Kelch19

New City, New Blog

2007-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

As you know, Diesel and I have moved to NYC to start a new chapter in our life. I'll put this blog on hold for now, as we both started writing on a new blog:

http://twoforone.wordpress.com/

Keep in touch!

Kellyh

U.S. Olympic Trials

2007-11-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

It's not every day you get to see the best runners in the country in one place. And on Saturday, this place was Central Park.

Since we were staying with Seno, he, Diesel and I woke up at 6:30am and headed over to his friend's place, where his friends met for a bagel breakfast.

When we got to Central park, we watched the runners go around the park several times. It was quite amazing to see what a 4-5 min mile looks like.

I'm sure you read about the triumph (Hall winning) and tragedy (Shay dying) of this event. It was exciting and sad (we only found out afterwards, when Seno told us) at the same time.

NY Here We Come!

2007-11-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

Flew to NY on Tuesday and arrived in the evening. Diesel and I both had 4 huge boxes that we checked in. Between this trip and the next one, where we stay for good, we'll have plenty of room to move all of the stuff we need.

Anxiety aside, we left our boxes at David's apartment and got dinner at a place in the East Village. With lots of gossip to tell, I have to say I had little time to enjoy my salad.

The next day we went apt. hunting. We wanted to go cheap and decided to not hire a broker and do it on our own, but after three days of looking at dumps, we finally gave in and called a broker. Oh what a difference a broker makes! We saw three apartments in the East Village that were nice and Diesel finalized the deal on Saturday at 5, less than 12 hours before we left NY.

This trip definitely made me feel more at ease about moving. The thoughts of leaving little Seatown and going to one of the world's craziest, busiest and biggest cities is quite daunting, but after about a week there, I feel quite confident that this will be a great adventure!

We have two more weeks in Seattle before we leave for good. It's bittersweet, but it'll be a great new chapter!

NY here we come!

Campaigning for the Institution of Murses in America

2007-10-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to tell the world about this fabulous accessory for men that has existed for several decades in Europe but only recently been making its way into the American fashion world. It is the very practical MURSE (or "male purse"), advocated by women worldwide, who are tired of carrying their boyfriends'/husbands' crap.

As always, it is the gay man who, in their fashion forward thinking have embraced this essential fashion accessory, and hopefully, will be able to convince his straight counterpart that he too should be carrying his cell phone, wallet, umbrella, book, camera, etc. in his OWN bag. Not only that, I hope that he is able to make all those heteros realize that they can have a lot of fun mixing and matching different murse designs with their outfits.

Two friends of mine have already joined the murse adoption movement. I'm very proud of them and will support their valient efforts to bring the murse to the United States of America. I'd like to share their take on the port-everything accessory:

Friend 1's choice:
Chic, slick and elegant murse. Black with white pinstripes, goes with everything!

Friend 2's choice:
Fun and colorful "chicken" murse. Perfect for going out and holds all your party supplies: fake eyelashes, lipstick, etc.

For more on murses, get advice from my favorite YouTube fashion guru, William Sledd. He did a whole "Murse Edition" segment (notice I'm not embedding the video because he has a lot of viewers, and I'm leery of having random people reading this blog):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oF97-XVLc-w

My Latest Obsession

2007-10-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

I am averaging one bag per day.

Elusive sub 2:00

2007-10-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

First off, let's just get this straight: It was Tim who COPIED my "Elusive Sub 2:00" title on his blog, and NOT the other way around. They say copying is the sincerest form of flattery, so I'm just glad that despite his lack of imagination, my husband finds me such a great inspiration in his life.

A few months ago I signed myself up to run the Victoria Marathon in October. In a risky move, I also paid an extra 60 bucks to sign Diesel up for the half. He was notified that he was running once I forwarded him his registration confirmation. He took it pretty well and was even excited about it. During training, I hurt my knee and decided it would be cool to run Diesel's first half with him. It was disappointing, but on the upside, marathons are very painful.

On October 11, after his 1-week work trip to London, we headed over to the Victoria Clipper pier with our contingent of fans (which was actually only my sister) at 7am to catch the ferry to Victoria, Canada. With the race, Canadian Thanksgiving and a US ship arriving in Canada, we were glad that we decided to take the ferry to Canadia instead of having to wait hours at the border.

The trip was pleasant, and we got to chat with another couple who was running. We arrived safely at our hotel and immediately decided to take a nap. It was then time for a first session of carbo loading, and we took the advice of the foodie community board on chowhound and went Paggliacci's. We were told that it was a laid back, family style and reasonably-priced Italian restaurant, all of which were true. We were also told that the food was awesome, which it unfortunately wasn't. But oh wells. After sauntering for a while, it was suddenly time for dinner, and we ended up at Cafe Brio, which my friend Megan from work had recommended. We got the small plates and the food was awesome!

The next morning my sister sent us off and the race started. The weather was perfect for running (unlike Chicago!) and the course was the prettiest I've ever seen, through parks and on the water. The interesting thing about this race is the many loops you do, where you get to see the elite runners who are way ahead of you. I also decided that the loops make it very easy for people to cheat (you can just skip the loop and go the other direction), so a good tip for all those shady runners who want to qualify for Boston (HA!).

Tim took off and I ran an easy half. It was very pleasant and when the sun finally came out, it was just so nice to be running out there. It is definitely one of the most beautiful (if not THE most) race I've ever done.

Tim crossed the finished line first, and I was about a minute behind him (to read his account of the race with MY title, click here). I suppose I should hate him because this was his first half, but I guess he's my husband, so I won't hate him.

Sadly, both of us missed our 2:00:00 finish goal. After running a 2:00:08 in Vancouver and a 2:00:16 in Bellevue, I have to say the 2:02:31 time was a bit disappointing. Well, maybe next season...

Anyhow, the trip back was tiring and uneventful. The Clipper was filled with your typical race casualties: many limping, several who couldn't stand up, more even that chose to sit on the main deck, daunted by going up the stairs, and your usual line up of stretchers along the walls.

Back to Back Girls' Nights In

2007-10-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

With Tim in London I was able to plan two girls' nights in this week without feeling guilty about kicking him out of of his own apt.

Anyhow, on Monday Megan and Lauren from work came over and we watched half of Season 2 of The Hills. If you're asking me what it is, you obviously have not seen the BEST TV show EVER. Megan has recently been sucked into

Arizona Trip

2007-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

I suck. I haven't blogged in a while, but that doesn't mean that my life hasn't been exciting. As always, it's very exciting. HA!

Last weekend we went down to AZ to visit my in-laws and Drew. Tim's brother David, his wife Lisa and their two little girls were there. It was fun spending time with them, and Nicolette and Addison are both at an age where they recognize us, so it's encouraging to wake up every morning and not have the kids crying when they see you because you're a stranger. The adults ensured that was the case by continuously quizzing the girls. "Who's that? Uncle Tim" "Who's that? Aunt Kelly." I'm sure they'll forget all about us, and the whole process will repeat itself when we go back for Christmas.

Anyhow, in honor of their Chinese daughter-in-law, Dad and Mom Sale took us out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the Cultural District. The whole place was a plaza much smaller than your usual AZ strip mall, and had about 10 stores ranging from a Chinese bridal shop to a mish mash of Asian restaurants to a Chinese bank ("What is a Chinese bank?," mom asked, but I didn't know either). As we pulled over, I exclaimed: "Oh, so THAT's where the Chinatown is!"

The food was quite good. The in-laws told us to please order, and they were quite impressed when Tim and I ordered something off the menu (which probably WAS on the menu that they give the Chinese people, which is different from the one that white peeps get).

Tim had been to the place before when he still lived in AZ, but he just didn't have the heart to tell his parents that he had already been there, seeing that they were all excited about taking us there.

The next day we went to see Diesel's friend Jayson and his gf Jenn. Apparently the two of them are currently very much into off-roading with their fellow Land Rover owners. We went to a trail and Jayson even let me do some driving. Who says Asian women can't drive???!!! They obviously have not seen my kind of skills...

Victoria Half-Marathon - The Elusive Sub 2:00:00

2007-09-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Days 2-5 in Paris - A Few Museums, Lots of Eating

2007-08-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday - Visited the Musee d'Orsay and perambulated through the excellent collection of impressionist painting. Afterwards, we took a stroll through the Tulleries Gardens. Then it was home for some cleaning up and preparing for our biggest dinner in Paris at the famous Joël Robuchon's L'Atelier. The wait, we were told, was one hour, but we got there at 8:00pm only to find out that the wait was 2.5 hrs. We went over next door to a hotel and got drinks at a posh hotel, where Diesel spotted a small mouse scurrying across the lobby. Upon being notified of the unwanted patron, the hotel staff seemed quite disgusted. However, after a brief, failed search, they simply gave us as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

At 10:30 we finally sat at the bar (the whole restaurant is all bar seats, with the kitchen in the middle). We did the 9-course tasting menu. I can't remember the names of any of the dishes; all I know is that was really the best meal of my life.

Wednesday - We woke up early for the Louvre. Despite being able to skip all the lines by using our museum pass, we were surrounded, choked in fact, by the large crowed of tourists. Not the art-loving kind, mind you, but the breed that only goes from piece to piece taking pics of themselves with famous works of art and intend to bore their friends with those stupid shots. We met up with Nath after the museum, as she had arrived from Lyon the previous evening. The threatening clouds turned into downpour, and we ran through the streets to find a good neighborhood restaurant--with only 4 days in Paris, we wanted to make the most out of every meal. We picked a small family-owned restaurant, where we ordered steak and frites. That's right. I had RED MEAT. And it was GOOD.

In the evening we had dinner at Marie-Pierre's house. MP is a co-worker of Nath's whom I met while she was traveling through Seattle/Vancouver. Her friend Isabelle, who was traveling with MP was also there.

Thursday - We slept in till 11 and met with Nath for lunch at La Tete de Grouchin or something like that. The food was really good. We then made a stop home and the two decided it was in order to take a nap. I was a bit impatient and wanted to walk around, as we had been lazy all morning. We finally made it out and took a stroll through the streets of Paris.

That night, Nath got a reprieve from us and met up with her friends at a restaurant. We didn't go to far, and went to the restaurant next door (literally), where we enjoyed some hearty Provençal food.

Day 1 in Paris - Secrets and Lies, Let the Gluttony begin

2007-08-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport at 10:30am but after having problems with our shuttle, we didn't get to the apartment that my friend Nathalie had arranged for us to stay in until 1pm.

We were received by Daniele, who lived in the apartment. Nathalie had tried to explain to me the whole housing arrangement, but seeing that all of the exchange was done over IM, it follows that I did not really understand that Nath didn't know this person personally. In fact, Daniele was actually a friend of a friend (Lili) of a friend (Pauline) of Nath's. To conceal the loose connection, I was supposed to say that I did know Pauline, a fact that escaped my attention. I have a feeling I got Nath and Pauline in a bit of trouble, but we tried to be good house guests.

We got cleaned up and Daniele made us some delicious salad, topping it off with bits of goat cheese wrapped in speck, shaved Parmesan and other little French treats that came in jars filled with aromatic olive oil. After that, we took a recovery nap and finally made it out by taking a stroll around the neighborhood. We were by place Pereire, a hip, borderline snooty neighborhood in the 17th arroundissement.

That night, Lili came over and cooked us dinner: shredded duck and mashed potatoes casserole. The dish name sounds much better in French though. A lot off champagne, and wine were consumed that night which led to some jolly moments that night.

On Our Way to Paris/The Boy Who Wouldn't Shut Up

2007-08-22T18:02:00.001-07:00

It finally came! Diesel's and my trip to Paris. Catching the flight was quite stressful, as we had to get up at 5am on Sunday morning and drive down to Seattle from the Baker cabin. You see, our friends Rebeca, Steve and Heidi threw a big party at the cabin to celebrate their 40th, 40th, and 30th bdays, respectively, so on Sat afternoon Diesel and I made the 2.5 hr drive to Baker and, in a ambitious, yet utterly stupid plan, decided to drive back to Seattle at 5 so we could make a 7:30-8am stop at the Danskin triathlon to cheer on our friends Tarah and Regina, who were doing their first tri.

After gett pulled over by a cop but not getting a speeding ticket despite doing 57 on a 35mph road, we cheered Tarah on but missed Regina :(

Back at our apartment, we showered, grabbed our bags and got a ride from my sis to the airport. The flight to Chicago was a lovely flight in business class with a free meal and a separate bathroom from the plebe.

The Chicago to Paris flight, on the other hand was in economy class, which is fine cuz, as you can tell from the previous paragraph, I'm no snob. However, right off the bat this 7-year-old boy who was sitting next to us started talking. Yapping really. It was an ominous sign to a long and sleepless night.

I might exaggerate sometimes, but I kid you not when I tell you that the kid yapped non-stop from the time we took off to the time we landed. It was a 9-hour flight during which 8 hours were spent yapping away and one hour going to the bathroom and walking aimlessly in the forbidden aisles of business class, where he got kicked out of.

Anyhow, curiously enough; his mother, father and sister were all sitting in adjacent seats in the row in front of him. He was the only member of his OWN family that was sitting in the row next to ours. Did his mom KNOW something we didn't???

So as I mentioned and reitterated, the kid's yapping continued through the night, even after the lights went out and most of the passengers went to sleep. It got so bad that Diesel woke up from the little sleep he could get with the sole purpose of shushing the boy. Even after a loud SHHHHH the boy continued yapping--I guess in his defense I have to say that he turned it down a tad. But he did NOT, I repeat, did NOT stop talking.

The next morning breakfast was being served, and the flight attendants went around with the drinks cart. Upon being asked what he wanted, the boy said: "coffee."

COFFEE? COFFEE??? NO WONDER!!!!! The flight attendant was taken aback and had to confirm with the boy's mom that he was allowed to have some. Unfazed, the mother--who let me remind you, was NOT sitting next to her own son--replied with an emphatic "YES."

Judge me if you want, but it just seems unfair to me that a parent would give her already hyperactive kid nature's version of Red Bull and let him go wild on a night flight annoying the hell out of the other passengers (and by "other passengers" I mean ME), when what he really needed was a big dose of ridelin.

All I can say is that after that, French will never again be the language of l'amour et romance; instead, it'll be forever tarnished by the boy that wouldn't shut up.

Food Project 7-8: Dinner with Charlie

2007-08-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

To prevent my brother-in-law from eating yet another sandwich while my sister is traveling for work, we had Charlie over for dinner.

Dinner consisted of some light and fresh Ravioli Caprese. I bought a $5 ravioli stamp at Sur la Table which worked great. The filling was filling and fresh with lots of basil and a hint of lemon zest. For the dough, I had to use a cup of wheat flour (only because we ran out of regular flour), which I think made the dough tougher, less malleable and thus harder to roll into thinner pasta sheets. Next time I'll use all-purpose flour for the whole thing. I served it with FRIED polenta (keeping up with the "light meal" theme) and cherry tomatoes (for redemption).

Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake looked amazing on her show. The cake finished baking at midnight last night, after both Diesel and I had brushed our teeth. It was then that Diesel reminded me that we are both adults, and if we wanted to eat cake in bed after brushing our teeth, we should do it! It tasted really good fresh out of the oven. Today the cake was a lot denser; I prefer it warm and gooey. Not sure this was my fave choc cake...

Food Project 2-6

2007-08-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

So I have not been so good about sticking to my cooking project, but I have indeed tried somed new recipes. Unfortunately, I have not been able to take pics of the final products, as Diesel had the brilliant idea of taking our camera to a RAFTING trip, and consequently brought it back broken.

Anyhow, here's a list of the recipes I have tried:

Gaucho-Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce - A Tyler Florence recipe. Every Tyler recipe I ever tried has been simple and turned out great, and this was no exception. It's just unfortunate that the hunky chef ever agreed to "create" a dish for TGIFridays. I did a trial run for this with Charlie and Emy, and after the successful attempt, served it at Diesel's b-day.

Corn and Tomato Salad- This was a recipe given to me by my friend Emily. It's a refreshing and original salad and perfect for summer

Tiramisu - I'll count this one as well, as it's been about two years since I last made it. The recipe is Costa's, a real-life, younger Italian mama that I met while doing study abroad in Germany

Pasta Carbonara - I don't eat pork, but ever since Diesel made this classic dish, I've been hooked. It love it as a pre long run meal. I tried to make it myself last Friday, and everything was doing well until the step where I was supposed to toss the hot pasta with the raw egg + cheese mixture. The eggs cooked and turned into omlette, which was quite sad. Looking back, I should have used a regular pot instead of the cast iron pot I used, which holds a lot more heat

19 Miles Miles and Micky-D's

2007-08-05T20:29:00.001-07:00

So I was supposed to run 20 miles this weekend. Instead, I did 19, but it was still a lot. I started pretty late, and despite the (inaccurate) weather report of an overcast day, it was too hot for me by the time I hit mile 5.

Anyhow, after a hard run like that, I decided I was going to celebrate. Since Diesel was going to take me to the Harvest Vine that night, I decided to postpone my reward to the following day (today).

After a hard day of fabulous shopping with my friend Koko, I went after the gold: the McDonald's drive-through window. And then I did something I have NEVER done in my life: I SUPERSIZED. For the fries, really, since I never seem to get enough of those delicious golden treats, especially when I go to the drive-through and eat half of them before I even get home. So yes, it made perfect sense to supersize it. And so I did it. Much to my surprise and rage, I realized that despite being inside a large fries container, the quantity in the box was actually the size of MEDIUM fries. What the heck??!!!

Anyhow, there was no time to whine, as I couldn't let my chicken sandwich or fries get cold. Since McDonald's is SO bad for you (but oh, it tastes SO GOOD), I don't let myself be tempted often, but when I do, I just have to get it right.

At home, I faithfully followed my ritual: I put on my elastic shorts (or pants, depending on the weather), turned on the TV, and guess what? A show called "Big Mac" on CNBC was on. I immediately thought, "Oh great, this Supersize Me-like show" will ruin my happiness," but fortunately, the show did not diss my favorite fast food restaurant.

"She Eats Well!"

2007-08-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

After a hard 19-miler on Saturday, Diesel took me to one of our favorite restaurants, the Harvest Vine, in Madison Park. It's a very small neighborhood restaurant that serves the most delicious tapas. Diesel and I like to sit at the bar to watch the chefs cook and annoyingly ask questions about what this and that is and how this and that is made.

I got all dressed up even though I was about to crash, but I figured the fabulous meal deserved some serious celebration, and by goodness, I was going to celebrate it with a cute outfit.

We sat at the bar as usual, and the ordering started: perfectly cooked octopus on potatoes (I'm not a fan of octopus, but this was really good) and bonito with braised leeks. Then it got better, much better: pimientos stuffed with blood sausage, eggplant with tomatoes and cheese, suckling pig, spinach with pine nuts and cream sherry. It was during this episode of utter gluttony that the chef turned to Diesel and said: "Wow, she eats well!"

I know it was his way of saying that I was being a pig, but oh well, it was all damn good, and I'll be damned if I had let all that good food go to waste.

Happy Birthday, Book Club!

2007-08-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

(image from ShimandSons blog)

Last Monday, "Never 5," my book club, had its third birthday. I can't believe it's been three years already!

We met at Jenny's for some very yummy and elegant hors d'oeuvres and sat out in her balcony--which we later found out is unstable and for that very reason had never been used for a bigger gathering--thanks Jenny, for almost killing us! ;)

We caught up on gossip and the summer, and reminisced about all that we've been through together during the past three years: 2 baby boys and a third coming anytime now (Molly's VERY preggers), a wedding, and three 30th birthdays!

After we finished dinner and discussed last month's book, Kendra got up and said she had to leave. Very strange, but in an odd turn of events, four of the seven girls got up and said "Let's go!" The remaining three of us were clueless, but were dragged by the rest of them, as we were going "somewhere."

We arrived at the Melting Pot, where the four not-yet-30-year-olds had planned a surprise celebration for those of us who had turned 30 this year. It was so comfortable and fun! For our presents, we each got subscriptions to different mags that they girls thought we would like: Molly, the TV/movie junkie got "Entertainment Weekly," crafty A got "Real Simple" and I got "National Geographic Traveler."

How thoughtful and sweet of them! Thanks girls and looking forward to many more years reading and going through life with you.

Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat - Ragnar Relay 2007

2007-07-29T14:14:00.001-07:00

Last night I slept for 13 hours. I have been sleep deprived for two days.

So my friend A had a friend organize a mixed team to run the Ragnar Relay this weekend. Simply put, it's a race where teams for 12 (there were over 60 teams) in 2 vans run 189 continuous miles from Blaine (by the Canadian border) to Langley (on Whidbey Island)

It's hard to compress the last 40 hours in one entry, but suffice it to say that it was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Van 1 of our team (which started running at 8am) left Seattle on Thursday afternoon due north. We tried to sleep as much as we could on Thursday night at the luxurious Motel 8.

At 7:30 we checked in, and at 8, our first runner took off. Each of us was going to run 3 legs, and as runner #3, I was expected to run at 10am and 8pm on Friday and then again at 8am on Saturday.

By 11, our van was done, and van 2 took over. We got some lunch and relaxed for a couple of hours before we had to head out again to start our next legs. We were ahead of schedule and finished a bit before midnight. The next van got the short end of the stick, as all of their runners had to run in the middle of the night, many times on big country roads where cars and trucks go fast and the shoulder is only wide enough for one runner. It was them and their headlamps, running in the dark, while we in van 1 tried to get a few hours of sleep in one of the local high schools. We later heard that one of the runners on another team got hit by a car at 2am that night. I'm not sure how he was doing, but I hope he is ok.

We were not expected to start our runs until around 5am, so needless to say we were surprised to get a call from van 2 at 2:40 in the morning, informing us that their last runner had already started and we should start heading over to the next exchange point. We had only slept about 3 hours. At around 4, Adrienne, our first runner began her third and final leg. She and KT had to run with headlamps on, and I took over at around 6ish. Fortunately for me, it was bright out and I only had an easy 2.5 miler.

Our team finished 3rd to last in our division, which is, well, better than last. It was tons of fun though following our runners and others; cheering for them and spending for some 36+ hours stuck together, mostly in a stinky van. It was definitely a great experience, and I'd do it all over again.

Erasure Forever

2007-07-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Erasure was in town!

For those who don't know them, Erasure is like one of the best bands of the 80's, and they were on tour and playing at the Moore on Tuesday.

Ben, Lauren and I got tickets to see them. Andy Bell was fab and sounded great, very entertaining indeed. Even the bad ballerina moves he busted out were quite funny. The great thing about going to one of their concerts is that, because their fan base consists of a large contingency of gay men, the show is always a big, unrestrained party. There was a lot of dancing and singing along.

I hadn't really heard their new album, and along with our their classics like "Blue Savannah," "Little Respect," "Stop," etc, they had material from ther new album, which sounded great as well. Definitely a show that is worth paying more to get one of the floor seats.

Je Suck Beaucoup

2007-07-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I decided that I was going to take French classes. I've always loved the language, and some of the best friends I've made while living in Germany were French, so deep inside I've always had this itch to learn the language. So when Diesel got us tix to go to Paris, I felt it was the right time to sign up for a French course.

I even got work to pay for it, since we have a French site, and I claimed I would be able to cover for the French producer should he ever go on vacation.

Anyhow, I decided to go with Seattle Languages International. I had taken a 3-month intensive course some six years ago, but I was surprised at how much I didn't remember. However, my newfound motivation to learn French made the first two months very enjoyable. I felt like I was learning a lot, and I felt confident that if anything, I had acquired the survival skills necessary to order food, ask for directions, and understand some stuff by the time our trip came around.

But somewhere along the way, I kinda lost my motivation. I felt a bit burnt out with two classes a week, right in the middle of summer plus a few hours more doing homework throughout the week.

I got so lazy that I started making up words to expedite homework completion. No dictionary needed. I would just take a word in English, add a French-sounding ending and precede it with a "le, la or les" depending on the gender and number of the said newly-created word. The problem with making up words is that it only works about 50% of the time, if not less. It can work for "Je faire DU CAMPING" (I go camping), but it does not work for "J'ai PLANEJE un voyage" (I planned a trip). And this practice's less than favorable odds amount to a lot of embarrassment when you're in a class of three students and get called on all the time. Embarrassment that was, nevertheless, eased by the fact that the other two girls started taking the same tragic learning path that I was taking.

I should have known better. Made up languages do not survive. Take Esperanto, for example, an artificially-created language with no social history that died in the academia circle before it even made it out. Wikipedia will rebuff my previous statement--it says there are up to 2 million Esperanto speakers in the world, but seriously, have you EVER met anybody that speaks it???

But I digress...anyhow, the point is, I need a break. My class ends next Monday, so I'll take a break, review what I've learned so far and go full-on again next fall.

SUMMERy

2007-07-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to blog much the last couple of months. The excuses vary, so I will try to redeem myself by giving you a SUMMERy of this summer's events.
June: Yurt Trip - Emy, Charlie, Tim and I did a family trip. We drove down to Deception Pass, where we had rented a yurt. Now, I was thinking that this would be a flimsy structure with no luxuries, but the yurt had a bunk bed, a futon, electricity AND a heater! And to make our "camping" experience even more luxurious, the bathrooms were cleaned every day! This was a relaxing weekend with walks on the beach and lots of fun!

6/22 - 6/24: Emy's Camping/Rafting Bday Weekend - My sister, Charlie, his sister and a couple of other friends met up in Oregon for a weekend of camping. The site was gorgeous, and the weather was very very cold. On Saturday we rafted down the White Salmon, one of the only rivers in Oregon that has a class 5 rapid!

6/29 - 7/1: Zillah Bike/Wine Trip - We started doing this trip three years ago, and it's my absolute favorite trip of the summer. We drive down to the Yakima wine country region and ride our bikes from winery to winery. We had 15 people come this year and finished up the weekend by going on a floating/drinking trip down the Yakima river.

7/3: Diesel's 30th Bday - It was as semi-surprise party ("semi" because my NOSY husband came across an email on my computer titled "Diesel's 30th bday"). The big occasion deserved good food (skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, fried polenta, summer tomato/corn salad and carrot cake), and was celebrated in the great Asian tradition of karaoke, provided by Seattle's Best Karaoke. I rented a karaoke machine and it was well worth it!

7/8: Seafair Half-Marathon - Sad. Once again I failed to meet my sub 2:00 goal! After doing it in 2:00:10 in Vancouver, my time at this event was actually one second slower :( Next time.

It seems like Diesel and I haven't really spent any weekends at home, so I'm looking forward to doing some of that before the sun disappears again. Hope you're all having a great summer!

Vive la France!

2007-07-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Bastille Day, my good friend Ben and I decided to celebrate all things French on Saturday.

Ben is a self-proclaimed francophile. And if you count watching "Nouvelle Star" (the French version of "American Idol") on YouTube and having completed three months of French class (as of today), I guess you can count me in as one of those people as well.

Anyhow, our soirée started with dinner at Maximilien, which is coincidentally the French restaurant where Tim proposed after a private cooking class with Chef Willy. Chef Willy, now the manager, is also a friend of Ben's, a noteworthy fact, since it got us one of the best tables on the deck as well as complimentary champagne!

We ordered from the Bastille Day menu special. I had the endive/frisee salad, but Ben preferred to order the gaspacho (not very French, I know). The endives in my salad could have been a bit crispier, but overall I enjoyed the light dish, which went well with the warm summer evening. For our plat principal we both had the lamb with roasted veggies. Not exactly sure what part of the lamb it was, but it was a bit overdone. The rich sauce and the veggies were very good though. And to wrap it up, we both had the tarte aux pommes, which was delicious. I ate mine and half of Ben's. We also got the wine course, which consisted of a wine pairing with each of the courses. For somebody who can't even finish a glass, the 3 glasses + champagne were a bit much, and I was a bit drunk by the time dessert was served. Oh well, vive la France!

All of the diners were serenaded by a quartet playing nice old-school French music.

We talked to the chef/manager some more and then I met Axel, the restaurant owner. It was a very exciting moment indeed. It's too bad Diesel couldn't come (he's been is Australia since last Monday). He would have loved it.

After dessert we had to rush to the movie theater to watch Paris, Je T'Aime, a collection of vignettes about love and life in the City of Lights. Each segment was directed by a different director. Some bigshots such as the Coen Brothers and other high-profile international directors such as Walter Salles leave their mark. I highly recommend this charming movie, even if you're not a francophile. That was the perfect end to the perfect evening. Next year there'll be even more wine and more fun in celebration of Bastille Day! This all made me even more excited about our trip to Paris at the end of August.

Favorite Flowers Ever!

2007-07-02T23:17:00.002-07:00

...peonies.

Diesel planted some for me last month in his pea patch, but so far, NOTHING. : (

I guess I'll just get some at the Pike Place Market.

Also, I stole this beautiful pic from this blog, from a mom/crafter. She's AMAZING, and I've been obsessed with her blog. She's like the Asian Martha Steward, sans the bitchiness.

And the Ugly Shirt Has Begotten...

2007-06-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

Today, a friend of mine sent me an article about the fact that somebody who works in this Fashion-God-forsaken company was nominated by a Seattle magazine as the most fashionable man in the city.

On the same day, I overheard the following conversation in our kitchen at work:

Geek-ette #1: “Wow! I REALLY like your shirt!”
Geek-ette #2 (wearing a YELLOW, CHECKERED MAN’S SHIRT): “Oh really? Thanks!”
Geek-ette #1: “I wish I had a shirt like THAT! Well…you probably didn't get it here…you probably got it in...don’t tell me…in CHINA! [yes, the fashion capital of the world]”
Geek-ette #2: “YEAH! I got it in CHINA! I can get you one! Just give me your size; next time my parents are in town I can ask them to get you one.”
Geek-ette #1 (ecstatic): "Thanks! I'd really like that!"
Geek-ette #2: Yeah, I myself have tons of shirts like this! I could wear them for a month without doing my laundry!

I'm CONCERNED. The think that a breed of ugly shirt has begotten many more like and taken over Geek-ette's 2 closet and is now about to expand into Geek-ette's 1 wardrobe! The thought of seeing not one, but TWO geek-ettes wearing the same horrendous yellow shirt just killed ANY hope of fashion in this place…

Timmy and Charlie Go to School

2007-06-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Next week my husband Tim and my brother-in-law Charlie will be starting Portuguese 2 together. They say it's because they want to learn Portuguese, but I know they just want to eavesdrop into our conversation and see if my family is talking about them.

Still, I think it's cute that they're going to school together.

My Fave Running Gear

2007-06-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

Two words: fuel belt.

I tried a few different water carrying products for my long runs: the camelbak, the one bottle belt, but one of them are better than the fuel belt. So much so that I gave my friend A one for her bday this weekend. Happy bday A!

Food Project 2: Spiced Up

2007-06-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

My second food project was inspired by my current fave Food TV star, Nigella Lawson. I had never made an Indian dish except for curry. However, seeing Nigela do a simple version of a traditional Indian meal made me think I could get past my intimidation. On the menu:

Mughlai Chicken Curry served alongside a fluffy rice pilaf, green pea and cheese curry Muttar Paneer (for recipe, see here).

I decided to start doing the cooking after my 12 mile run, which surprisingly enough did not wipe me out. It's a good thing I'm a good wife and cook for Diesel after such a long morning.

The meal called for my first trip to an Indian grocery store. Needless to say, I was the only non-Indian person shopping there. I had to enlist the owner's help to figure out what the best paneer and garam masala brands were. On a side note, the cinnamon sticks are a STEAL! You can get a huge bag for 5 bucks. Except for the register erroneous total of $126, the shopping trip was a success!

Cooking notes:

The recipes are pretty simple, and I had fun using the concoction of foreign spices
I used the original 8-servings recipe, but halved the chicken quantity, as both Diesel and I like more sauce and less meat
When Nigella says that the paneer with "splatter and spit" when you're frying it, she ain't kidding. There was a lot of drama during this step, and Diesel ended up doing the frying
Everything was delish, although I think I will kick up the spice mix in the paneer and pea curry next time
Since pomegranate is not in season, I simply skipped it and the raita tasted good with just the scallions

Diesel's rating: 8.5

Spell with Flickr

2007-06-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Some geek did something pretty cool. Check it out:
http://metaatem.net/words/

Running

2007-06-04T23:07:00.001-07:00

Here's a list of the races I'm planning to do this summer/fall:

Vancouver Half on 5/04- completed
Seafair Half on 7/8 - not-so-fun course (mostly running through the suburbs of Bellevue), but should be good training
Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage on 7/27 - 7/28 - 12 runners, 189 miles, 24-hour relay
Skagit Flats - on 9/9 - flat course, hopefully I'll beat my PR
Victoria Marathon (or half if I slack off) on 10/7 - beautiful course along the water

The Julie/Julia Project

2007-06-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the Julie/Julia project, I decided to create my own cooking challenge. What is the Julie/Julia project, you ask? A crazy New Yorker, owner of a small kitchen and great ambition, set out to cook all of Julia Child's 524 recipes from her Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. She recorded her culinary failures and successes on her blog. Witty, entertaining and inspiring.

So now it's my turn.

With a bigger kitchen and lower ambitions, I'm challenging myself to cook one new recipe every 1.5 weeks until...well, we'll see. Instead of sticking exclusively to Julia Child recipes, I'll be picking recipes from our personal library. In addition, Diesel will be weighing in on how good/bad each recipe turns out. Other friends and family will be enlisted as tasters as well.

First up, cream puffs from the traditional Betty Crocker cookbook.

The recipe for the pate a choux is pretty simple. What's not as simple is trying not to burn the cream filling. I had to strain it to get rid of the burnt bits. Another thing I noticed (and was pissed at) was that the recipe called for 35-40 min in the oven for the little puffs. The timer barely showed 35 minutes when I did a first check, and I found out that the puffs were overdone. Also, I think I should have used non-baking chocolate for the chocolate glaze; it would have tasted better. Please note that that because of my inability to follow directions, I shaped the dough into puffs instead of eclairs.

Diesel's rating: 7 (out of 10)
*readjusted from an original 8, as Diesel wants to leave room for a REALLY good recipe

Mexico - Last Thoughts and Lessons Learned

2007-05-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Some final notes on our trip to Mexico

On food

Street Food vs. Haute Cuisine - When in Mexico, stick to the unpretentious, cheap and always delicious food stands. $0.25 for a taco, $2.50 for a torta (sandwich), it's eating well on a budget. Our biggest disappointment, however, was the scarcity of fancier restaurants. We went to three of them. The ambiance in all of them was great, but the food was always disappointing. It's like they were trying very hard to cook some decent fancy food, but unfortunately, unsuccessfully. I would stick with the street food.

Mysterious Meats - While in Mexico, you will see an array of leftover animal parts served for, guess what, your MEAL! Cabeza (head), pierna (leg), tripa (tripe), lengua (tongue); you name it; it's on the menu. Don't ask. Don't think about it. Just eat it. It's good, you'll see! Our last food adventure directed us to a very busy hole in the wall, where all of the sandwiches listed "pierna" as their main ingredient. All I knew was that "pierna" meant leg. Leg of what? I didn't know. I just ate it. And I liked it.

On New Skills

Proudest Accomplishment - In the bathroom, learning how to squat with my backpack on, while holding a newspaper and bottle of water. In a swift move, rapidly raising my arm to go over my head, thereby unzipping the top pocket of my backpack to grab toilet paper from my private stash.

On Greedy Sunbathers

Never Be One of Them - Greedy and careless sunbathing only leads to redness followed by itchiness, followed by bubbling, followed by peeling. It's just not worth it, man!

On Mexicans and Mexico

Mexicans - Friendly, laid back and helpful.
Mexico - Safe, fun and sunny! I would definitely come back.

Mexico Day 8 - A Long, Uncomfortable Ride

2007-05-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

8pm. We were on a bus headed en route to Zihuateneo. It was an excruciating 8-hour bus ride. We have just spent too much time on the bus.

Not to mention the driver on this particular trip was a "loco" (CRAZY). Long-distance buses have a little red light that goes off every time the driver starts going to fast. Let's just say that for the duration of this trip the little red light was always ON, as a reminder that life is precious and it could end at any moment. We got to Ixtapa half an hour ahead of schedule (not an usual occurrence in this country), even though none of the passengers (except for Tim, who had carefully followed our trip on a map) knew that we had gotten there. The bus driver never announced our arrival at this main bus station, and several of us complained about this crazy driving and burning desire to get some--apparently in Mexico, bus drivers can bring along friends and family, and this driver decided bringing his gf was a good idea.

We took a cab to Troncones, a budding surfing town recommended by a couple of friends of ours. Tired and ready to rest, we aimlessly walked around trying to find a hotel. Those that were not booked were in pretty precarious condition. We settled on a so-called bungalow, which was at least right on the beach. Ok, so it had lizards crawling around. And ok, the bathroom was not so hot. But it was a room to sleep. I was kinda itching for a bit more glamour. Maybe the next day...

Mexico Day 7 - Tequila!

2007-05-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

After much adventuring on our own, we decided it was time to leave the navigation up to somebody else and booked a guided tour of the town of Tequila.

The bus ride seemed to fly by compared to our previous 6-hr and 3-hr bus rides.

We went out to the agave plantation to see how the main ingredient in Tequila (in fact, "good" tequila should be 100% agave), and had a tour of the El Cuervo distillery.

Mexico Day 6 - The Touristy Non-Touristy Town of Guanajuato

2007-05-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Early on Wednesday morning, Diesel and I left early for the town of Guanajuato. Unlike the luxurious ETN bus, which transported us from Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara, the bus to Guanajuato was not as nice.

The first bad sign was being greeted into the bus by blaring opera music (from La Boheme, more specifically). I'm all for classy opera, but for goodness sake, not in a old bus with stained seats and a nasty bathroom!

After a three hour ride, we arrived in Guanajuato, an old subterranean Mexican town nestled in the mountains of the Sierra de Guanajuato. Surprisingly the city resembles old European cities with its buildings and square, but upon a closer look, one can see that the resemblance stops there. Guanajuato is, in fact, very Mexican.

We rode the city bus (40 cents!) up the hill to the supposedly very interesting Mummy Museum. The museum is quite a let down, but we were in no hurry. The rest of the time was spent strolling around and eating on the streets.

Mexico Day 5 - Guadalajara: Stroll Around the City The Revenge of the Burnt Skin

2007-05-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

After a long bus ride, Diesel and I decided it was in order sleep in on Day 5. After a little working out, we headed out to the city center. Unfortunately, we forgot it was Monday, and for the most part the museums were closed.

Guadalajara is Mexico's second largest city, but despite its size, it still feels like a smaller city: safe, friendly and very Mexican (read: not very touristy). With no particular sightseeing attraction in mind, we lost ourselves in the city, enjoying the bustling streets and its people.

It was then that I realized. Bubbling. My skin was BUBBLING! After 4 hours of the unforgiving scorching sun of Mexico, my greediness finally got me what I deserved : my skin literally bubbly, nasty crusts of bumpy skin across my belly and around my neck. Disgusting, to say the least.

Mexico Day 4 - The Buses are NICE!

2007-05-21T13:03:00.001-07:00

After packing our stuff and saying good-bye to our favorite taco stand in Sayulita, Diesel and I went en route to Guadalajara. We were going to take the luxury bus. And I´m talking LUXURY with huuuge comfy seats (only 3 seats per row), snacks and movies on board. Never did I think that traveling by bus could be so fabulous!

We arrived in Guadalajara an hour late (viva Mexico!), and went to our hotel. Not bad. Nice, clean with a pool and workout room. We ended up at a local eatery that was packed with soccer fans. Once again we got tacos (maybe tomorrow I´ll eat something other than tacos). We then walked around, went back to the hotel and got ready for round 2. The night was young, but the bars weren´t. Sunday night is a bit slow, even in the second biggest city in Mexico. We had drinks and chatted for another hour or so, and then headed home.

Diesel´s tummy is not doing so well. No tacos for him.

Mexico Day 3 - The Infamous Chinita

2007-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had a bit of an altercation with a local surfing instruction. Really, I did nothing bad, but the guy was a jerk.

Diesel and I went up to his shop to inquire about surfing classes. He mumbled something, and when Diesel asked him to please repeat, he condescendently repeated the price, very S-L-O-W-L-Y, as if he were a retard. I didn´t like that, so I told him he should be nicer to his clients. He was like: WHAT? I repeated and left. A few minutes later I see him charging to where we were, and I know he was going to bitch me out. There was a not so nice exchange of words on his part, as he blurted out all of the swear words he must have seen while watching Hollywood movies. There was the F word, the MF word. Nothing really made sense, and when he finally said I needed a man to protect me (don´t know where he got that from), I said I could defend myself thanks very much.

In this particular instance, those Asian kung-fu skills would have come very handy.

So today, when we went to a different surf shop ready to take a lesson, Sergio, our instructor, started giving us the first couple of tips. And there he was. The guy that bitched me out yesterday was walking in our direction. Sigh. But he went past us, and didn´t even direct a single foul word towards us.

Sergio took us out and I proceeded to chat with him. He told me he brother was also a surfing instructor, but he worked at the other shop. Uh-oh. I actually liked Sergio. Could it be that I had gotten into a fight with his brother the previous day? I decided to change the subject.

While in the water, Sergio started telling me about his family and the other instructions. It was then that my curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to ask: "So you know the guy with the long hair?¨ "Yes," he said "we call him pecho (which literally means "breasts, bust"). I proceeded, "Did he mention maybe...a fight he had yesterday?" Sergio confirmed: "Yeah, he said he told US ("who´s US," I wondered) into an argument with two people..." "Well, that was me, " I confessed. I clarified that pecho had been very very rude, and the only thing I did was tell him to be nicer to his customers. Sergio seemed a bit amused, and I realized that besides having a dirty mouth, pecho also had a big mouth, and as a consequence of his big huge mouth, came the infamy that would follow me until I departed Sayulita. I would forever be known as "la chinita" (little Chinese girl) that had gotten into an altercation with pecho. Regretfully, my fellow Chinese girls (of which there was a considerable number in Sayulita) would also be the objects of whispers and gossip, as I believed no Mexican could tell us apart, and thus, all of us chinitas would forever live in the infamy of Sayulita´s history, only because of my heroic efforts in the fight for consumer rights.

Unfazed by my confession, Sergio said I was fine, that they were all "buena onda" and that if I wanted to talk to pecho, he would talk to me as if nothing had ever happened. Thanks, but no thanks.

Surfing was a lot of fun though. Since I´ve been condemned to no sun (thanks to my greediness the first day) and no more surfing (thanks to pecho´s big mouth), I was ready to leave and head out to Guadalajara.

Mexico Day 2 - Sayulita

2007-05-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

We spent all day bathing in the sun. I was determined to get a tan. Unfortunately, my skin wasn´t in agreement with my vain decision. I got sunburnt. Bad. Sun poisoning actually. Still recovering but no sun and no beach for me.

An Ode to Doolittle

2007-05-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

American Idol sucks. Melinda Doolittle is out because some teenage girl voted for Blake 200 times (which is not a made up story, as I heard said girl on the radio talking about voting for him till 3 in the morning!).

So here's an ode to the best singer this season: Melinda Doolittle. For a faithful American Idol fan that watched Melinda blossom from Ms Shy with a turtle posture to the new Tina Turner I'm completely disappointed. And yes, I'm pissed.

Follow the Pink-Eared Bunny OR Vancouver Half-Marathon

2007-05-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

That's what I kept telling myself: "Follow the pink-eared bunny."

After a year-long hiatus from racing (due to a stressful job, wedding planning and let's face it, just plain LAZINESS), I decided it was time to do a race. The Vancouver Half has a nice course, the weather is good for running in May and it's only a 2.5 hr drive up to Canadaland.

It was an important race for a variety of reasons: the first time I run as Kelly Chow-Sale and the last time I run a race in the 25-29 age bracket. SAD!

Saturday went by fast, and on Sunday, our three alarms went off at 6am. I was ready. On the way to BC Arena, where the race started, I was joined by several runners, and I started getting really excited.

In the middle of the chaos, I spotted the 2-hour half-marathon pacer. He was a vision of Jesus himself: calm composure, long beard and a large group of followers. Unlike Jesus, he had a Garmin GPS watch and a very mismatched running outfit. I wasn't sure I could run it in 2, but that's always been A goal of mine (although I didn't know I was ready to actually attempt beating it).

I figured I'd follow the Pink-Eared bunny (as all of the Vancouver pacers wear cute little pink bunny ears) and see how it went. The first couple of miles I ran at about 8:30 min/mile, so I thought maybe I COULD do it.

But then I cramped it. And it didn't help that there was practically no food during the course. ONE miser power bar station. Some Canadian brand that was as hard as a brick. Then oranges. I kept hoping for gu. I remember at least two gu stations. No such luck. I ran the 13.1 miles pretty much on an empty stomach.

I was in serious pain, and I never felt that bad during a race. At one point I passed the bunny. I PASSED the bunny! I kept going on a runner's high or whatever you wanna call it.

And then it happened. It was inevitable. I lost sight of the bunny. I tried to catch up, but gave up and resigned to doing it in 2 hours at a later race. It was SAD. Not only that, my chronometer got all messed up because I pushed some random buttons and messed it up. So really I had no idea how close I was to my goal.

Still, I was happy.

Got home and found out I did it in 2:00:10. BARELY, but I did make it. Hooray for me! And watch out 30-35 yr-old bracket!

My Favorite Unkown YouTube Stars

2007-04-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, my name is Kelly and I’m addicted to YouTube. The random, yet highly entertaining and at times educating content is just addicting. I’m an eager user and a staunch proponent of the best invention on the Internet since the Internet itself!

So on my latest kick, I’ve been binging on old videos of some of my favorite old bands, such as Menudo, NKOTB (which I already told you about), etc. Out of curiosity, I started typing in some Brazilian artists as well as some German ones. Upon searching for “Fettes Brot” a German Hip Hop band, I came across the CUTEST GERMAN BOYS EVER: AXEL and JULIUS! It’s like I’m in junior high again, only now I’m almost 30 and these boys are probably 15. Is that sick? If you think it is sick, then I guess I won’t tell you that on top of watching their video lineup, I’ve also been reading their geeky blog, which is a Mac blog, and as such, not as geeky as other really geeky blogs are.

Judge me later, but for now, check out some of their videos. They’re so silly and so cute! If you become addicted like I did, go to their site and eat it up!

UNACCEPTABLE Behavior in the Workplace

2007-04-11T11:04:00.001-07:00

Top 10 list of aberrations of social behavior in the workplace that must be EXPOSED, MOCKED and ultimately ABOLISHED/PUNISHED for the safety and sanity of others:

1) Not bothering to lock your stall when you are using the toilet. This is a case where clearly YOUR business is nobody else’s business
2) Clipping your crusty toenails in your office (this is especially disgusting if they start flying off into your officemate’s face)
3) Washing your DISGUSTING feet in the bathroom sink
4) Guys: Braiding that long strand of grease you call HAIR
5) Bringing kim chi for lunch and stinking up the communal fridge
6) Taking your laptop into the bathroom stall and TYPING while you do whatever you’re doing
7) Sneaking into work with your kids on the weekends, so you can all spend quality time together STEALING pop
8) Embroidering religious attire with the company logo (such as a yarmulke)
9) Eating cup of noodles and pop for breakfast
10) Showing up in the kitchen with a big jug of dish detergent and shamelessly washing your NASTY beard in the kitchen sink

On Buying a New Mirror

2007-04-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a new mirror. I looked at myself in the mirror. Here's the dialog that took place at our household:

Kelly (holding up the mirror): Diesel, does this mirror make me look fat?
Diesel (looking disgusted): YES.
Diesel (holding up the mirror): Kelly, does this mirror make you look fat?
Kelly (looking disgusted): YES.

Needless to say, we'll be returning that damn mirror.

The BEST V-Day Present EVER!

2007-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been several months since my last post. At least nobody can accuse me of being a geek anymore.

So to ressuscitate my moribund blog, I thought I'd start it with a BANG. And the bang has come thanks to Diesel, the best husband EVER!

Remember my very persuasive blog about The Second BEST Xmas Present EVER (after the trip to Barcelona)? Well, it worked.

For Valentine's Day this year, we beat the crowed of cheesy rose-buying, pink-wearing crowed of sweethearts by celebrating V-Day early. We didn't even have any problems getting reservations for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Le Pichet, a very quaint French bistro.

We had agreed on no presents, but after our meal, Diesel handed me a card. He wrote me a very long note and at the end said: "and that's why I have booked us tickets to go to Paris in August." WHAT????!!! Could that be TRUE? Of course he looked at me sternly and said: "This does NOT set a precedent." Well, first the trip to Barcelona, now Paris. Of course I'm expecting to be whisked away to yet another romantic destination next year.

I felt very bad, because all I got Diesel was a card. But when I really thought about it, I realized that in effect, he had gotten HIMSELF a present, so I didn't feel so bad after all.

TP's Big 3-0

2007-01-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

My friend Tarah turned 30 last Saturday, and her husband threw her a big bash at the Big Picture movie theater. I'd never been there, but it's a very cool venue, and I can't believe Tim and I haven't been there, as we lived literally across the street from the place. Where else (other than your house) can you drink alcohol and watch your fave flick?

She posted some pics from her bday here.

She is the second one in a long line of "almost 30" hip and happening people. There were Ben, Lauren, Tarah. There'll be more of us (yes, Diesel and I will be 30 as well this year) coming...

Sweet Tooth

2007-01-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

Our friends Dawniel and Cyrill came over for dinner tonight. We celebrated Cyrill's promotion and their brand new place.

The best part of the meal was the warm chocolate cake, which although a bit cumbersome to make, are delish! Melt-in-your-mouth top and warm and gooey on the inside.

Kelly Almost Takes Down the Old Man

2007-01-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

There was a little screaming and some remorse, but when you got MAD skills like me, you can't always quite control where you go...

OMG, NKOTB

2007-01-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Another FABULOUS thing I discovered on YouTube: several videos of the BEST boy band ever!

From the classic "Step by Step" to a more recent and likewise more shocking "Hollywood True Story - New Kids on the Block," true fans can delight themselves in a plethora of NKOTB videos. I'm still not sure white boys break-dancing or wearing denim overalls were ever a good idea, but the videos are still YUMMY!

Shopping Marathon

2007-01-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you get five girls and 75% off sales? SIX STRAIGHT HOURS OF SHOPPING, that's what!

For my friend Erica's 30th bday, we decided to surprise her and take her for up to Vancouver (or HongKouver, as some people refer to the Hong Kongnese-filled city) for a girls weekend.

It was a marvelous time of girl talk, shopping, laid-back dinner and a nice stroll through the Granville Market.

A few pics from the weekend:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/14628299@N00/dIv214

Sehnsucht nach Deutschland

2007-01-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

I miss Germany. As I'm browsing YouTube (for my daily dose of random and useless videos), I run into a video by Sportfreund Stiller, a band who put out a song that became Germany's World Cup hymn. The video itself is pretty cheesy and low budget, but it brings back good memories. For a recap on Diesel's and my journey to Germany to see the World Cup, check out some previous posts.

I'm Losing

2007-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I had book club. The food was good, but not diet-friendly: creamy potato soup, bread and CAKE!

food: 1
Kelly: 0

RESOLUTIONS

2007-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

So with the end of the year comes resolutions. Most of them have to do with being fat and being old (or both) and how to counteract the effects of good food and mother nature.

Diesel and I are getting old, no doubt about it. This year, both of us turn THIRTY.

Most of all, Diesel and I are FAT. I know, I know, you'll say I have nothing to worry about, but since I met my current husband, my weight has escalated to astronimical new heights (it's all relative). Not only that, my cholesteral has shot up almost 50% since my last physical exam 2 years ago...When gluttony meets gluttony, restraint becomes non-existent, and here is what you end up with: an overweight married couple.

So Diesel and I did get on the weight loss bandwagon this year, and we will be eating more healthy. It will be a torturous journey for this pair of food lovers, but it'll hopefully get us in shape for our Mexico trip (to celebrate the big 3-0).

We took "before" pictures last night. They will only be posted after we reach our goals. My goal: 5 pounds, and back to my pre-fatness 100 cholesteral index. Wish me good luck.

Faith Hill Gets Pissed

2006-12-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you who thought she had it all (sexy man, beautiful children, looks, fortune, etc), you'll get a kick out of this:

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=5560

The Second BEST Xmas Present EVER (after the trip to Barcelona)

2006-12-27T14:43:00.000-08:00

For the past several months, I have been probing Diesel to see what he would get me for Xmas. That entailed all tactics you can think of, from subtly pointing to things that I wanted to shamelessly and blatantly requesting this or that. I also enlisted help from a few trusted friends with good taste to make sure that Diesel was being watched and didn't get me GEAR or anything UGLY. And finally, the day came.

This Christmas, I got...

(drumroll)

(Hallelluiah song)

A GREEN IPOD NANO!

(applause)

Yes, another one! In addition to the one he gave me for my birthday, but I lost (or perhaps it got stolen).

I am very happy indeed!

And before you accuse me of losing everything--which I will be the first to admit, is a very reasonable accusation--I'd like to defend myself by saying that when Diesel lived in the ghetto, I often had to hide all my valuables around his house when we left for trips. So the laptop would end up under the bed, the iPod in the bathroom, my earrings in the flour container, and so forth.

Until one day, when I couldn't find it. Where I lost it (or it got stolen) is still unclear, but I'm pretty sure it is still hidden somewhere in his house in the ghetto. The only other explanation is that it got stolen, because I would never lose such a treasured present. And who in the world would want an iPod loaded with Britney Spears and Ricky Martin songs anyway?

Ugly Xmas Sweater Party

2006-12-20T23:07:00.000-08:00

It was a hit. And by hit I mean, there was some SERIOUS UGLY scattered around our living room. Many ugly sweaters, but the first prize went to BJ, who went all out with his festively horrendous outfit. Yes, he did create quite a commotion as other guests disputed his first-prize title, since he was NOT actually wearing a sweater.

But in the end, ugliness trumped fairness.

Here are some pics from the event:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14628299@N00/sets/72157594433293009/

On Throwing My 4-Year Old Niece into a Cactus

2006-12-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

(WAIT! I have an excuse)

Last weekend we went to AZ to visit Tim's parents in AZ. His sister Kelly, her husband, and her 3 kids were there as well.

It was fun hanging out with the kids that can talk and walk, Drew and McKenzie. McKenzie and I are pretty good buddies, so after an afternoon of rock climbing with the kids, she asked me if I'd go with her on a walk around the hood. Fine with me, after gaining 5 pounds lately, I have been in need of exercise, even if it's walking slowly next to a preschooler.

So I had this great idea that I would make the walk interactive and we would walk around the cacti, ya know, to make myself feel good about teaching my niece about plants.

As we turned a corner in which there were two cacti, I heard McKenzie scream, so I immediately turned around. There they were: two cacti balls, one attached to her little leg and the other attached to her even littleer hand. PANIC! The poor kid! My first reaction was to grab the prickly balls with my bear hands and throw them the other direction. So I did. BAD idea. Next thing I know, I got cactus on my hand, while awkwardly trying to rid my niece of the damn thing!

All the while, the poor kid was crying and screaming, and I felt very bad indeed for her...and guilty. And even after I had pulled all the prickly pieces off of her, and started pulling them off of me, she would scream and cry for me...

The next day we went for a hike with Drew, Tim's dad and McKenzie. Every time there was a cactus, the little girl would balk. And freeze. I mean, she had been seriously traumatized by the experience. And then Tim's dad did something AMAZING. Something that only somebody who raised three kids (and a kid like Tim, nonetheless) would know to do. He asked McKenzie: "Well, you're wearing all pink, aren't you?" She nodded. He goes: "Well, cactus cannot go through PINK!" I just thought that was a genious move and it did help.

So I am destined to forever be the "aunt who threw her niece into a cactus." It's very sad, but one day I will tell little McKenzie this tragic story and she will laugh her little butt off...I hope.

At least she told me before I left that she still likes me.

My Favorite New Show

2006-12-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

So I have not followed any TV dramas in several years. With the season's new shows and the ability to watch ALL of the hit ABC shows online with limited commercial breaks (go to www.abc.com), this has changed.

I have discovered the BEST new TV drama, heck, BEST TV show this season: Day Break. I am also glad that Taye Diggs is finally on a show that will not be canceled. He's awesome and so is his new show. Check it out.

The Best Present EVER

2006-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

Almost exactly two years ago, Diesel gave me the BEST Xmas present EVER. And as we all know, it wasn't just the present, it was also the presentation.

Diesel took me to a nice dinner at one of our favorite Seattle restaurants, the Harvest Vine. It's a cozy little restaurant in Madison Park where we like to sit at the bar and watch the chefs make updated versions of classic Spanish tapas. After a delicious meal, he gave me my Xmas present. I was unimpressed with the card. Was that it??? He said some nice things, blah, blah, blah, and then..."the one thing we haven't done together is go on a loong, nice vacation. This is why I have gotten us tickets to go to BARCELONA in February."

I was floored. That was the best present EVER! Barcelona is by far my favorite city in all of Europe. And I was going there again, with Diesel. On the other hand, I was also sad. There was no way Diesel would ever top himself. No future Xmas present would ever be good enough.

Anyhow, so the point is, he was able to get a good deal on the tickets due to the SAS specials that they run every Xmas. This is how it works: on each of the 24 days leading up the Xmas, SAS has a great deal on tickets to one selected European city. This year it's $299 each way.

So this year, now that we're married and all, and I don't even get an argyle sweater (read about how Diesel didn't get me an argyle sweater here), I figured there would be no surprise trip and decided to take it upon myself to make myself happy with a little vacation. The best part is that now that we're married, my money is still mine, and his money is mine as well. So it works out pretty well for me, financially speaking.

As I was navigating the page, I had my TV on the PBS Rick Steves special. He was going on about how Prague is amazing city. When I lived in Germany, I had a couple of chances to go to Prague, but somehow never made it. I always regretted it. Anyhow, so as Rick was all singing praises about Prague, the SAS special for today was finally revealed: PRAGUE!

Coincidence? I think not. In fact, I think it was a sign. I emergency-called Diesel. My idea was shot down. Apparently we need to save money. "Why, oh why?," I ask.

I keep telling myself that Diesel will indeed read this and get us tickets to go to Prague and surprise me on Xmas eve. Unfortunately, I have an inkling that this will not happen. Now that we're married there is less incentive to impress me, or maybe no incentive at all.

Somebody Stole Our Idea...

2006-12-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Or maybe we stole theirs.

So Diesel and I decided to throw our first Xmas party at the new condo. We are VERY excited about it. After careful deliberation, we decided to go for a theme, and we chose "UGLY Xmas Sweater Party," where our fab friends will show up with their most ugly and disgusting wardrobe pieces, and we can all laugh at each other.

Lauren said she didn't have an ugly Xmas sweater, but she could wear her husband's ugly Cosby sweater. This statement instigated some deeper investigation on our part, as I tried to google her a pic of a classic Cosby sweater. In googling this, I ran accross this site:

http://www.darthvato.com/cosbysweater.html

Awesome, isn't it???

Good Riddance

2006-12-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

"The only thing that's gonna be left after a nuclear holocaust is Cher and cockroaches."

This was once said in reference to the resilience of two of the world's ugliest and nastiest creatures.

So the other day Diesel and I went to Goodwill to donate several of our winter sweaters. There were about 30 pieces of clothing altogether. We dropped it off, and upon getting off our car, I saw them. Staring at me. Mocking me. There they were: the VINYL PANTS.

For those who haven't known my husband for very long, there was a time where he was a pseudo rock star. And during this tumultuous identity crisis, he purchased a pair of what he thought at the time to be the MOST AWESOME pants. VINYL. SHINY. BLACK. UGLY. NASTY. UGH.

Vinyl pants were NEVER in, unlike their close cousins, but equally nasty, the leather pants for men. And even then, those were only semi cool-looking on old and crusty gay German men with chicken legs.

But I digress...

So there they were. One of the world's ironies. The most despised piece of clothing in the pile REMAINED. Like Cher and the cockroaches.

Ivy Dreams

2006-11-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

When white peeps go on reality TV shows they get to wear their cute bikinis and live on a remote island. Or they get to travel around the world with their best friend. Or they get to go to Italy and date a real Italian prince.

However, when my Asian peeps go on a reality show they don't get to go anywhere or meet anybody interesting. Instead, they get to stay at home and do what they always do: STUDY. So it doesn't come as a surprise that THE only reality-show about Asian-Americans is a show that follows 4 unfortunate individuals as they study, study, and study. The prize: an Ivy League education. I am NOT kidding, you go check it out yourself:

http://azntv.com/ivydreams/

It is very sad indeed...

Beware of the Stinky Tofu

2006-11-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

"There should be a kitchen policy against food that smells so bad!," announced my friend Cat, indignant, as she walked out of our floor kitchen.

And then, I inhaled it: the unmistakable smell of my grandma's hope chest. A chest where she kept her traditional silk Chinese dresses, adorned with beautiful embroidery. Along with MOTH BALLS, to keep them from being eaten by cockroaches and such.

So being in a multi-diverse workplace is great, as you get to meet and talk to people of other cultures. However, for those averse to the practice of consuming fish head, chicken feet, stinky tofu, cow brains and such, this means that the kitchen of such multi-diverse workplace becomes the source of horrific smells and even more horrific sights.

Today's perpetrator probably had some fish that has been buried in the ground for a good couple of months and then was mixed with stinky tofu. I say, anything that smells like something that KILLS COCKROACHES should not be allowed in the microwave.

Bea in Town and Hair on Fire

2006-10-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

Last night, we had dinner with my friend Bea. The evening started off very odd. I spotted Bea and Ben having drinks at the bar in our favorite hangout, Wasabi Bistro. I gave Bea and big hug, as I hadn't seen her in a year (she lives in London). She immediately asked: "Where is Tim?" I was like: "What? Well, I didn't think he was invited." She looked at me funny and said: "Well, it WAS a 1-month late WEDDING CELEBRATION, wasn't it? Details, details.

This all came about because 4 days before our wedding, Bea, who already had her plane ticket, a dress, matching shoes and shawl for the said wedding, fell down the stairs and fractured her foot. She tried to convince her doctor to still let her go on her transatlantic flight, but he just wouldn't budge, claiming her foot was too swollen and she'd probably get a blood clot on the plane. Details, details. So her trip was postponed until her foot got better and she was off her crutches. And that's how the 1-month late wedding celebration dinner came about. Now if I had only realized I was supposed to invite my husband...

Anyhow, we caught up on the past year, drank sake (well, whatever was left after Ben shamelessly gulped most of it), and just chatted for a long time. Nadja joined us an hour later. At some point, Ben and I were just listening. All of a sudden, I heard a sorta buzzing sound, and then smelled something weird. Like burning hair. I turned to Ben, who looked at me in disbelief, and then said: "I just burned my hair." Ben was like: "Yeah, I know. I can smell it." fortunately I have a lot of it, so I'm doing fine.

Diesel joined us later that evening. Thank God, cuz I had enough of people telling me it was OUR wedding celebration.

30 and Fab!

2006-10-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, after watching the season finale of Project Runway 3, I was DEVASTATED. I cannot believe that foul-mouth, mean, and ruthless Jeff won!

However, despite the sad things that happen in life, I had reason to celebrate today: Today is my good friend Lauren's 30th Bday! And she still looks FAB! In fact, upon learning that she was hitting the big 3-0, a co-worker said: "Wow, you look like you're 25!" Of course this could be attributed to the age-long question: "how do you tell how old an Asian is?" Indeed it's very hard to tell, but a good rule of thumb is to add 10 yrs to what your guess is.

Anyhow, HAPPY BDAY LORENA! You're my most fabulous friend...and you DESERVE your $550 bag!

On the Worst Flight EVER

2006-09-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Tim and I left Sri Lanka early. Don't ask. Just know that when we are back we will go off on this topic.

Anyhow, we are now safe and sound here in Singapore. This is a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL place, esp. after what we've been through. We came back safe and sound (no mines or bombings), parasite free and diarrhea free as well. We were very excited to come back to the first world, but before we did, there was a little obstacle: flying Sri Lankan Air.

Now, our flight to Sri Lanka was quite alright, but coming back...

It all started when we smelled curry on the plane. Now I've flown Asian airlines before, and it would after seeing my peeps bring WATERMELLON (and NO, not the seedless kind, so on top of being ghetto like that they would also spit out the seeds on the trays), so it would not have surprised me if somebody on the plane had brought curry from home in a tupperware. However, much to our surprise, they served curry on the plane. WHO THE HELL SERVES CURRY ON THE PLANE ON A MIDNIGHT FLIGHT, AT 2 IN THE MORNING????!!!! Apparently they do.

And the lights remained on for the 3 out of the 4 hrs of the flight. Anyhow, we made it. I LOVE Singapore...

On the Worst Train Ride Ever

2006-09-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

After being caccooned within the safe walls of our marvelous hotel for a couple of days, Diesel and I decided to venture out and visit the beach town of Unawatuna, a known hippie/surfer hangout, one of the only places in this country that has anything close to a night life (and by "night life" I mean single bar that stays open till 2am). In a bold (and stupid) move, we decided to do as the Sri Lankans do and take the train. The trains here a ancient machines, which never ever have any room to sit down. Diesel and I stayed between the two carts, enjoying a open air ride. The ride to Unawatuna was rather fun and interesting, but it was on the way back that I started to curse the Sri Lankan trains. We were lucky enough to find a spot to stand right next to the bathroom. Just to have an idea of the dire hygienic situation, consider this: the plumbing on the bathroom at the main station was "disconnected" and it did NOT smell as bad as the one on the train. The intense heat, merciless humidity and the BO tthat engulfed us, was unbearable.
After that experience, Club Villa seemed even better than it was before.

On Tuk-Tuks

2006-09-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

When one first arrives in Sri Lanka, he is fascinated by little cute 3-wheel cars called tuk-tuk (they have a cute name as well). Upon embarking on one of the colorful little cars covered in cartoo charater and flower stickers, one comes to realize that the cute little cars are in fact, little death machines. Everybody here is a bad driver and life is elusive when one is on the road, but danger reaches its extreme when you find yourself in the middle of these merciless, crazy drivers while in a tuk tuk. Here they are considered to be a convenient means of transport, but I will dare to say that it's also an effective way of population control.

On My Scrabble Revenge

2006-09-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

This slow pace of life has allowed us to read lots and just take lots of naps and swims during the day...and eat, of course eat with no restraint nor guilt. It has also given us enough time to master the art of playing Scrabble. The first game was the most unbelievable and most of all, the most unfair game ever in the history of Scrabble matches. Diesel won with words like "not," "yes," and "bay," whereas I had beautiful (and if not beautiful, at least words longer than 1 syllable) words such as "escrow" and "raiding." What the !()$*!@#$!????? Needless to say, in a rematch, I beat him.

Diesel also tried to talk me into learning chess again. I told him that I had a bad experience as a kid. He asked me what this horrible experience was, and when I told him, "being lost and confused and hating it," he said it didn't qualify.

So I was forced to play again and to speed up the game, I committed suicide on the chess board. Diesel was less than excited about this, but at least he can't say I didn't give it another shot.

On Eating Curry Every Day

2006-09-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

All you need to know about Sri Lankan cuisine is that they eat curry every day and for every single meal. Curry and rice, curry and hoppers (thin noodles), curry and roti (a rather bland coconut pancake).

So it is no surprise that we've had curry every single days, usually for more than more meal since we got here. This culinary experiece culminated in the last couple of days where we had curry even for breakfast. Good stuff. Diesel and I will try our hands at making curry whe we get back.

On Turning Cushions All Day Long

2006-09-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Our first stop in Sri Lanka was Bentota, one of the beach towns in the southern part of the country. The town is known for its beautiful beaches--which I would have to say were a let down, but taht's a different story--but the place we stayed at, Club Villa, was amazing. It was one of the smaller hotels (as opposed to one of the big resorts full of hoards of Germans) and the staff was just perfect. Being low season and all, I did notice that the staff spends an awful large chunk of their time moving and flipping the cushions on the beach and lawn chairs. It's quite a spectacle to see. They start off the day by flipping them a couple of times before placing them on the chairs. My guess is they're fluffing them up for guests. Then, at the first threat of rain (and there have been some torrential storms around these parts), they will quickly stack them up on one side of the pool. Several times during the afternoon, they will again make their rounds and flip the cushions again.

On the Sri Lankan "Enterpreneurial Spirit"

2006-09-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our friend Gabe traveled to Vietnam last year. Being the adventurer he is, he loved it there, but did say that it seemed that all the people there wanted somehow to make money off of him. This is how it feels here in Sri Lanka. Every time we are out and about and some friendly stranger strikes up a seemingly innocent conversation with us, we invariably end up at a gem shop, at some tourist office where they try to sell travel packages, being asked by some random dude to buy him booze, etc.

On Our Way to Sri Lanka!

2006-09-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

So I have lots to tell about the wedding, but since I only got 4 more min on the Internet, just wanted to let you all know that Diesel and I made it to Singapore (after 17 hrs of flying and 20 hrs of travelling) safe and sound.

The awesome thing was that we travelled BUSINESS CLASS. We were checking in and the lady at the counter was confirming our reservations: Tim Sale and Kelly Chow, business class. My eyes grew really big. BUSINESS CLASS!!!

Anyhow, besides the fine china and the fact that they offer you TWO, not just one drink, you also get tons of legroom and a chair that leans back almost all the way...

More to come later. We're now going to catch our plane to Sri Lanka.

By the way, thanks to all of you who were at the wedding! It was the happiest day of my life and you were all part of the reason.

Lots of Love!

Kelly

The Eight Days of Ugliness

2006-08-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

I got my first pair of glasses at fourteen. Not surprisingly, my parents decided to go the cheap route, and with complete disregard for all teenage angst and their need to fit in, got me what, to this day, I think is the UGLIEST pair of glasses ever. And it didn't help that my brother started singing "Imagine," in homage of the late John Lenon, which he said I ressembled when wearing the glasses. GREAT.

I begged and begged to get contacts, and the parents finally gave in. Since then, I have NEVER been seen in public wearing glasses. And not even the black framed, artsy sorta glasses coming into fashion gave me reason enough to switch.

So fifteen years later I find myself in a situation where I absolutely have to wear glasses. Yes, I've decided to take the plunge and am getting lasik surgery in three days. Very exciting. However, the eight days preceding this long awaited, glorious, day have not done anything for my ego. In fact, I call them the eight days of ugliness. And here how it goes:

(Thurs) On the first day of ugliness, I jumped on a plane in Dallas and landed in Seattle with glasses on. My co-worker did a double-take. He said nothing. But I saw a little gasp. He was horrified by my appearance.

(Fri) On the second day of ugliness, I showed up at work with glasses on. During our team meeting, I kept taking my glasses off to take pictures--it was my co-worker's going away lunch. I admitted vanity and had to announce that it was my first time in 15 years wearing glasses, and that yes, I knew that the frames are crooked and uneven (I've sat on them many times).

(Sat) On the third day of ugliness, I realized another annoyance about glasses: you can't wear sunglasses! Unless you get the flip sunglasses that fit on top of your lenses. That would make me double ugly and triple dorky.

(Sun) On the fourth day of ugliness I got little marks on the bridge of my nose, testament to the pain and suffering that it is to have to support thick, heavy lenses on my nose in truly acrobatic fashion (remember, they are crooked as well).

(Mon) On the fifth day of ugliness, I decided to go for a run on Myrtle Edwards Park by my house. With every step, I felt the glasses bouncing up and down, hitting the bridge of my nose, causing annoyance and reminding me once again that I was wearing horrible glasses.

...And this brings us back to today, (Tue) the sixth day of ugliness, when while typing away at work, my co-worker came up to talk to me. All of a sudden, I heard something drop on my desk. And then I realized: MY LENS HAD POPPED OUT OF MY FRAMES!!!! Ghettoness had reached its limit! My co-worker turned around and went: "Dude, was that your lens?." And indeed it was. My co-worker quickly suggested I tape it to the frames. Was he kidding me??!!! Next thing I know, there were three people all trying to get the obstinate little lens back into the frames. A girl was finally able to loosely screw the little pin back in, and all three warned me that I had to be careful with it. And to go tape my glasses. A fourth person suggested I get an eye patch. What the (*&U$#@???

I get my consultation on Thurs and surgery will follow on Fri. I cannot wait to rid myself of these damn glasses!!! And I guess in the meantime I'll have to deal with whatever the last two days of ugliness will bring.

Pray for me. With a wedding coming up and a honeymooon just around the corner, I simply cannot afford to go blind.

"Ok Go--On Treadmills"

2006-08-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

Emy, Charlie, Erica and Brian came over for dinner on Friday. After a couple of hours of conversing, Brian brings up a cool video that he recently saw on YouTube.

It's a bunch of relatively old dudes dancing to "Ok Go" (a song I've never heard of, but very catchy tune) on treadmills. It's actually quite well choreographed (as far as treadmill dances are concerned). Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeR4Vnvs8U

My Almost Run-In with JT

2006-08-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

On Wed and Thurs I went to Dallas to meet my new client. I went there with my 4 co-workers, all guys. After dining with the client, one of my co-workers somehow convinced everybody to go out to the Ghost Bar at the W Hotel.

It was like something out of Vegas, only the crowd was not as good looking. A lot of Midwesterners wannabes, but what did we expect on a Wed night, right?

Anyhow, at around 12:30, we finally left the bar, as we had a presentation at 9am the next morning (which thank goodness I did not have to present, as I am brand new). I was exhausted and was out as soon as I got to bed.

This morning, right before the meeting, one of the guys, who ended up staying until later nonchalantly informed us that right about the time we left, JT showed up with his entourage. Yes, JT himself, aka Justin Timberlake, aka the non-gay NSync member.

I CANNOT belive that I missed him but about 20 min!!! Is that bad luck or what?

Hooray, We're All Moved In!

2006-08-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

Last Thurs we officially moved into our new condo. HOORAY! Very exciting.

The process of moving itself, however, is not exciting at all. In fact, it's traumatic and cumbersome, even when you use movers--which is what we did this time.

I had been packed for several days in preparation for the actual moving day. Needless to say, I was missing some essentials. So there I was at work. Wearing my Brazilian bikini bottom as underwear (if you know anything about Brazilian swimwear, you are aware that those tiny bottoms give you an instant wedgie) while walking in shoes that rubbed against my heel because there were no socks to be found. Lovely.

Anyhow, the place is still a mess, but we are all moved in!

Where There's a Will, There's a Way...And Where There Is Stinginess, There is Also a Way

2006-08-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

So now that we are approaching the big day, Diesel and I realize that certains things have to be taken care of. One of them is learning how to dance. That's right. The white boy with no rythm and the Asian girl with no coordination will have to follow tradition and entertain the whole wedding crowd with our spasmsmatic dance moves.

I started calling dance schools to see who would take such horrible students such as ourselves. Apparently all of them do, as long as we're willing to pay them big bucks. The going rate is 100/hr, and apparently, we need about FIVE classes to get trained on dancing for our first song. That's a grand total of FIVE HUNDRED dollars!!! What the (*&#$(&##????

Indignant and stingy, I decided I would find a cheap way to do it. And indeed I did. With my beloved library card in hand, I put a hold on every single ballroom dancing DVD/VHS tapes available in the King County Library System. Cost: $0.00.

And then I remembered. Why have to even waste gas picking those up from the library if I could have them delivered to our house? So I Netflixed "ballroom dance" and found several beginner courses on DVD. I was ecstatic.

"How good and effective are these self-learn DVD's?," you ask? I have no clue. You be the judge at the wedding...

Bridal Shower

2006-08-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

My friends Kristin, Tarah and Regina planned and hosted my birdal shower. It was lovely and the food was fabulous!

There were flowers, and everybody made their favorite dishes and gave me their recipes. We played some games all revolving around the "food/cooking" theme and the best part was that friends from different circles got to meet.

Thank you K, Tarah and Regina for a wonderful and memorable shower!

The Glass Castle

2006-07-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

This is actually one of first book club books I've really enjoyed. Given the difference in tastes of each of the members of my "Never Five" book club--named as such because in the 2 years since its inception no book has ever received a perfect score of "5"--this book scored a high "4."

A now successful writer, Jeannette Walls reminisces about her seemingly happy but turbulent childhood. Raised by her "free spirited" parents, she experiences poverty, deprivation, and remembers her parents with surprisingly fondness despite the reality of her family life.

I read this in two sittings as we flew to and back from Germany.

Even Molly and I, who NEVER agree on books gave this a 4. Worth the read. You can get it at Amazon.com.

Ronaldo, Beckham, Robinho and Roberto Carlos in Seattle

2006-07-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friend Michele from running club IM'ed me. She had big news. BIG NEWS. Real Madrid is coming to Seattle to play an exhibition game against United DC (from Washington DC).

All our excitement to get tickets (which went on pre-sale on Tickemaster yesterday) came crashing down when we found out that you had to have a special code to buy the tickets, since they are not being sold to the "general" public yet.

Diesel said he could give us the hookup, because his co-worker knows the Seattle Sounders owner, who I guess was involved in planning the whole event. Anyhow, Diesel did not come through, but Michele did.

So we got TICKETS! We are going to see some big stars. The Brazilians: Ronaldo (bald, fat and really not that great of a player now), Roberto Carlos and the adorable Robinho as well as the super hot David Beckham!

The event also revived our little soccer bunch--Tarah, Regina, Kristin and Corinne--so we're all gonna go! August 8! Oh, if you want the code to get the tix on pre-sale, it's: KJRAM06

Camping in Rainier

2006-07-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went camping with my good friend Adrienne and her friends. Truth be told, I was dreading the hot weather that they have been predicting, especially knowing that there would be hiking on Sat--and I HATE hiking.

It was a huuuge group of people. Most of us drove up on Fri night, and the rest arrived the next day, just in time for the hiking trip. The hike itself wasn't too bad, it was about 3 miles round trip. However, the scorching sun made that quite a trip. Fortunately, all 15 or so of us made it all the way to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Germany 3 x Portugal 1

2006-07-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

The place was packed. It was a pizzeria that had a big screen and was broadcasting the 3rd place Germany x Portugal game. Even though Winny's roommate (Anja) decided to boycott all things Italian after Germany lost to Italy, we were up for some pizza and a good time.

There were tons of people at the pizza place, but luckily Ramona (Winny's other roommate) and her friends got a table.

If losing sucked, winning 3rd place provided at least some kind of consolation, especially given the German pride phenomenon that spurted with the World Cup. Afterwards the whole crowed headed over to Leopoldstrasse, one of the several "Fan Meile" (fan mile) set up all across the country, where streets were closed, so that fans could celebrate.

The place was packed and people were singing and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. we left at about 3, but there was much partying beyond that...

Here are some pics of the craziness that ensued...

Winny's rommates and friends...

Winny, Sandra, Ramona, Tim and I

BG Update

2006-07-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Despite being the most disliked and probably the most despised character of all of my anecdotes, it seems that BG, my arch-nemesis, is the most popular person in this blog and the subject of many inquiries.

To clarify some of the questions that have come up, YES, BG is in fact, a real person. I do not make these things up. All of the stories recounted here, despite having a bit of flair and embellishment added (for entertainment purposes only), are based on true facts.

BG latest:

Today, one of our co-workers came over and started cracking up. A second co-worker and I stared at her in confusion. She pointed towards BG's desk and there it was: BG had put his head down and was TAKING A NAP. Let me reiterate it, because no, you did not read it wrong: There, in the middle of all the cubicles, there he was, shamelessly SLEEPING instead of working. And unlike George Costanza, who at least went to the trouble of hiding under his desk, BG just sat there, bald head on his immaculate desk (he is freakishly clean), catching some z's.

And then the funniest thing happened. After 5-10 min, he woke up, got his jacket and said: "I am going home." It was 3:40pm. I guess sleeping at work makes you tired.

Our New Digs

2006-07-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

A most exciting thing happened right before we left for Germany...2 days before our departure, Diesel and I put an offer on a condo in Belltown. After having to go back and forth with the seller via fax while in Munich, our offer got accepted!

Site17 is a 4-year old rental building where all the units were remodelled and turned into condos. Awesome location and very cool layout. Check it out:

http://www.site17.com/photos.htm

We close next week, and in the meantime, Diesel and I have been busting our arses every weekend to get his house ready to go on the market. It's been a long road, but we got it all done yesterday night, and the open house is this Wed. We did tons of work inside the house, so selling it will be bittersweet...

But we got a new place, how exciting!

Why Brazil, Germany and Portugal Lost...by KC

2006-07-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

Why did these powerhouses lose? Because Diesel JINXED them!

1) Why did Brazil lose?
The night before the big game between Brazil and France, Tiim said he was going to play the Playstation 2 to "predict the final game score." By playing Brazil, he got beat 7 x NOTHING. And that is why my team lost.

2) Why did Germany lose?
Right before we left for the Fan Fest, where we would be joining the crowds in watching the Germany x Italy game on a big screen, Diesel mentioned that he had forgotten to wear his lucky penguin boxers to give Germany good luck. And that's why my team lost.

3) Why did Portugal lose?
Because Tim said they were going to beat France, that's why.

Day 3 in Germany: We Got World Cup Tickets!

2006-07-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

After working until 2:30 in the morning, I got up at around 11. I was tired. Winny and his roommate Anja let us borrow their bikes, so off we went to explore the city on our bikes.

The problem is that despite my Chinese genes, I have horrible bike riding skills. I saw many a senior citizens pass me, and the worst blow came when an 60 year old lady with a rusty bike that was about to fall apart passed me as well.

We went to the Olympic Stadium, where they are holding a Fan Fest for soccer fans. During game days/nights, they show the games on a giant screen that stands in the middle of a sorta amphitheater. We had lunch there in the beergarden.

After that we decided to ride around the neighborhood and I went to the grocery store for the third time today. Don't ask me why, but I feel that grocery stores are kind of a tourist attraction of their own.

We came home and got ready for the Portugal x France game, for which we had tickets. Getting to the stadium was quite a track. Fortunately we got on the train before the hundred of fans tried to get on. Diesel took some cool pics on his blog. The game in itself was not so exciting, since all of the teams we were rooting for (Brazil, US and Germany) are out. We sat behind the Portuguese fans, and honestly, despite all their animated cheers, it was pathetic to see them rooting for their team. I never thought that there was any chance that they would win it.

Being there though was quite the experience. The World Cup is, after all, one of the BIGGEST sporting events in the world, and we were part if it!

Getting home wasn't as bad as we thought, as we were able to hop on the train on our first try.

I worked till 3:30 am that night. Work sucks.

Day 2 in Germany: A Sad, Sad Day...

2006-07-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

After dodging jetlag, Tim and I enjoyed a full day in beautiful Munich. We walked around the Altstadt (old part of the city) and visited a couple of churches and the Residenz. We also made some stops to go shopping. We came home exhausted, but after about an hr to rest and take a shower, we headed off to one of the public viewings of the World Cup games. We went to the same open field where they have Oktoberfest. There was a big screen set up and they were selling food and beer. The crowd was a sea of black, red and yellow; everybody was animated and chanting their usual soccer songs. Germany was playing well, and as far as I could tell, it dominated the game. First half ended, and gave way to a more exciting second half. After over 90 min and still a 0-0 score, I really thought that it would go down to penalty kicks, and that for sure Germany had it, because Lehmann, the German goalie, was doing awesome. Well, we all know how this game ended: during the last couple of minutes of overtiime, Italy scored. I heard gasps and when I looked around, I saw looks of stun and desbelief. And then came the second Italy goal. It was over for Germany. It was one of the longest and saddest walks in history...going back home we joined the multitude of disappointed, defeated fans. In my honest and impartial opinion, Germany played better soccer and deserved to win. But that might well be me hoping to watch GERMANY in the final game playing IN GERMANY. But I know that's not going to happen. My only consolation (and trust me, it is very small) is that tomorrow the German jerseys will probably go on sale, as it was the case with Brazil jerseys after their loss last Sunday. I still wish Germany had made it though...

Day 1 in Germany: Dodging Jetlag

2006-07-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

We spent all of day travelling. I hate days like that. All you do is sit on the plane and do nothing. I did get some reading done. Seeing that, as always, I procrastinated on my book club book (The Glass Castle), I managed to read about 240 pages on the plane. It started out slow, but got better.

Anyhow, the day before we left for Germany, I realized that I had told my friend Winny, whom we were staying with, that we were arriving in Munich on Sunday. Thing is, we were LEAVING on Sunday, but not getting there till Monday morning. I franctically tried to get a hold of them, but for some reason, he doesn't have voice mail set up on his cell. I ended up managing to get a hold of his roommate Ramona, who said she would pass along the message.

We got to the airport and took the U-Bahn to downtown Munich, where Winny lives. He was indeed at home and made some joke about me once again planning way in advance bu planning wrong. Whatevers, I accept the derision because I deserve it.

After a nice shower, Tim and I headed out to explore Munich. The weather was beautiful, and to my surprise, I found the Altstadt rather empty. We had Indian food and then made a pilgrimage (at least that's what it seemed like) to the Englische Garten, a park in the middle of the city. There we took a 2.5 hr nap, which rejuvenated and put us both in a much better mood!

Since it was Diesel's bday, we went out for dinner to this cool little restaurant down the street from where Winny lives. Winny's roommate Anja and friend Ute joined us for dinner. The food was Turkish, but i SWEAR I got chicken kung pao, which didn't taste Turkish at all. It was all delicious and I would definitely go back when I'm back in town.

To celebrate Diesel's bday, the restaurant gave him a bottle of Prosceco. We finished off the night at a Biergarten, where Winny introduced us to our new favorite drink: Radler (beer + seven up mixed together).

We got home at around 12:30. And that's how we dodged the dreaded jetlag...

On Our Way to Deutschland!

2006-07-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

It was a loooong day at work. To get all my stuff done before Tim and I left for Germany, I got to work before 7am and left after 8. It was a long, no fun day...but when I finally turned on my "out of office reply," in outlook, I finally felt some relief, knowing that for at least a week, I would get some well deserved rest....or maybe not...

We are, after all, going to the WORLD CUP! We got tix to see the semi-final game in Munich. If all goes as predicted, we'll be seeing Brazil and England. We're going to see the two quarter-final games tomorrow at Fado. My prediction: Brazil 3 x France 0 and England 2 x Portugal 1.

I'm VERY EXCITED!

Wine and Bike & My Big Chance to Be on TV!

2006-06-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Yakima Valley area for our annual wine & bike trip. We went with Rev. Brian Jacoby (who will be doing our wedding; he is getting quite good at lecturing, and even lectured me extensively this weekend when I started whining), Kristin and Nate and Steve.

The weather was good, although a little too hot for biking. Except for some flat tires (bikes and Tim's car), we made it safe and sound back to the hotel. Oddly enough nobody got tipsy enough.

One of the most exciting things was that at one of the wineries, there was a CBS crew doing a piece on several people who were riding their horses around all the wineries and orchards around Yakima. Of course I tried to move my chair so that I would be in the background, and hopefully make my long-awaited debut on the small screen. It was then to my surprise and delight that at some point during the taping, the cameraman actually told us to "act normal" because we would be on TV!!! The piece will be broadcasted on July 5th on the Early Show.

After the crew left, Brian and I were sent over to beg for the lunch leftovers from the CBS crew. We thought that the wineries served lunch, but obviously we were wrong. We were tired and hungry, so the team sent Brian and me to get some scraps from the catered lunch that the CBS crew had been served. Brian was sent because he is charming and a good story teller. I was probably sent because I'm whiny and skinny enough to look like I'm malnourished. Between having the caterers be charmed or filled with pity, we figured we'd get at least something to eat. Brian did all the talking: "Excuse me--I know this is going to sound pathetic, but we're really hungry...can we have some of your dessert?" Worked like a charm, and minutes later we were all eating the beautiful, but miniscule petit fours, albeit still craving something savery and more substantial.

The next day, we decided to go rafting. Lots of fun.

In Zillah, getting ready to bike

Kristin, Nate, Brian, Tim and Steve
at CBS's Early Show taping

Latest Craving

2006-06-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

Meet the new and delicious Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Bar. My favorite Cherry Garcia ice cream, covered with a decadent layer of chocolate.

I've only been able to find it at the convenience store by my house (I actually get off one stop earlier so I can grab me a bar). No luck at Safeway, QFC or Trader Joe's. If you know of any other stores around Belltown that carry it, please let me know.

You Know the World has Gone Awry When...

2006-06-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

..you see a minivan parked in front of the Tamarind Tree. Formerly regarded as just another hole in the wall in Chinatown (aka International District for those who wish to be PC), SOMEHOW, this Vietnamese restaurant got written up on the NY Times. And that was the beginning of the end...

You see, when a cheap, but good eats place like that gets written up on a mainstream newspaper, it becomes a mainstream phenomenon. Not only that, it attracts the white peeps; in special, the white peeps that live in the suburbs. In this particular case, it attracted two distinct groups: the hipsters and the soccer moms.

Like it or not, the white peeps ruin the ghettoness of such places, therefore driving up the prices of the food. It's supply and demand. Market economics, call it what you want. No, I'm not trying to be racist. For places such as the Tamarind Tree, gone are the days when one would walk in and be greeted by the smell of moth balls. I'm serious, I've BEEN to those places. My peeps (meaning the Asians) would just shrug it off and say nonchalantly: "Ok, so there are some cockroaches here, but at least they are dead." Not so with a white peep. He/she would FREAK OUT. And I mean FREAK OUT. In the olden days of these places, the customers would not be bothered, and in fact, even expect getting dirty plates, having somebody throw utensils at them and yell at them when taking too long to order.

However, when these places start welcoming the Caucasian clientele, one witnesses some dramatic changes: All of a sudden they try to change the decor, wean out the bad service, and worse: they try to PASS THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT INSPECTION. These little updates produce all sorts of ridiculousness. In the case of the Tamarind Tree, this entailed the following:

1) Change in decor: the addition of a water fountain, where the water cascaded down so fast that instead of a soothing feeling, it had the exact opposite effect. Not to mention the giant tile pieces that were missing from this fountain.

2) Marketing: neon signs advertising the said fountain (something along the lines of "Tamarind Tree: with its famous fountain")

3) Menu overhaul: all of a sudden things such as chicken feet and cow tendons do not make for appetizing entrees anymore. Beef with broccoli and some kind of meat in a sweet and sour sauce sound like a much better idea!

Bear in mind that Jen, Chris, Tim and I went there before I knew about all of this. But as soon as I saw the hipsters hanging out outside and the Chrysler van pull in, I knew I was in for quite an experience.

The food was alright. I would have to give it another try, as I had been sick that day. Service. Well, our waiter started out describing the menu with a lot of fair. We ordered 4 dishes. Out of the 4 dishes, he got one of them wrong and never ordered the 4th one. When we politely brought the incident to the manager's attention, he said he would "take care of us by giving us free dessert." Free food has an effect of making you greedy and order more than you would otherwise. We each ordered something different. The waiter ractified what the manager had said: "So, I know there was some miscommunication, but seeing that you guys waited, etc, etc, I am giving you ONE free dessert." We were like: "ONE?" He's like: "Yeah." We were like: "ONE for the FOUR of us?" He was like: "Uh-huh." That was it. At that point I knew that no matter what, hipsters, minivan, tacky fountain, sweet and sour pork and all, that was still, at heart, an Asian restaurant.

The Most Expensive Jeans EVER (owned by Kelly)

2006-06-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

So I got tired of hearing Diesel say I had to most horrible jeans ever. And that I wear them every day. So ok, he was right on both counts. The pair does sag in the back, making it look like I am wearing Depends adult diapers. But it is comfy. And yes, I wear it every day practically, but that's the only pair that I currently own.

Diesel did also bring up a good point. That I should get a NICE pair of jeans, and even if I paid over 100 bucks, as I would get my money's worth by wearing them every day, like I do with the diaper-jeans hybrid.

However, when the time came to shed some big bucks for a pair of blues, I was not up for the challenge. It just seems too expensive and excessive, especially after watching the Motorcycle Diaries, which follows the young Che Guevara and his journeys with the little people, those who live in misery, homeless in their own country, with very little to eat. And here I am, pondering whether I should buy a pair of jeans that would feed all of these people.

Diesel, my rich fiance, tired of seeing the pathetic sight of my behind, decided to put an end to the my fashion misery and bought me a pair of some hip jeans (loved by teenagers that watch MTV). They cost him some big bucks, but now he is much less embarrassed to be seen with me now.

To Die or Not to Die (During Your Honeymoon)

2006-06-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

So for our honeymoon, Diesel and I decided we wanted to go to secluded Sri Lanka. The problem with September, when we'll be on our honeymoon, is the weather around the world. It'll eithe be too cool, too muggy, etc.

Sri Lanka and southern India seemed both exotic enough and somewhere where neither of us have been and could explore together.

There is one little problem with Sri Lanka, however: there is a civil war going on. This has been the case for years, and I am still getting versed on why the government and Tamil rebels just won't get along. Diesel and I have been following the news to see if there is any improvement. Here's what we know:

1) The war is, as said, a civil war, and foreigners have not been the target of any attacks
2) The war is restricted to the northern part of the country

However, here is what we also know:
1) Last month, some foreigners were killed by landmines in the northern part of the country, while chasing elephants
2) 2 weeks ago, a bus full of innocent civilians was bombed in norther Sri Lanka

That said, we are now still determining if our chances of survival is great enough to make this exotic trip worth our time...and our lives.

World Cup and Me at Fado's

2006-06-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

I scheduled my work hours around Brazil's debut game, which was this Tuesday, Jun 13. My coworker and I headed down to Fado, the Irish pub across the street from work (how convenient!), where we met up with Diesel and my sister Emy.

We sat behind the Brazilian fans, all in yellow and green, playing the drums and screaming at the top of their lungs.

As expected, Brazil won. Not exactly their best performance, but it'll do for now. Kaká is the cutest and Ronaldinho Gaúcho is, unfortunately, the fuggliest. But he is indeed an awesome player and I am rooting for him.

Kaká, the cutest, after scoring Brazil's first goal

Ronaldinho Gaúcho, the fuggliest, showing some mad skills

World Cup Starts

2006-06-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

The World Cup started this month. This is a VERY IMPORTANT time in the life of every Brazilian, and as such, I have been closely watching it. AND Diesel and I will be joining the festivities in 2 weeks, when we go to Germany to watch the semi-final game in Munich.

It has been a tumultous road to finding a working stream where I can watch games from my work computer. My coworker and I spent several hours googling sites where we could connect to a live stream of the games. The world seemed like a selfish place. BBC would only broadcast to UK users, and when I tried to connect, sure enough, they denied me access. Brazilian sites even denied me access to cilps of past games. My other peeps, the Chinese, masters of all things illegal, ended up supplying the only live, illegal broadcast of games through a live stream in CHINESE that would buffer every freaking 5 min. It was maddening, but at least it was something.

Lucky me, I'm practically married to a geek: Diesel did come through and found what is surely a very illegal live stream that has ESPN2. It's a peer-to-peer application that works really well. My coworker and I have been enjoying hours of good soccer. We passed it on application to several other coworkers, and currently, dozens of people have it installed in their computer. Productivity has certainly gone down as the hours spent watching soccer go up. Anyhow, if you are interested in joining the herds of the semi-useless, email me and I'll send you the link to download the player.

There have been some moments--several hours, actually--of sheer despair. Last Friday, the live stream went down, and we were cut off from the wonderful world of soccer. I thought somebody found us out, for sure, and decided to deprive many a soccer fans of their right to participate in this great event. Fortunately, later that day, the live stream was ressurrected, to our delight.

The Nasty Sound of a Sigh--When Uttered by BG

2006-06-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

I was starting to think that BG (aka Backstabbing Geek, if you have not been following the saga between me and my arch-enemy) was becoming a gentler, kinder soul despite being mostly frustration and meanness. That of course, was an incorrect assumption.

Today he was supposed to send me a revised report, which he told me was going to be ready today, which is what I communicated to the client. But of course he doesn't. As with other things, anything that he has to send me somehow gets ignored or forgotten.

So in an act of good faith, I decided to send him a very polite email inquiring about the status of this report--which I knew he wasn't going to deliver, because as always, everything I ask him to do is "hard and takes a long time." 5 seconds later, which is about the time it takes for him to get my email, I hear this deliberately loud SIGH. ***WHAT THE HELL?***Dude, I'm sitting in the cubicle right across from you, and I can obviously HEAR when you utter a frustrated sigh and SEE you when you make an ugly face! Am I asking you to do anything above and beyond your job. NO!

BG has done this before. I will start counting how many times he does that, and for each time I hear the nasty sound of his sigh, I will dislike him a little more...

Pinot Noir and the Worst Sandwich EVER

2006-06-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Tim surprised me with a trip to the Willemette Valley down in Oregon. The region lies about 30 min from Portland and has several dozen wineries where some awesome American Pinot Noirs have been produced.

Our friend Koko drove down to Portland with us, as she was going to a wedding by Hood River that weekend. We decided to get lunch in Portland at this cool-looking brewery place. Koko and Diesel had muscles and fries and a burger and both liked the food. I, however, decided to go "light and healthy" and ordered the "veggie grinder." Now, I had NO IDEA what a grinder was, but was told that it was a Midwestern hot sub sandwich, which was good enough for me. As the waiter delivered my food, I knew I was in for a bad case of diarrhea (if not worse). The sub was loaded with onions and peppers that had been smothered in butter. I could SEE it and TASTE it, and although it was completely disgusting, I managed to eat half of it. I began to feel queasy shortly after.

The weekend now seems hazy to me. I remember drinking a lot of wine and eating a lot o free food/snacks, mostly cheese and crackers. I also consumed an insane amount of prosciutto. I haven't eaten pork in almost 10 yrs, but somehow, could not stop myself from chowing down the disgusting pieces of meat. Dehydrated, wined out, still suffering from the delayed effects of a sandwich gone bad, and now suffering from a pork overload, I spent the weekend feeling queasy and fighting off a stomach ache.

It was the suck.

As I said, nothing about last weekend is very clear to me. Next thing I know, we are coming back with 2 cases of wine. I am still recovering from my stomach ache, and I'm sure that pigging out at Taco Time tonight did nothing to improve my condition.

Bday Weekend in NY

2006-06-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind on blogging, but that just goes to show once again that I am NOT a geek in denial, and I CAN live without blogging.

Anyhow, for my bday weekend, I met up with Timothy in NY. He was there for work, and I was there for the free ride on his company's money. It's nice not to feel any remorse about paying for a $30 cab ride (or several) when you could have bought a subway ticket for a fraction of the price.

My mom and I flew to NY together, as she was there to visit a friend (it was her bday weekend too). I really thought I could deal with the red eye, but was utterly mistaken. The Jet Blue flight leaves Seattle at midnight and gets to NY at 8am (5am Seattle-time). Aside from being a long flight at a bad time, the following factors made this one of the WORST flights EVER:

1) Large and in charge guy sitting next to me and spilling over my seat, which left me very little room to move
2) Worst case of projectile vomit from a poor Asian lady who basically passed out, while the flight attendants tended to her and her family wiped off the puke off the plane's ceiling
3) Fussy 3-yr old that screamed for 3 out of the 5 hrs

So upon arriving in NY, after walking around a street fair and up to Central Park, my mom, Diesel and I ended up crashing at the hotel. My mom got picked up by her friend that afternoon and Diesel and I had dinner with MY friend David ("MY" denoting a friend that I will take with me in case of a divorce) and his friend Elaine. Somehow we ended up at this bar that Elaine described as an Eurotrash meeting point, where some random dude kept trying to crash our little circle. Elaine, in all her shamelessness, kept turning her back to him, to no avail.

The next day, we did MOMA and walked a lot. That night, we got great seats to see Avenue Q, a show that came highly recommended by David. In retrospect, I think that David would have been a much better date for Diesel, as several of the jokes in the show were highly embarrassing.

I took Monday off and went shopping! Hooray. NY was a blast...

To S@le or not to S@le?

2006-05-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

Besides “Have you got your dress yet?” and “Have you picked a reception place?” the question “Will you be Kelly S?” is right up there when it comes to wedding-related interrogation.

I have put much thought into this, and try as I might, that Seinfeld episode always comes to mind. It’s haunting, really: Jerry is waiting for some woman named Susan Chang at a Chinese restaurant. The lady shows up, and he is stunned to find that the Chang-lady is, in fact, WHITE. Jerry is indignant; he feels betrayed by the woman who wanted to pass herself off as Chinese.

So I ask myself: If somebody is expecting a Kelly S, will they feel indignant and betrayed when they see me, with my black hair and Asian nose, walk into the room? Will I be accused/judged for trying to pass myself off as WHITE? I may as well change my whole name to “SHANIQUA S,” if I really want to play with people’s minds.

I have dreamed all my life for the moment when I, Kelly, would FINALLY rid myself of my lame last name. And as I approach this glorious day, I find myself surrounded by doubt and confusion. Kelly C-S? Kelly C S? Kelly S?

So now I’m taking a poll. I cannot guarantee that your vote will actually count (because in the end I’ll just do whatever I please), but I’d like to see how people feel about this very important issue.