Yut got me two dozen roses for Valentines!
Aren’t they lovely? :D
For Valentine’s Day, we like to try out a new recipe instead of going out for dinner. Sometimes this turns out badly…
One year, because of an episode of Pinky and the Brain, we decided to make kugel.
It went something like:
Brain: “Pinky, are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Pinky: “Yes Brain, but where are we going to find pink tutus?”
Brain: “You are one noodle short of a kugel.”
Not quite right — which coincidentally describes our kugel:p This year, we decided to try to make a bouillabaisse, which turned out much better than the kugel! Or at least if it wasn’t a great bouillabaisse, it was a good seafood stew:)
This isn’t about In-N-Out, though, not today.
Normally, we like to stay at home mostly. But the truth is, the difficulty is in actually making it out of the house (I’m using the word ‘house’ figuratively here:p), not staying out, really. Once we’re out, we’re fine. But still, the siren call of home is hard to resist:)
On Friday though, John took Al, Pat, Yut, and me to Samwon Barbecue House, a Korean barbecue place in Oakland, to celebrate his raise — congrats, John! :) In the past, I’ve always kind of thought Koryo was a little bit better, but on Friday, Samwon was really good. The guys seemed to think that Koryo and Samwon switch off being the best East Bay bbq places, depending on when you go, so I guess that makes sense. We ordered pajun, kalbi, bulgogi, some marinated chicken, and some spicy pork (spelling could be wrong for any of that, sorry). I requested the pajun because I love them seafood pancakey things:) I ask for it everytime I go to a Korean restaurant — yum! Our waitress was relatively helpful. I don’t know why, but generally, it seems that if you don’t go to a Korean restaurant with a Korean speaking person, you’re not going to get good service. But she recommended stuff for us, and she told us that it’d be better to grill at the table instead of having them take of it for us cos it would be faster. The only thing was that she didn’t check back at the table inbetween to like bring more tea or something. We had to flag people down a lot for that sort of thing. Anyhows, she brought out two sets of panchan (the little plates of pickled stuff, I think? If not, let me know:p), with all of the usual. There was a squid thing and the slightly spicy pickled cucumbers that I liked. Everyone else said that Koryo has better little plates, but I’m not a fan of kimchee, or anything kimchee-like so it’s not a big deal to me. Usually I don’t like to grill at the table because I’m not good at grilling meat — I can’t tell when things are or aren’t cooked. And I just don’t like handling raw meat that much. But the good thing is, Pat and Yut mostly took care of it, and the grill kept me warm:) Well also, the meat was really hot, instead of lukewarm. Everything was really good except for the chicken thing, which wasn’t bad, just sorta bland, I thought.
After Samwon, we went to J&S cafe in El Cerrito for some boba tea. Then, cos it was still early, we went to Albatross, this bar in Berkeley, but not before Al called Julie to check up on her and to ask if she wanted to join us. Actually, he called her at every change of venue — teeheehee:) Albatross has tons of games you can borrow from them, including cards, so we all got drinks and played Hearts. It was a lot of fun even though I didn’t win.
Today, we woke up after 2pm! We didn’t stay out that late last night, but Yut stayed up playing games, and I’m just a talented sleeper:) Besides getting the mail and other such little things, we didn’t leave the apartment (you guys are probably thinking, “Zzzzzzz so what else is new?”) except for when we ordered food and Yut went to pick it up. We ordered Fish Tikka Kabab and Lamb Saag and garlic naan from India Palace aka the pink place on University:) The garlic naan and Lamb Saag were good, but the Fish Tikka Kabab was just soooo yummy, they were quite overshadowed.
I don’t think I’ve accomplished one damned thing today. Lovely day:D We are going to try to make bouillabaisse tomorrow or Monday. Has anyone tried before? Or know a great recipe? What I’ve found so far looks complicated!
Decided not to do lunch today but stopped at a smoothie place for a little smoothie to go with the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. As I walked in, the owner/manager(?) was saying to a guy (another customer?) about how he was going to go see Motorcycle Diaries, and we were all welcome to go cos it seemed like it was going to be a great movie &c&c. The guy was like, “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to see that! But I don’t think I’m going to be able to go this weekend; my girlfriend’s been wanting to see Finding Neverland, because of Johnny Depp.”
He continued, “I don’t get what’s with the whole Johnny Depp thing! I was standing behind these two girls in line the other day, and one of them was flipping through a magazine to show her friend this hot Johnny Depp picture! Why does every girl think Johnny Depp is hot?!”
Then he turned to me (maybe cos I was sorta trying not to laugh at this point), and said, “You’re a girl, do you think Johnny Depp is hot?”
I could only say, sympathetically, “He is pretty hot.” Then I added, “Actually, he’s gotten better with age…” with a little sorry-to-be-the-confirmer-of-bad-news shrug.
“See what I mean?!”
The store dude guffawed:D
As I left, I said, “Good luck — Kate Winslet’s pretty cute, too:p”
I can say nothing except that I couldn’t put the book down even though I was tired, and some random bad movie was on tv, and Yut had turned off his computress(!). Sunshine caught me so well that I never even got my hot chocolate.
I think most people who’ve read Robin McKinley before probably read Beauty. It was assigned reading for me in 8th grade, I think? It was and is my favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast. She’s done a lot of retelling of familiar ideas or stories over the years; it’s always good stuff, but I think Sunshine was just amazing. It’s a vampire story, basically. God, I don’t even know how much to say about it. It’s so readable and good and I just don’t want to ruin it for anyone:)
Gah! I have to stop this — Jesus Christ, I am incomprehensible. This is complete gibberish. I’m sorry. The book isn’t though:) It’s quite the opposite of my writing:p
But before I stop, I have to thank The Other Change of Hobbit bookstore. Last October, I wandered in one evening and said to the person sitting behind the desk that day, “Hi, it’s been a long time since I read anything really good. I want to feel that feeling when a book was just brilliant and touching and whatever. What were the best books you’ve read this year?” (I am not making this up, that is approximately what I said.) I think she was taken aback a bit, but despite my nebulous description of what I was looking for, she tried her best, recommending Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold and Sunshine amongst others. Since one of Yut’s co-workers had also raved about Bujold, and I’d read one of her books previously (Curse of Chalion, also amazing), I bought Cordelia’s Honor that day. In the last few months of 2004, I bought and read every single one of Bujold’s books, except The Spirit Ring which I borrowed from the library. I didn’t like it as much, but sometimes, it’s just not the right moment for a certain book, so maybe some day I’ll go back to it. I became a fixture every week at the Other Change of Hobbit. I’d ask whoever was behind the desk which book to get next if I’d just finished <whatever> (most of her books happen in one universe, you don’t have to read them in any order, but I wanted to read them chronologically in the timeline of the universe even though that’s not the order she wrote them in), and the person would know who I was talking about and approximately which book I needed.
This is why a small bookstore (this one happens to be a science fiction and fantasy bookstore) will always be better than a place like Barnes & Noble or Borders. I would never be able walk into a big megastore and say something like what I said to the person at the Other Change of Hobbit and hope for anything but incredulousness. Even supposing I had a series or author in mind, I doubt they would’ve known exactly where her books were and which one I should get next.
Actually, I can hardly ever get any help at Barnes except if I get lucky or if I know the exact title or author. In contrast, I’ve walked into the Other Change of Hobbit, and said something like, “I can’t remember the author or the title, but I know it was a fantasy series with maybe five books and the titles in the series all had to do with chess terms like pawn or castle or whatever,” and they told me the author (David Eddings), the series (The Belgariad), the first book (Pawn of Prophecy), and showed me exactly where it was on the shelves. I love little book stores, especially this one. When the next Bujold book (Hallowed Hunt maybe?) comes out, or when Harry Potter and the Mudblood Prince comes out, I am so there!
Also, I am going to work through the rest of her recommendations:)
Monday as I left the building to go home, I was accosted by someone else who works on my floor. Turns out she left her card key on her desk and couldn’t get in to get her stuff therefore. Once the receptionist leaves, you’re at the mercy of exiting people. Luckily plenty of those:p Pesky card keys. I’ve taken to carrying mine in my hand, because I can’t wear it without feeling dorkier than normal. Which is pretty damn dorky. I tried, but I can’t. So I leave it on my desk face down except if I’m moving around. If I need to go anywhere, unfortunately, then I have to take it. I try to hold the picture inwards towards me.
Anyhows, the co-worker is a nice person, but quite a bit older than I am. I was commiserating with her about the pesky card keys, and said something about how if you forget the pesky card key, you are doomed! Only in my head, I was thinking, “…you are fucked!” which I edited quickly to “…you are screwed!” and then finally, desperately, out came the word doomed. Who says doomed except cartoon characters?! Gah!
Tuesday, I went to the library to look for Sunshine by Robin McKinley, which someone recommended to me. On Friday last week, the system claimed that a copy had been recently returned, so I thought I’d just mosey on back one day this week. But today of all days, the library’s networking was all screwed up, so the electronic catalogue wasn’t working, or anything! They had librarians helping out by directing people to the correct sections, but beyond that, they couldn’t do anything either. I asked if they still had a card catalogue, but no luck. Hello!!! It’s called backup! Gah!
Today, all of my grumbling about the library’s networking problem came back to bite me in the ass cos I had backup problems at work. Retrospect is just not something I understand that well, and it does weird things! Gah!
But on a good note, even though no one had bothered to take down the “the Internet is down today at the library” signs, everything was fine again, and Sunshine was on the shelf. I was so relieved and excited I almost peed in my pants! So yeah, I’m going to get in bed, maybe make some hot chocolate later:)
Happy (Lunar) New Year everyone!
Tuesday’s TV day around here. There’s way too much tv for me to watch today.
- 7pm Jeopardy (ABC) Maryland boy Michael from Blake HS won the Teen Tournament!
- 8pm American Idol (FOX) I really miss Lisa de Moraes’s TV Column comments for the Post about American Idol. Last year she compared Diana Degarmo to Miss Piggy, only she said it wasn’t an insult:D I guess I believed her cos I love Miss Piggy:) Some of these people this season are like channeling The Apprentice (like Marlea who got through to the next round but is talking about how it’s an “emotional roller coaster” and “some people here are just so standoffish and not nice”) or Survivor (like Constantine who said “I’m not here to make friends”).
- 9pm Amazing Race (CBS) 2 hour season finale, can’t miss that:) Alas, no more Phil ’til the next time CBS needs to trot out the Amazing Race for awards and/or ratings. Why do I only like reality shows that start with the letter ‘A’? Thank God Apprentice isn’t on Tuesdays too — that would suck! Gah, the people who I least wanted to win won. What a disappointment. Even Phil can’t make up for this:p
- 9pm House (FOX) I think I like grumpy older men:p Or something.
- 10pm Law & Order: SVU (NBC) I think I’ve said this before, but ever since Kasey Novak became ADA it’s been great. Honestly, the Law&Order folks should just give up on blonde ADAs. Except Judith Light, she’s alright:D
Good thing we have our Replay (DVR)!
But my hungry stomach’s not allowing my powerless brain to concentrate on anything for very long, so that’s that.
I’m eating Pepperidge Farm French Vanilla Milano Cookies to tide me over. I think they must be somewhat new because I love Milanos and I don’t think I would’ve missed the introduction of a new Milano for very long. Maybe some months, but definitely not some years. These French Vanilla ones are pretty good, but not as good as my faves, the Orange Milano. Good thing when I bought these, I decided to pick up 2 bags of Orange Milanos, too:D
I think I’ll save this as a draft and finish up later.
Okay, I ate. I feel better now:)
By the way, we bought the Milanos on sale at Safeway on early Sunday morning (like 1am early:p). We also got Dreyer’s (or Edy’s for the folks on the east coast) Whole Fruit bars on sale. They are the best fruit popsicles:) It got cold again today (crazy weather), so now we have the heater on, but we’re eating Whole Fruit bars:p But they are oh-so-delicious and irresistable! Stomach trumps all!
You might wonder why I bother posting little mini-review-like things of movies when this is clearly not a movie review blog, nor is this a review or movie site in any way or form. Well the thing is, sometimes, in conversation, it comes up that I say, “…the last movie that I saw was…” except then the ellipses go on and on as I struggle to come up with that bit of info. And then I start wondering if this is a sign of impending senility (I don’t think I drink enough to stave it off:p). Then I start wondering if I’m a hypochondriac. Erm anyways, that’s why this started. Also, now you know what I did Sunday night, if you care:p
Yeah, so we watched Garden State. I was a little afraid that all of the pre-seeing it hype would turn out to be horribly off base (like Memento, didn’t like it at all — and no, it’s not cos I didn’t get it, I just didn’t like it:p) But I liked Garden State. Basically, it’s a coming-of-age/finding-yourself sort of movie with some romantic and comedic stuff thrown in. I thought it was sweet without being overly cloying. And we laughed. So yes, this was good:) Also, I thought the soundtrack was really good; I might have to go buy it. Honestly, I wish cd’s would all cost about 10 or 11 bucks.
I’m too hungry to post more — gonna go check on dinner. Stomach trumps all!
CT woke us up today, saying, “I know I’m not supposed to call until 12, but I waited as long as I could!” It was already 11am:D Guess we grumped at her a lot in the past, but the thing is, she used to forget a lot that Eastern time is 3 hours ahead of Pacific, and she’d call me about some inanity (like “I went shopping today, and I found some cute shirts!” Hello, CT, you saying “I went shopping today” is not worth getting me up for, even if you’re being nice and offering me one of the shirts:p That’s like me saying, “I turned on my computer today!”). Anyhows, it was fine, I’m just sayin’:p
Actually, speaking of, we turned on our computers the first thing after we got out of bed:D Then we decided to play Civ, cos we’d just finished crushing the Romans last week (honestly, I would sign a peace treaty with Caesar after beating him down a bit, then 2 turns later, he’d declare war on me — grrrr!), but during the week, I don’t like to play Civ cos it makes for a bad day at work the next day. Not that that means we don’t play during the week, just not too often:p So it’d been a few days since we last played.
We ate lunch at our desks, so it’s been about 8 hours and counting now, of Civ:D That’s a whole work day! I never saw the sun! We were gonna go to the grocery store today! This game is crazy! Erm… ok, I’m crazy, too:)
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Update at about 11:30pm:
We finished up Cleopatra! The game tells us that we took 40 hours and 33 minutes to take care of everyone…that’s a whole work week!
