. afterall, it would be abnormal to go to a medical appointment and not have to wait, right?

3:15
3:30
3:45

the medical assistant asked to see my insurance card and asked me to pay for the co-pay. she looked at me apologetically and assured me that the doctor would be ready for me in 15 minutes.

4:00
4:15

my temper began to flare up as i heard the doctor chit chatting with the staff. after she i asked the medical assistant how much longer the wait would be as i had to get back to work. just 15 minutes, she said. sensing my frustration, the assistant took me to the room adjacent to my doctor's office which turned out to be the optometrist's office. she checked my temperature, heart rate, blood presure, and blood oxygen level. next i was lead into the real doctor's office where i was hooked up-all matrix like- to a blood flow tester.

4:30.

finaly, the doctor comes into the room with a chinese man. i pull my shift closed tighter and look around awkwardly. she talks with the chinese man for awhile about checks and bills and he finally leaves the room. i can't help but feel anxious and i mentally picture the piles of emails that are building up at work. she is a very petite woman in her 50's/60's with short, dark brown hair and wearing a full chinese ensemble. she makes conversation- asks me about my family, tells me how she was an activist during the vietnam war, talks about her daughter, etc. all i really want her to do is get to business.

4:45

my phone rings

em: are you ok?

v: oh, hey sorry. i just got into see my doctor. sorry i'm gonna be here for a bit longer.

em: you should just go home afterwards.

v: no no, i have too much work to do. i'll see you in a bit.

i hang up.

dr: oh, i'm sorry we're running so late today. usually we are more organized, but we are in the process of moving, etc. next time just call ahead and see where we are with the appointments.

v: oh ok. urm, isn't that what an appointment is for?

the doctor proceeds to check my heart, pulse, etc. she notes that my heart rate pattern is abnormal and asks me if i ever get heart palpitations or murmurs. finally, she suggests that i take an echocardiogram. she calls the chinese man, who turns out to be a visiting doctor from china, into the room. she explains that he'll be performing the echocardiogram. then she leaves the room.

wtf??? i thought there always had to be another female in the room for medical exams. the whole POINT of choosing a female doctor is so i don't have to deal with male physicians. ugh. i am told to lay down on my side as he uses this probe covered with gel to look at my heart. the procedure takes about 10 minutes but feels like much longer. and i'm not a happy camper.

the appointment is wrapped up. my doctor asks me to go get a series of other tests done in a nearby lab and follow up in a couple weeks. i ask dr li if my heart seems ok. he says it is probably "ok" but my dr will have the final word. so all in all, instead of feeling better, i leave my appointment with 2 more appointments to make and the sensation that something might be wrong with me. this is why i don't go to the doctor.

technologicaly challenged

while i'm sure i'm quite capable of figuring out computer/technology related things- i find it utterly uninteresting. consequently, i've gotten into a habit of relying on my tech-savvy friends to handle whatever ruts i get into.

needless to say, it is unsurprising that the boy was the one to notice that my blog is looking a bit f-ed up. . . the profile is skewed upwards and cut off.

it's about time to get a new "look" anyways- however, with the limited options provided by blogger and my inherent laziness with figuring out how to edit html myself- it will certainly be a challenge.

but stay posted. change is on it's way.

doing the right thing

i was sitting at my cubicle when em came up to me. "don't do anything!"

i looked at her blankly.

"i don't want you to do anything!" my boss proclaimed convincingly.

what she referred to was my division's tradition of celebrating every associate's birthday. basically, there is some pretense of a surprise where everyone goes to the conference room and the birthday boy/girl has to go to the room and pretends to be surprised by the celebration which inevitably involves dessert- whether it be cupcakes from buttercup bakery or carvel icecream cake.

so i find myself in the odd position of trying to decipher my boss's true meaning. . .should i follow her literal direction and insist there be no celebration? would this make her TRULY happy or would the lack of festivities unexpectedly make her sad? or do i go with tradition knowing that it makes her unhappy?

this is my predicament.

we've decided to forego the usual festivities in lieu of a nice bouquet of flowers and a card. . .and just in case, i'm going to bake some birthday cookies.

sweet ling ling

a whole nother side to josh.

death by bus?

while i have a taste for the finer things and am more than willing to shell out for certain things- an amazing meal, a pair of good running shoes, an excellent hair cut and color- i am extremely cheap about others. this is why i almost never take cabs, will never own an "it" bag, and bring my lunch to work every day. my mom once chided me for asking for a cup of hot water which i would use with my own tea bags (why pay $1.50 for a bag that costs a fraction of that?).

this is also why i take the chinatown bus whenever it's time to visit my big brother in philly. it may gag you with it's intense dirty, wet sock odor; overheat during the summertime causing the driver to pull over and stop the car for 10 minutes which turns into 30 minutes because some idiot is taking her time to buy stuff at the convenience store and almost breaks down because the driver turns the AC on intermittenly because the passengers all gripe about the heat even though this will just cause the bus to overheat again and prolong everyone's sweaty misery; and be filled with loud, middle aged chinese people that make it nearly impossible to nap.

. . .BUT it costs a mere $10 each way. and at $4+ a gallon. . . it ain't so bad.

i heart stew

the boy and i have been planning to take a drive out to CT one weekend. on the agenda- a trip to the elephant trunk's country flea market and stew leonards.

we woke up around 5AM and were on the road by 6:30AM, loaded up with coffee, mcdonalds breakfast, and a full tank of gas. the boy was hoping to score some old school tools and i love any type of market. and being the foodie i am, i can't help but find great pleasure in going to gourmet markets or any type of place with fresh produce and intersting food. so of course, it was an amazing day for me.

my best purchases- a basil and mint plant from the flea market. huge fried corn kernels, wasabi flavored cheese, and incredibly fresh produce. and with my two young artichokes, i plan on making this.

The girl who couldn’t stop coughing

We are nearing the end of our fall marketing/strategy meetings with our vendors. This morning the whole team was attending- my boss, her counterpart, the divisional, and my counterparts. We left our office at 20 til 11AM and started trekking to the vendor’s office.

Unfortunately, I did not realize the meeting would be 10 blocks and 3 avenues away- that feels like miles away in heels. We arrived not too late and were whisked away into a nicely decorated conference room. Rounds of introductions were made and the first of a series of presentations began.

About an hour into the presentation, I started to feel a tickle in my throat.

Oough cough.

The presenter continued to talk.

Cough cough

My boss looked at me with a concerned expression and mouthed “Are you ok?” I nodded but for the next two minutes proceeded to cough nonstop. My cheeks flushed red as I realized that all eyes were focusing on me. My boss asked for some water and I excused myself from the room and continued to cough for a solid minute.

I’ve had an ongoing cough- the remnants of a cold for almost two weeks. . and nothing- not sleep, not cough suppressants, were doing anything to relieve it. . . in fact it seems to be getting worse.

I returned to the room feeling a little better but now my throat was so raw from coughing that even the slightest tickle would bring on a new fit of coughing. Over the course of the next two hours I proceeded to down three bottles of water which helped tremendously- though the occasional cough would let itself out. . . part of me was slightly moritifed- and I'm certain that I'll forever be referred to as that girl who couldn't stop coughing.

On the way back to our office, my boss asked if I was okay and suggested I go home early. I protested that I wasn’t feeling horrible. As we made our way back to the office, I started to feel flushed and unwell.

So that’s how I have found myself on a Thursday afternoon in pajamas, laying in bed and blogging. I have a couple magazines and dvd’s by my side and plan to take it easy. . . and hopefully a good night’s sleep will make me all better by tomorrow..

forecasting change

last night Q2, theng, and i met up for dinner. . .it's been such a delight having the 3 of our college foursome, living in new york- we're the SATC without our charlotte (e.g. jpan).

over a deliciously fatty meal of bacon wrapped dates, flash fried calamari, broiled shrimp, spicy chorizo, bacalao in an amazing sauce, and spanish cheese, we gossiped, caught one another up on the past few weeks, and talked about the future. the main topic was jpan's pregnancy and hashing out the logistics of throwing a baby shower in her honor.

times are a changing.

a year from now. jpan will be a mom. theng will most likely be living in CT or white plains, baby on the way. Q2 hopes to be working and living in china. for myself, i hope to be promoted and facing the challenges of a new job and possibly new division. although i occasionally daydream about moving back to brooklyn, i don't really see myself leaving manhattan anytime soon

i suppose only time will tell how things will pan out. regardless, i foresee a lot of exciting things to look forward to.

breaking out the all clad

before leaving my last job, i made one final splurge. a 7 piece all clad copper core cookware set. it came out to a little more than half off. such an amazing deal that i know i'd kick myself if i let the opportunity pass.

so for the past four three and a half months, the box has been sitting in my apartment. in mint condition. untouched. part of me was debating if i should return it. and to be honest, part of me has felt like i don't deserve such a nice cookware set in this stage in my life.

but today, amidst spring cleaning- from the bathroom, to the oven, to loads of laundry- i decided to throw caution and reason to the wind. and just like that, my new dinner ware set was out of the box and resting on hooks in my kitchen.

it all seemed so right. and my home felt a little more. homey.

when silence means just that

time and time again, we are told that one of the keys to a successful relationship, marriage, or friendship is communication. . . of course the fact that men and women speak two different languages makes this a lot easier in theory than in practice.

sometimes, you just have to laugh.

(eulalie, thanks for the laugh)

i hate home depot

after hemming and hawing over the expense and deliberating for weeks on what washing/drying machine, i finally settled on the LG WM3431. i was given a delivery date of may 8th.


V: what time can i expect someone to come?


customer service rep (CSR): someone will give you a call the night before to give you a 4 hour time frame.


V: they can't be more specific than that?


csr: no ma'am.


V: then i'll have to schedule the delivery for another date. i have a big presentation that day. can we reschedule for friday?


csr: ok ma'am. let me contact the delivery people and see what we can do. would you mind holding?


V: no problem.


csr: ma'am. i'm sorry, but they are having a meeting right now. i'll see if we can reschedule the delivery date. if i can't, i'll call you back.


V: ok. so someone will call the night before the delivery to give me a time frame?


csr: yes ma'am.


no call back so i figure we're all set. wednesday night rolls around, no call. . . good, guess they'll definately deliver on friday. so you can imagine my consternation when i get out of my presentation on thursday and find two messages from the delivery guys saying they were at my building but no one was home so i needed to call and set up a new delivery date. argggg. . . so i proceeded to reschedule my delivery to tuesday. i call mondaynight to confirm the delivery window. 10:30-2:30. damn. it. i have an advertising turn-in scheduled at 10 AM that i can't get out of. luckily the boy offers to wait at my apartment for the delivery guys to come and i plan to rush home immediately after my meeting.


timing works out great. i'm on the bus by 10:15 and get a call from the delivery guys who say they are 30 minutes away. i am home by 10:30 and relieve the boy of waiting duties. the delivery guys arrive at 10:45. the installation guy surveys the machine.

installation guy 1(IG1): i'm sorry, i am not allowed to move the cabines. do you still want the machine?

V: i want you to take away the old machine and install the new one. the only reason why i used home depot was because this is their policy.

installation guy 2(IG2): impossible. we can't move the doors.

V: do you have a screw driver? what if we do it?

IG1: sure. we are on a tight timeline though. do you want the new machine?

V: yes, but you have to remove the old one.

IG1: i can't wait around for you to do this.

V: well, i can't take more time off of work to deal with this. you are going to install the new one today while we are all here. i will look for someone to help.

i go outside and luckily the condo maintenance guy (MG) is cleaning the stairwell. i tell him the situation and he agrees to help. within 5 minutes the doors are removed. the new machine is brought up.

IG1: you need a longer hose.

V: what? i don't understand?

by now, i am highly annoyed that these guys don't want to do their job and that the machine which i paid a pretty penny for doesn't come ready for installation. luckily, MG intercedes and instructs the guys to use the old hose and supervises the rest of the installation process. the machine is eventually installed with the only downside being it's a bit too big for the space and juts out past the countertop. but the machine works like a charm and is a beaute!

belated bday celebrations

to make up for missing dandy's bday party last weekend, i offered to cook a nice dinner for dandy and his beau, and the boy. for once, the menu and meal came together with relative ease- mussels in a saffron cream sauce, and grilled panchetta wraped asparagus. timing is always difficult with dinner parties and i always find myself struggling to make sure everything is prepared properly, that all the guests are having a good time, and have a tough time actually getting to relax, eat and drink myself.


after a leisurely dinner and gift exchange, the four of us headed out to williamsburg to drop off gifts and grab a couple of drinks. we ended up at trophy, a newish bar which unlike it's name suggests was not flashy or a scene. instead, it was instantly likeable and radiated that familiar feel that made you want to become a regular. i sided up to the bar to check out their drink selection and asked the bartender for some bourbon recommendations. she motioned to the woman sitting next to me, "you should ask her for a recommendation. she knows a lot more about bourbon."


so that began a 30 minute conversation with what turned out to be the bar owner- a personable, young woman with a passion for tequila and learned appreciation for bourbon. while nursing her recommended glass of michters (possibly the smoothess bourbon i've ever tasted), she told me about how she had worked for years in another bar before opening her own place,

the boy eventually found me and drew me back into the birthday celebration. we headed to another spot where dandy could get his groove on..midway through first rounds, we all started to fade quickly, reminding me once again of the fact that we're all getting older and can't stay out the way we once could. . . happy b-day?

the meeting

one of the components of my training program was being sectioned off into groups to compete in a group project. we were all assigned rhe same task and asked to come up with a business proposal and present it among an audience of our mentors, coaches. HR, and other related persons. the prize was the opportunity to present our ideas to the CEO and a free lunch (who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?).

my team won. the perks- the opportunity to make a good impression on the CEO. the downside balancing a persistent and nagging obligation to do an amazing job while learning to do our new jobs and get up to speed as soon as possible.

and and just like that *snap* it was over. the meeting was casual. we talked through our slides and he raised good questions. was actually quite fascinating hearing his thought process in terms of solving business problems.. . working in any particular industry for any period of time hinders one's ability to see things clearly. . . the more accustomed one is to analyzing business in a specific way, the more difficult it becomes to recognize obvious weakenesses and opportunites, and therefore solutions. a good lesson in staying grounded.

dress shopping

saturday morning, i find myself in the garment district of los angeles with VK et all. it's blazing hot and i am initially overwhelmed by the sheer number of shops and dresses, taking in the wide assortment of dresses- long, tea length, short, skankyshort, slinky, lacy, sheer with cutouts (oh my!) and so on.


each shop was a madhouse of 15 year olds with mothers and aunties in tow and clearly on a mission to find the prefect gown for their quinceanera and 17 year olds with full entourage on standby to pass judgement and snatch up potential prom dresses.

it was a shopping experience like no other and i applaud the patience of VK's bridesmaids as they dutifully tried on dress after dress in cramped quarters and makeshift dressing rooms (i.e. all of us blocking view of one of the gals by holding up dresses in front of her).

trouble hit at store x. while there were many gaudy dresses, there were a fair share of nice dresses. a cute number hanging from the high racks caught my eye and i tried to get the attention of one of the sales women. when that failed, i spyed one of the poles used to retrieve out of reach merchandise. i motioned to grab the pole but the sales woman quickly beat me to it and threw a withering glare my way. i shrugged innocently and pointed to the dress of interest but only got her dismissal in reply. strike one.

we all went back to dress hunting and found several dresses to try on. while missE gamely tried on the dresses, i found an adorable dress and seeing the long line for the dressing room, slipped it over my head to gauge the fit. evidently that was strike two as the sales woman began screaming at me for trying something on outside a dressing room.

missE modelled the dresses which he had selected. VK loved one of them. when we made inquiries about the prices, we were gruffly told that they only had a couple left and they would not order any more. there was no attempt to offer further assistance or help us locate the dress. when VK attempted to find the style number to locate the dress, the sales woman snatched the dress back- adding that VK was not allowed to look at the dress anymore. one of the bridesmaids went to find the owner, who also managed an adjoining dress shop about the dress. he deferred to the associate. strike 3.

we were completely deflated by the saleswoman's nasty attitude and left the garment distict shortly thereafter. we refueled and cooled down at a korean run sushi joint downtown that was playing every single janet jackson video known to man on large flat screened tv's. while we did not get a dress in the end, at the very least, we have a much better idea of what type of bridesmaid dress the bride likes and what would be flattering on a range of body types. . . and knowing is half the battle, right?

westward bound

my bag is packed- armed with comfy travel clothes, the makings of shower favors, tea, and decorations. . .on one hand, it feels like a lifetime ago that i was in grad school but my time in ny has simply flownby. . .

this evening, as i packed, i becan to recall the good times that i had nearly forgotten- buried under the misery of graduate school. going to pauley pavillion to watch the bruins play. taking a daily coffee break and short walk with taz when we would vent about work or life or relationships. catching a film premiere with eddie. going for a long run down san vicente and along the beach. zipping in and out of trader joes (ny really needs to open more) and checking out the fresh produce (with plenty of free samples) at the farmer's market in westwood.

i can hardly believe that it has been three years since i have visited the city of angels. and i'm both excited and anxious to see my former home. in just a few short hours, i'll be trying on bridesmaids dresses and celebrating Vk's upcoming wedding. playing wing-girl to keting2. eating lunch at my ngoc in san gabriel which has the best hu tieu (sorry momma V). taking a long walk along venice beach with eulalie. . .

overload

the past couple days have been a blur of meetings- discussing new launches with our vendors, buying team meetings to discuss fall strategies and new business initiatives, marketing and advertising, and preparation for my group presentation in a couple weeks. i find myself bombarded with so much information and frequent schedule changes that i have been struggling to keep track of everything and increasingly relying on my planner.

this has managing to spill over into my personal life- where i’m finding myself double booked or simply confusing dates.

ring ring.

V: hey VK.

VK: hey, what’s up?

V: oh nothing. i am just trying to make plans with my group to meet next week. when did we say that we were going to the tailor?

VK: we didn’t. we just said at the beginning of this week.

V: oh really? whew! what a relief. i could have sworn we said tuesday but i couldn’t remember. . . .ok. . so would wednesday work for you?

VK: in a reassuring voice aw, that’s ok. . if i don’t write it down, i forget too. (translation: that's sad, V's losing it. . . poor thing) sure let’s go on wednesday.

a day in suburbia

a quick one hour flight landed me back home in VA by 10AM saturday morning. i was greeted by mom, sister, and tj and wes who begged me to sit between their carseats in the rear of the car. they had both grown a few inches since the last time i'd seen them. on the way to starbucks to caffeinate me, wes pointed out his new basketball shoes and played with my bracelets (elephant! forest!) while tj told me she preferred my longer hair to my short hair but liked my necklace (it looks like a chocholate heart!).

after coffee, we stopped by trader joes where we all stocked up on snacks. while i purused the wine section and filled my basket with assorted jerkey, luna bars, and fish oil- wes took turns patting my belly, telling me he was going to eat me up, and latching onto my right leg. funny kid.

next was sam's club- otherwise known as the senior citizen's buffet-a sampling heaven for my niece. hot pockets, salad, pork roast, deli wheels, buffalo wings, yogurt- you name it, they had it. my mom bought some beef to go with the bun bo hue that she had made for my dad who was actually home sick. we dropped my mom off home, then my sister, the kiddies and i went to chck-fil-a for lunch and to pick up a party platter for the gymanstics birthday party at 2:30PM.

by 3PM, i was surrounded by a gaggle of 3-6 year old kids running around, jumping in a pit of foam, swinging from ropes, and working themselves into a frenzy. i tried to make conversation with the anxious mothers who kept an eye and intermittenly yelled warnings to their respective children. after an hour of carefree playing, the kids were gathered to the party area to feast on fruit, pretzels, chicken nuggets, doritos, nilla wafers, and cake. the mothers all discussed the point values of the different foods (apparently they had agreed to start jenny craig together) and deliberated about partaking. . . in that moment, amongst the random kid meltdowns and momspeak, i felt entirely out of my element.

a little snip

VK: i got my wedding dress yesterday. disappointing. it looks so plain and cheap. i'll have to find ways to dress it up.

V: you're crazy. . the dress is beautiful and probably just needs to be pressed. you are not a fancy type, it looks amazing on you. . i don't think that type of dress ever looked fabulous on the hanger- it has to be on. and yes, we'll dress it up.

VK: maybe it'll look better after alterations. actually, it looked great on the hanger. it just looked terrible on me.

needless to say, there were high stakes tied to picking the right tailor who could transform VK's dress back into the vision it was when she first tried it on. after doing extensive research, VK narrowed the search of tailors down to two. to lend moral support and calm the poor bride's nerves, i went with VK to check out the tailors and in the end, we decided to go with Imparali custom tailors.

thursday night, we both met up after work- VK had wedding dress stashed in her bookbag and i brought a bag with a couple of my things i've been meaning to alter. we got inside and i lent VK my shoes to try on with her dress. the seamstress eyed the dress carefully and proceeded to pull the extra material tight behind VK's back and pin it with clips. VK asked for a price quote for the work needed and there was some discussion on what needed to be done. once we agreed that the dress needed a simple hem and the sides taken in, the seamstress continued to inspect the two layers of the garment. she pulled out a pair of scissors from her work table and the color drained from VK's face and her eyes began to widen with horror and alarm.

before anyone could utter a word. . . snip. snip. . . the seamstress cut the thread that joined the gown lining from the gown. she then explained while she continued to. . . snip snip. . . that she would use the lining as a guide to hem the dress itself. while she cut away at the lining, the look of fear never left VK's face.

V: don't worry VK. even if she messes up, you would never see it. it's standard procedure. (not that i know. .but the method seemed reasonable. . and VK might cry if i acted like it was anything but)

VK: (looking uncertain) urm. . .

V: (laughing out loud- ok, now i'll have to resort to distraction) don't look so scared. it's going to be fine. the dress is going to be beautiful after it's altered. i think you were totally overreacting before. once it actually fits you, it's going to be gorgeous!

VK: (sounding a bit more optomistic) really? you think so?

V: definately!!

as the seamstress finished up with the fitting, we talked about how to bustle the dress and needing to look for a veil. we left a short while later with an appointment for a follow up fitting and headed to campbell's apartment for a drink. . . optomistic and excited about the alterations.

champagne tastes and beer budgets

this afternoon, bigEm and i decided to do some comp shopping. it's funny how working in retail changes the way you look at a store- even when i am "just shopping" i find myself noticing the little and big things.

how long does it take before a sales associate acknowledges me? greets me? offers help?
how impactful is the visual display and merchandising?

is there cross merchandising?

what type of story are they trying to tell?

and so on.

even more, i find myself becomingly increasingly jaded and underwhelmed by various shopping experiences. until that is, on this particular outing where we happend to stop in barney's where i was given a sneak peak into the world of JAR in a little alcove hidden behind the women's fragrances, a personable but polished dealer begins to weave his story about JAR, a reclusive artist who creates unimaginably complex, decadent, and stunning pieces of jewelry. only a small number of each creation is produces, lending to a product that invariably increases in value over time.

like children in a candy store, my boss and i tried on some of the "lower end" earrings, beautiful roses petals, gold painted over aluminum. stunning pieces that were both bold and refined, i instantly fell in love with them and vowed to purchase a pair whenever i "make it". . . sigh, to be born with champagne tastes and living on a beer budget. . . a girl can dream, can't she?

boy movie and chinese lessons

my first official week at work has flown by. however, early mornings (since i'm still not sure how long it takes me to do everything and wanting to make a good impression-i'd been making a point to go to work between 8:20 and 8:40), seemingly long hours (because it's taking me forever to do everything since i still don't know what i'm doing), and busy evenings catching up with old friends, had managed to wear me out by the end of the week.

friday morning, as i schlepped out to the bus stop in my black and white skull rainboots while doing my best to stay dry, my evening plans to go out suddenly seemed less appealing. . . my mood turned after a leisurely lunch with my work friends and walking back to the office and seeing the sky clear up. around 6, i grabbed my bag and headed down to the angelika. the film was paranoid park, a coming-of-age film focusing on a teenage boy who witnesses a tragic death. the details of the event are slowly unveiled as the boy journals about the death. paranoid park is a skating park that the boy frequents- not really to skate- but because there his problems feel trivial compared to the imagined problems the other skateboarders face. the slow pace of the movie and my overall lethargy, required a conscientious effort to stay focused. britcabbie must have noticed because he apologized for suggesting a "boy movie". altogether, i did enjoy the movie and found it impactful and thought provoking.



afterwards, we met up with some of britcabbie's work friends at the guggenheim's first friday. while i would have happily gone without the $25 cover (outrageous) and clubby music, i was ecstatic to finally see the cai guo qiang exhibit. the works were mostly large scale installments. i enjoyed the one with a pack of wolves the most. . . i don't know if his work is particularly unique but i find the lessons he so earnestly tries to impart- e.g. following the pack can lead to your downfall- endearing and sincere.

needing a fix

coffee is good.

i started young. . . fond memories of my grandmother mixing up taster's choice instant coffee, stirring in heaping portions of creamer and sugar, and pouring it into a tall heavy glass. my brother and i each got our own glasses. rich and sweet- my grandmother's coffee was dessert like and i was hooked.

in high school, my parents would buy big tins of foldgers or maxwells from costco. then i met yoswa who introduced me to my first cappuchino at a local italian restaurant- this was during a time before starbucks had infilatrated all the suburbs. in college, i went through a flavored coffee phase- vanilla, cinnamon, hazelnut, you name it, i loved it. with splenda and creamer. several mugs of coffee a day kept me going on 4 hours of sleep and maintaining a frantic schedule of extracurricular activities, social outings with friends, and heavy school loads.

trips to italy and france refined my tastebuds and i learned to appreciate a well made espresso or a simple cafe creme. a nice weekend morning involved breaking fast and sharing pressed coffee. when i moved to new york, i switched from a drip coffee maker to a stove top bialetti which makes a fine cup of coffee with a bit of crema.

over the years, i've cut my intake dramatically (not counting a surge during grad school) and have a couple cups in the morning. my morning coffee is one of the things i look forward to in the mornings. there's nothing like the feeling of slowing become more alert, more me, as the caffeine starts to work it's magic.

this morning, i arose well rested a little before 7AM. i shuffled over to my little cuisinart coffee maker and began to prepare my coffee. there was about a scoop and a half of coffee grains left in the bag. i mentally praised myself for thinking to buy a new bag of french roast coffee last weekend. i pull out the second bag and open it up to find. unground grains. and no coffee grinder. damn.

just rewards?

this was it. 8 weeks of training. the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of meeting with my team- scrambling to meet with various players in the company, brainstorming and developing a concept only to be redirected and start from scratch, obsessing over numbers and powerpoint presentations. it was finally time to deliver our business strategy to a panel of judges and an audience comprised of my training group peers, mentors, coaches and etc.

my group, group 3, was last to present. towards the end of the group 2's presentation, i could feel my cheeks starting to warm up, my throat was dry, and nervous energy spread throughout my body. i breathed deep, reminded myself that i had spent hours preparing and that i had memorized everything i wanted to say. sitting through the first two presentations was difficult, i was able to see the flaws in our analysis and foresaw the points that the judges would take issue with. the positive was that my group's approached the project from a completely different angle.

i was able to overcome my initial wave of nervousness and deliver my portion while minimally referring to my notes. the rest of my group fared well and the audience responded well. after a Q&A all the groups were excused from the rooms while the panel of judges deliberated with the audience to determine which group won.

in the end, my group won because our business plan and presentation entertained and intrigued. the prize was a free group lunch and the opportunity to present our plan to the CEO and President in two weeks time. the down side is that we will need to spend the next two weeks working overtime to improve and polish the project, taking time away from acclimating to our new positions, and stressing over giving another presentantion. the positive is a rare chance to make a good impression on the company's higher ups.

that evening, as i had shared celebratory drinks and appetizers with my training class at brother jimmy's, i reflected on the past 2 months. i realized how excited i was to finally begin this new phase in my career- my new boss is amazing, my job will be challenging, and i've met some quality people along the way.

best friends at work

according to gallop surveys, having a best friend at work contributes to one's overall job satisfaction. i was fortunate at my last job, to develop two such friendships- first with lori and then with ms mess. both are older, strong-willed, and independent women with children and diverse work histories. perhaps it is their wealth of wisdom and life experience that has naturally led each of them to adopt a maternal or sororal roles with me. as i settle into my new work environment with a younger peer group, i find myself feeling a little out of place, slightly anxious, and longing for the company of lori and ms mess.

i was therefore ecstatic when ms mess agreed to drive out to manhattan to dine with me easter night. over a glass of red wine, crusty italian bread, and an enormous meatball called meatloaf, we caught up on work gossip, relationships, and various life changes. as she does very well, ms mess beautifully put my insecurities and concerns in perspective. she reminded me of my own rule- that i aim to live by but had started to falter on- that is, the importance of being true to oneself and to live life on one's own terms and timeline. it was during that moment, that i felt especially fortunate to have friends that can dish it out, tell me when i'm being ridiculous, and laugh at my idiosyncrasies.

btw, the food was what comfort food should be- simple, tasty, and substantial- though, it's a toss up whehter frank really beats max's.

why this weekend rocked

-getting to be entirely self indulgent friday night ordering in food and watching the first four episodes of the tudors

-hearing my niece tell me that she loved her easter basket so much and could we get her more chocolate lollipops the next time she visits nyc?

-brunching and gossiping with the girls at alias in the LES

-UCLA Bruins rallying in the final seconds and beating texas AM

-satisfying my curiosity about the dramshop (parkslope) and oulu (williamsburg) and never needing to go there again (further description hopefully to follow)

-getting my first climbing lesson and exciting about learning the ropes

-the boy hooked the tellie up with some gadget so DVD viewing can commence on the tv rather than laptop and promptly watching "no country for old men"

-catching up with ms.mess over dinner at franks on east 5th st and 2nd ave

being a proper grown up

sunday morning i threw in a bunch of dirty laundry into my trusty washer/dryer unit only to watch in horror as water slowly but surely spilled out onto the kitchen floor. i grabbed some towels and spread them onto the ground to soak up the water, but the water kept on flowing. i turned off the machine and cleaned up the mess. once everything dried out, i pulled open the wooden board that covers the bottom of the machine. the way it's positioned, it's difficult to see much of anything.

i'm still hoping to catch one of the maintenance guys on my way to work to ask them to take a look at it. . . figure out if i need to pony up the monies for a new unit or if it's salvageable. . .in the meantime, i'm resorting to using a nearby laundry service, researching washing machines online, and praying that my tax returns will cover the expense.

i remember when my tax returns would go straight to buying new clothes or something frivolous.

at times like these, i feel all growed up.

the difficulty of being #1

"Market Table's burger comes with gorgonzola cheese, bacon, and caramelized onions, which are the holy trinity of burger toppings, as far as I'm concerned. The house-made roll has just a little bit of crunch on the outside, and it may be the best hamburger bun in New York at the moment."- Ed Levine

"At lunchtime the dining room is bright and airy, and the lunch-only burger ($12), a contender for New York's best,"- Gothamist

"Served at lunch only, the burger ($12) comes with the works-cheddar, caramelized onions, slices of pickle and a heap of golden fries, crunchy and hot, and sprinkled with salt. But the works are mere accessories to the stunning mound of meat that rests between the puffy bun-perfectly cooked to medium rare, and seasoned so well that my mind wandered to the Spotted Pig burger and placed this one next to it in my brain's burger rankings."- Andrea Strong, The Strong Buzz

with all the hype surrounding it, it's no wonder that my trip to market table felt ever so slightly. . . anti-climatic?

i ordered my burger medium and it arrived just as promised- with a slight char on the outside and pink in the center- managing to provide both wonderful texture and flavorful juices. the meat was perfectly seasoned and the chewy, slightly dense bun held it's own against the weight of the substantial patty. all in all, i thought the burger was delicious and satisfying. but i was not transcended or convinced it's the best burger in the city. . . so the search continues.

family rituals

my parents are extremely devoted to their children. they would travel almost any length of time and distance to see them- whether it's my sister in gainesville, my brother in philly, or myself in ny. since my mom refuses to fly- travel is limited to driving, taking a bus, or train. the preferred method is driving.

however, this comes with my dad inevitably getting lost and me glued to googlemap trying to help him navigate the streets.

tonight, i finally figured out what the confusion is. my dad drives in from the west side of manhattan. he hits 12th avenue and sees the water and mistakes it for the east river which i do live close to. however, he knows he's supposed to be in the higher digits and ends up circling the confusing area which is the west village lost amidst "name" streets rather than "number" streets.

right now, they are just a few blocks away. hopefully they get here soon without further mishap. this week has been exhausting and i need a good night's rest or lots of coffee to get me through a full day of activity tomorrow.

a hipster by any other name

"You used to be able to tell the difference between hipsters and homeless people. Now, it's between hipsters and retards. I mean, either that guy in the corner in orange safety pants holding a protest sign and wearing a top hat is mentally disabled or he is the coolest fucking guy you will ever know." -Chuck Klosterman, New York Magazine

he said/she said

rikitintin emailed me the following piece of hilarity. ENJOY!

HER DIARY

Tonight I thought he was acting weird. We had made plans to meetat a bar to have a drink. I was shopping with my friends all day long,so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but hemade no comment.

Conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested that we go somewherequiet so we could talk. He agreed but he kept quiet and absent. I asked him what was wrong; he said nothing. I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry.

On the way home I told him that I loved him, he simply smiled and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior; I don't know why he didn't say I love you too. When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there and watched T.V. He seemed distant and absent.

Finally, I decided to go to bed. About 10 minutes later he came to bed, and to my surprise he responded to my caress and we made love, but I still felt that he was distracted and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

HIS DIARY
Today the Jets lost, but at least I got laid.

"literally" picked up

saturday night was a frenzy of social outings- much busier than i've been of late. shopping in soho with the boy in the afternoon, dinner with theng and q2, then drinks with celestial at verlaine. after one round, we decided to go to schillers and continued to catch up. after another round, we decided to leave and i planned to make my way to willie-b. celestial was on the fence about heading home, out, or to a friend's so she hopped into my cab with me. i did my best to convince her to come along to no avail.

cabbie: where to?


v: williamsburg, just get off at the first exit off the bridge.


celestial: can we make two stops?


v: c'mon, you should come with me to williamsburg. it's gonna be a lot of fun.


celestial: i duno. i'm really beat.


cabbie: yea, the night is young. you should party. i'll come with you.


v: you don't have to stay out all that late. . . you're gonna have a good time!


cabbie: so where should i take you?



celestial: V, i think you should go ahead adn have a great time. i'm so glad we got to catch up.


v: ok i will, be good-bye!


cabbie: so to williamsburg?


v: yep, n9th and kent. i'll show you how to go.


cabbie: so where are you going? to a party? we should party together!


v: something like that. i'm going to meet up with my boyfriend and some friends for a couple drinks.


cabbie: so where do you live? i can wait around and pick you back up later.


v: no, it's okay. i have a ride.


cabbie: what's your name?


v: V. what's yours.


cabbie: amir


v: nice to meet you. so amir, do you flirt with every female passenger that rides in your cab?


cabbie: no no no. not at all.


v: don't you have a girlfriend or something?


cabbie: yes. but she's not like you. it's not so serious. can i get your number? i can pick you up later or i can come in and get a drink with you. we can hang out.


v: no i don't think so. i told you i have a boyfriend already. i'm not that kind of girl.


cabbie: i didn't say you were that kind of girl. no one is like that.


v: ok, here we are. can i get $11 back?


cabbie: ok. i really don't mind waiting to give you a ride. here i'll park my car and come in.


v: realizing that amir was not goin to give up and that he seemed relatively harmless, i conceded. ok, but my boyfriend is inside you know.


amir muttered "sure sure" as he followed me. my friend was waiting outside to show me where the unmarked door was. we went inside and the boy and his friends were sitting around a back corner table. i made the introductions as we sat down.

cabbie: you weren't joking! your boyfriend is here. i feel weird.

v: of course i wasn't. it's fine, really not a big deal. you might as well have a drink while you are here.

cabbie: um. . no now i feel really weird. i'm sorry. thanks for everything. you all have a good night.

ith that, amir left. . . certainly the first time a cab driver has tried to pick me up and while i was initially annoyed, i had to give the guy a lot of credit for his chops!

prune

feeling ravenous on saturday afternoon, the boy and i decided it would be a good time to test out TONY's list of best burgers.

after making a couple calls to see which restaurants would still be open around 3PM, we setled on prune in the east village. i was excited- prune has been on my mental "to try" list of restaurants for quite some time and i'd only heard positive things about it. so we headed downtown and arrived around 3:15, 15 minutes before their kitchen stopped serving brunch, but luckily with enough time to be guaranteed a table.

prune is a cozy, nook of a restaurant with small tables closely spaced together, an open kitchen in the rear, and a small wooden bar on the east side of the room. the atmosphere carried an unmistakeable european undertone. standing inside, one could just as easily be in a bistro in paris or cafe in florence. apparently, the other guests felt similarly as i heard just as many european accents than american ones.

when we finally sat down, we were given brunch menus and a list of beverages including several variations on bloody mary's, a weakness of mine. i asked the server if we could order off the lunch menu and were politely told no. i was heartily disappointed that my second attempt to test out the TONY list was again thwarted. however, an order of monte crisco and a southwestern style bloody mary provided all the comfort i needed- plus an excuse to return to prune for lunch!

it was only the second ever monte crisco that i have had (i shouldn't even count the horrible excuse for a monte crisco that was essentially an over swiss cheesied french toast concoction that i had at some UES diner at 3AM) and i have no qualms about calling the best in nyc. the sandwich was comprised of three slices of bread layered with ham, turkey, and swiss cheese lightly battered and perfectly fried. the monte crisco was lightly dusted with powdered sugar and served with currant jelly and a side of fried eggs. presentation was beautiful and the elements were perfectly balanced with no one ingredient overwhelming the other.

while savoring our delicious food, the boy and i took note of the little details that make prune distinct- the antique brassy looking pepper mill, the alkaseltzer in a small white bowl sitting on the bar for customers recovering from a late night of carousing, the never ending george michael playlist, the great stemware (where can i find those double old fashioned glasses?). . . i'm looking forward to trying out their lunch and dinner- prune just may have made my top 10 ny restaurant list.

the hands gave it away

i am officially halfway done with my training with one more month to go. . .this has been a source of confusion for many of my friends- since officially i started my new job on feb 4th. technically however, i have to complete the training program which includes computer based training, shadowing in our assigned departments, learning about different aspects of working as a merchant (advertising, brand strategy, etc). during the 6th week of training, interviewing begins for our final placements. there are several rounds of interviews, during which two trainees are sent in to meet with buyers with open assistant positions, until each trainee is finally placed.

in preparation, we are all required to participate in a mock interview which i had today.

i began obsessing over it on monday, visiting a couple stores to competitive shop and familiarizing myself with the business. i prepared a cheat sheet summarizing the department's business trends and got tips from my shadow. i went to bed extra early last night and woke up at 6AM to review my notes. i got to the interview half an hour before schedule and waited in the reception area during which my stomach twisted with nerves.

somehow i managed to get through and got a lot of feedback from my interviewer. we discussed my verbal and nonverbal interview skills and strategies for improving.

what i learned:

(1) that the only indication of nervousness in my body language was when i repeated touched my neck, jawline, and hair.
(2) my interviewer did not like my russian navy nail polish.
(3) i come across as mature, comfortable in my own skin, creative, and highly analytical.

as is commonly the case, while there were equal parts if not more, good rather than bad comments, i mainly remember the criticism. . .

overheard on the bus

riding on the bus back uptown after an exhausting day at work (more on that in a later post), i noticed a middle-aged couple sitting across from me. an asian woman with shoulder length straight hair, serious air, and wrapped up in a fur lined coat and a caucasian man with rimmed glasses and a grey mustache adorned in suit and overcoat. occasionally the man would look up from his paper and mutter something to the woman. she seemed to mostly ignore him, transfixed by her phone. . . that didn't seem to stop him.

man: y'know what's worse than a male chauvinist?

woman: silently gazing at her hands

man: (triumphantly) a woman who doesn't do what she says!

what was the woman thinking?

a. dear God why did i marry this man?

b. i wonder if anyone else heard him? maybe if i pretend that he didn't say anything, everyone else will do teh same. . .

c. dear God, will this stranger stop talking to me?

it's so cute!!!

every few months, i feel the need to change my hair in some fashion. for the past couple years- t was all about growing it out superlong and playing with layers and color. . .but somehow, i had come to the point of being bored and tired with my hair. i needed a drastic change.

so last sunday, with several clippings of various hairstyles and colors, i went to my little hair shoppe. as we discussed styles, my stylist was getting more and more geared up. after agreeing on the look- he grabbed my hair in his left hand and with his right hand took a dramatic snip and the next thing i know he is swirling my formerly long locks in the air triumphantly.

over an hour of cutting then another hour of coloring and styling, i walked out feeling chic and enjoying the feeling of having a bare neck.

over the course of the week- i heard a barrage of comments- it's so cute! . . you look more corporate. . .sophisticated. . . you look more mature. . . urm. . . i really like it. . .you still look like V.

i still can't tell what's worse- being told that i am "cute" or "mature"?

high fidelity take 2

groggy from my afternoon nap on president's day- i hear my phone beep indicating a text. glancing down i see a text from rex-mex. . . curious. . .

rex-mex: hey- i'm doing the whole john cusack hi fidelity thing- are u open to talking? feel free to say no.


v: yea sure


rex-mex: does now work?


v: before 8pm is fine.


ring ring.


textmex: i really appreciate you talking to me. i am deconstructing past relationships to gain insight on why i keep repeating the same mistakes.

v: ok, what's the problem?

rex-mex: i keep seeking out emotionally unavailable women. they string me along, flirt with me, and i keep going back to them. but they don't want to commit so i eel as though i have to convince them to be with me. it makes me feel terrible and insecure. then the women that i meet who are truly interested in me and are interested in a relationship, i don't want.

v: hmm. . . maybe it's the thrill of the chase and the challenge that you like?

rex-mex: i don't think that's it. i feel miserable.

v: are you truly ready for a serious relationship? maybe you are subconsciously choosing women who reject you because you really are not ready to settle down. maybe you are scared of having another unsuccessful marriage?

rex-mex: no, i am ready.

v: then that doesn't make sense.

back and forth- me suggesting possible explanations and him ruling it out.

v: well, i dont' know what's going on but you are too old to be making the same mistake and wasting your energy on women that don't value you. you aren't getting any younger and if you do want to remarry and have children, you need to break out of these bad cycles. it'll just leave you feeling depressed and go no where.

rex-mex: i know, you are right. i don't know why i keep doing this. well, thanks for talking. . .i am just grasping for straws and trying to get as many viewpoints as possible, maybe something will make sense and strike a chord.

after our conversation ended, i was troubled. not that rex-mex was unhappy per se- but just how his situation signifies the reality that there are no guarantees in life. we all are responsible for the decisions that we make- which means that while one may make the right choices and find happiness, one may make bad choices and fuck up their life. scary thought.

wonderfully productive day

there are those days (most of the time) that i only finish half of my to-do list. today i actually got an early start and was able to knock of everything on my list.

bank
gym
sweep & mop
clean the bathroom
organize my piles of paper
grocery store
k-mart
pharmacy
chinatown for feng shui improving pieces

AND i even got a nap and some catching up phone calls in!

i love having full weekends to catch up on errands and rest. . . monday off is just gravy.

department for mortified vagrants

it's been on my to-do list for an embarassing amount of time now. . .

exchanging my CA drivers license for a NY drivers license.

there's so many reasons why i've procrastinated: (1) the DMV sucks, (2) i didn't want to waste my precious time off during the week at the DMV, (3) the DMV had short hours so i had to go on a weekday, (4) my old license is valid until 2010, (5) the DMV sucks. of course, many reasons why i should: (1) i don't even live at the address on my CA license and not sure if my former colleague still does, (2) i could be called for jury duty and not know it then be fined for dodging jury duty, (3) i've lived in NY for over two years, (4) it's irritating to explain why i have a CA license , NY address, and where i'm from, (5) i can't register to vote in NY.

i got out from work at 1pm today and decided to finally suck it up and go to the DMV. i tried to minimize any waiting time by making sure i had all the proper identification, all the forms were out, had my sister fill out the eye exam form for me and was all set to go. i arrived at the express DMV (mostly for renewals and exchanging out-of-state licenses) to pure mayhem.

usually, there are three lines. the first to get any forms you are missing and your ticket to wait in line, the second to take the eye exam, verify your forms, and take your photo, the third to input your info in the system, turn in your license, and pay the fee. unfortunately, the ticket machine/system was down so the lines were out of control and for a good thirty minutes none of the employees knew what to do. since the attendant couldn't give out tickets, she gave each person in the first line another piece of paper and directed them to the second line. the second line then stalled for quite some time. the line two attendant was walking back and forth around the office frantically trying to figure out what to do since the system was done. much discussion back and forth among the employees. finally, line two attendant decided to call whatever remaining ticket numbers out in order then start to help people in the order that they were in in line. . . BRILLIANT!

gradually, line two began to move. eventually i got through and headed back to line three which seemed to have merged into line 1 but actually line 1 no longer existed as it had merged into line 2.

as you can see it was chaotic and everyone's face exhibited the suffering and pain that they were enduring. . . and about an hour and a half later, i had relinquished my CA license and gotten my temporary card.

conversations at a hotel bar

i met angel a year ago at a work sponsored/organized training in the city. hailing from minneapolis, angel struck me as a vivacious, bright, warm, and good woman. despite our notaceable differences in age, backgrounds, and upbringing, i felt an immediate familiarity and kinship with her. despite bonding over the course of the training, it was difficult to keep in touch, not that that was surprising- with the distance, crazy work schedules, and otherwise full lives.

nonetheless, i was excited to find out that angel would be attending this year's training. since i had switched jobs, i couldn't attend the training myself, so instead we agreed to meet up for drinks monday night at the doubletree. the training group was running late so i got a seat at the bar, ordered a marker's mark, and an order of buffalo wings (yes, i sound like an old man).

i ended up making conversation with a nice middle-aged couple from vienna, VA who were in town visiting a sick relative. i also got to know the former model-bartender rhodie. by the time training group had all arrived at the hotel, i had heard her whole life story- modeling at the age of 12/13 walking the runways in paris, anorexic and taking coke to dull the hunger, stopped modeling in her late teens,worked as a hostess at a greek restaurant before getting her current gig as a bartender in a hotel. dating an older, divorcee with a psycho ex-wife (aren't they all) and two children. rhodie's fuller figure and the content look on her beautiful (if generic in a magazine shoot way) face conveyed her happiness.

it always amazes me how much individuals reveal about themselves.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

to celebrate lunar new year's eve, my friends and i went to szechuan gourmet on w.39th between 5th and 6th avenue...who knew you had to go to koreatown for the best sichuanese food in town?

upon entering the boisterous restaurant, the scent of peppercorns and spices greet you. the food is delicious, cheap, and authentic. for appetizers, we ordered poached chicken and crispy soy beans, dan dan noodles, spicy mung bean jello salad, and thin sliced beef tendons. the poached chicken cleverly juxtaposed cool chicken and crisp cucumber (not soy beans) against a fiery, tongue numbing chili sauce and was the clear winner for the apps. the dan dan mian were underwhelming (grand sichuan does a better job here). jello salad was nothing special and the sliced beef tendons were tasty but not compelling.

for main entrees, we shared a braised whole bass in a sichuan, chili miso sauce, stir fried fresh pork belly, stir fried greens (dou miao), and wok tossed crispy beef fillets. i loved every dish. the sauce adorning the fish was extremely flavorful with just enough spiciness, saltiness, and sweetness. the stir fried pork belly was decadent with complex textures. the beef fillets were essentially deep fried beef spiced with cumin and reminded me of meals of spicy kabobs and naan that i savoured in xinjiang.

theng bought up predictions for the year of the rat for those born in the year of the horse which sent me into a tizzy of concern- afterall, the boy and my brother are both horses (not to mention theng herself). . . to find out what 2008 entails for you.. . read this http://www.fengshuiweb.co.uk/advice/chineseanimalpredictions2008.htm

favorite meal of the day

whether it's dim sum in chinatown, a good ol new york bagel loaded with light lox cream cheese, or eggs benedict with a spicy bloody mary- brunch is a favorite for me. it is simply a wonderful way to start a weekend day- sharing an indulgent if not greasy (the best cure for a late night out) meal in the early afternoon with a group of friends.



the venue was stone park cafe in park slope- michelin referred and highly rated for their biscuits and gravy. . . actually, the reviews were so complimentary that i was getting nervous that i would be sorely disappointed. luckily, my concern was for naught. it was the best brunch i've had in a long time.

i ordered the hangfry- a frittata with oysters, bacon, vermont cheese, and the boy ordered biscuits and gravy, their signature dish, with a side of bacon*. my dish was pretty tasty though it would be improved by (1) better distribution of bacon and/or cheese or (2) more of both. the biscuits and gravy were quite delectable. the biscuits were perfectly light and buttery and the gravy was just rich enough.

all in all, a great brunch. . . and hopefully the beginning of many now that i have weekends off again!!!

*pics to follow in updated post