*1287 - small world

What are the odds that childhood best friends (my first real best friend--we were the original 6 y/o versions of the mean girls, true terrors, ask anyone in our class) date (or marry, in her case) boys who graduated from the same college and class at UVA, and manage to somehow cross paths at a moment's notice in a little deli in Charlottesville because we happened to all be within hours of each other one Monday in December?  Slim, we venture.  The world is getting smaller and smaller, and I for one think that's fabulous.

*1286 - nocciola

In Italy, whenever my tummy managed to free up space amid the constant flow of pasta, pizza, cheese, meats, and wine, we would get gelato's from little corner stores.  I tried many flavors but my favorite was the classic nocciola, hazelnut.  I tried sharing at first but eventually realised that I needed a cone to myself each time.  Which as everyone knows is okay because even though it's all creamy and rich (because little air is incorporated), it has lower fat content than its fluffy American counterpart.  Yep.

*1285 - two observations from rogers, arkansas

1. A key difference, among many, between grocery shopping in SF vs. grocery shopping in Arkansas is that not producing a reusable bag (bright orange, covered with little paler orange kitties no less) in the former would induce the death stare and result in great embarrassment, while producing a reusable bag in the latter results in great confusion ("You wha...? You mean you want me to put your eggs in that ...?").

2. I have somehow accummulated close to 30 pairs of shoes here, and I don't even live here for reals and it's been only three months tops.  I can't remember how that happened, but I'm not sure how I'm going to move all this stuff back to SF.

*1284 - boston

Back in Boston for my annual holiday party pilgrimage.  Can you believe that this would be my FOURTH?  The number of people I actually know has dwindled dramatically since I moved from Boston to SF, and much less the number of people I consider to be a close buddy outside of work.  People here come and go so much; if you can imagine it, I would consider myself one of a handful of oldies remaining from the good ole days. 

Sitting in the cab and watching familiar streets and restaurants and gas stations whiz by; felt a pang of nostalgia as this one year in Boston was formative in my life.  My first days in the first job out of college, my first project and my first awesome project team, my first actual apartment, my first car and my first time getting stuck on ice, my first days of true financial independence--no turning back, bring on the bills, it feels so good, not sarcastic--my first hello to D--okay, I actually don't remember it at all, I was too overwhelmed with meeting 80 new people in half an hour--but my first date with D--that one I remember.  A recent cabbie helped me figure out why it is I still feel like I was in Boston much longer than I've had been in SF though the reverse is true.  It's because Boston represented a gigantic milestone in my life consisting of many important big life milestones.  Sure, many milestones were formed in SF too but at that point, life situations were more stable and things were less like night and day.  And of course SF is so super cool that you never finish exploring it or fully get to know it.

Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day, meeting people I work with/yell at/sob to virtually all the time but have never met in person.  Such is the life of a person who works in a satellite office.

And the day after tomorrow will be an interesting day as well because our holiday parties are generally epic and I can't wait to see what unfolds this year.

*1283 - tipping point

Mind over matter.  Sometimes that is all it takes--a big bludgeon that makes your head swim, knees collapse, and eyes water, and then picking yourself up and seeing things from a different perspective.  That bludgeon didn't make sense, it wasn't fair, whatever, put it behind you and figure out the strategy that gives you the most peace.  I've found my peace, I'm not doing anything differently outwardly, but it's all about how you process it in your mind.  You can look at it as a debilitating strike or you can look at it as an opportunity.

*1282 - croissant vs. tiramisu

*1281 - blind

The bitter irony of removing your contacts and then searching around blindly for your glasses.

*1280 - neither here nor there

Ironically here in the middle of Arkansas, through a colleague's colleague's colleague I found myself invited to a dinner table-ful of Chinese girls (not what I was expecting when I turned up, was very surprised) and now have more Chinese friends than I've had in ... years.  And this is ironic because SF is 1/3 Asian but the ones I do know are pretty much fully acculturated.

So here I am reminded yet again that I am neither here nor there.  The Chinese friends have to switch to broken English to communicate with this girl here who looks perfectly Chinese but can only understand slightly and definitely not speak the language, they hang on tightly to their roots while I'm virtually culture-neutral, they actively seek and feel at home with people from their background while I feel generally out of place in either situation.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Asian roots, I love my Asian food, I'm proud of my country in many ways and still call it home.  But I embrace parts of where I am right now and have adapted to where I am in multiple ways, and can adapt back to an extent whenever the situation calls for it.  It's an internal struggle of feeling authentic and wondering who I would be if ever dropped into in a vacuum of context.

*1279 - faux hangover

Danced the night away until an absurd hour in the morning (absurd for my aging body, that is), which also woke me up ridiculously early this morning, such that I feel like I have a bad hangover even though no alcohol was imbibed last night.  Need a long soak in the bath today.

Returning from two weeks in Italy has been a rude awakening.  Plunged straight back into work with a long-lasting cold to boot.  But yes, it was as lovely as you would imagine it to be! :)

*1278 - from Venice

Testing out mobile blogging while in Italy. Wonder how this picture is going to turn out:

Imagine living in the rolling hills of Tuscany! What a different lifestyle. Market research? Wha...? What kind of obscure lifelong dream is that?? Here, you own a little b&b, produce wines, grow herbs, eat cheese, pluck olives, live simply.

We are now on the outskirts of Venice, after spending time in Rome and Tuscany. Tomorrow D joins the 'rents and I, and we explore Venice for real. I think it will be lovely. All the places we have visited so far have been so different, with so much character.

*1277 - back and forth

Missing this boy:

(On a boat to Angel Island)

 

Missing this kitty, with her little fang poking out:

 

And if you can tell, missing my G11 and have been relying on camera phones of late, because it got destroyed in Costa Rica and has not been able to be resuscitated since.  It was a blessing in disguise because I decided to make the leap into the DSLR world, only because the bodies are getting smaller and smaller these days and you won't believe how light the Canon EOS SL1 is!!  Tiny, feels good in my G11-accustomed hands.  I really wanted a Nikon so that I could borrow equipment from the siblings, but weight trumped everything.

 

So I'm one month into my back and forth schedule.  Mon, Sep 9: Flew to Arkansas.  Fri, Sep 20: Flew to SF.  Mon, Oct 7: Flew to Arkansas. Thu, Oct 17: Fly to SF.  Sat, Oct 19: Fly to ROME!!  Sun, Nov 3: Fly to SF.  Tue, Nov 5: Fly to Arkansas.

 

Most people are sympathetic and commiserating and yes, dealing with the 8-10 hours of travel each time I fly (including taxi's, layovers) is not the best thing in the world.  But think about it, I essentially get a day off once a week or so--yes, spent awkwardly in a plane seat and sprinting through airports, but think about all the reading and snoozing I'm catching up with--and ultimately doing something that I really enjoy doing.  It's been very hectic and terribly stressful because I've been running a one-man show while training others, but once they're trained and can work independently alongside me, it's going to be much better.

 

For now, this little town is a far cry from the big cities I am used to, but the nice thing about little towns is that the people are amazing and also a far cry from people in the big cities I'm used to.  There's a great little group that I go social dancing (salsa, bachata, merengue, etc.) with regularly, and have been invited to all sorts of things I would never get to do in SF like tubing on a lake on new friends' personal boats, going to a corn maze with a petting zoo, etc.  My biggest complaint though is that the food here sucks (I generally have hated everything I've eaten out so far, maybe with the exception of fried chicken and pretty good BBQ) and there are no dance studios for adults besides for ballet (which I no longer dare to do) and latin/ballroom, i.e. no contemporary dance, though there's a pole studio I'm not particularly fond of but try to attend because it's cheap and hopefully will help me retain some arm strength.  Shrug.  That's why I decided traveling back and forth would keep me sane and give me the best of both worlds.

*1276 - it's been a while

First time doing Latin social dance in years, in Arkansas of all places.  It was refreshing and has left me with a twinge of sadness wondering why it hasn't been a big part of my life for the past couple of years.

1275 - how to eat out alone

The thought of eating out alone at a nice restaurant for the very first time tends to be absolutely terrifying.  It's something we have been primed to avoid and have taken great measures to prevent the solo meal situations.

But it's a good barrier to hurdle if you travel alone (for business, for fun) or just need to bust out of social norms for the kick of it.  I was freaking out the very first time a couple of weeks back when I decided to take a break from work and eat at the fanciest place in town (which has been very hit or miss since I've been there twice now; more on that another time).  It turns out that I had a nice relaxing and unawkward dinner, with my only complaint (besides the food) being perhaps a bit of boredom.

1. It's ok to sit at a table; you don't have to slink off to the bar where it's more "acceptable" to be a solo diner there, unless you prefer sitting at the bar to have some company.

2. Unless you have a good view / there's a TV (which there probably isn't if you're in a nicer place), if the atmosphere permits, consider reading material for parts of the experience that are not as interesting e.g. when you're waiting for the dish to arrive or between courses or waiting for the check.  It did get a little dry for me personally even though I was in a museum-ish restaurant with interesting pieces displayed.  Fiddling with your phone just feels a little sad.

3. Servers / restaurant employees are TOTALLY used to working with solo diners so they don't bat an eyelid.  In fact, they're probably going to be more sensitive and attentive to your needs.  And who cares what other people think?  They're probably wishing they could be as self-assured and secure as you are.  Especially when you're a young, Asian lady in a Southern town.

I've done it twice more since that first experience and while I would never choose to dine alone at a restaurant if I had D by my side, I might actually say that in some specific situations, I might actually pick dining with myself over dining with others.  (These situations mostly relate to my introverted personality where big groups of acquaintences wear me out.)  (By the way, it's getting really cool to be an introvert nowadays, and I love it.)

Give it a shot!  You might hate it, but at least you tried it.

Bad iPhone pictures from my first experience at The Hive--a new, fancier, hip restaurant in downtown Bentonville that serves up "refined" Southern food.  I've been there twice and there were okay dishes and big misses.  I don't think I would return and I would probably not recommend it.  Their value prop is promising but they don't deliver.  I really want to like them ... there aren't many "refined" places here.  Alas.

Crispy chicken livers.  I didn't mind this, but had to peel off the breading at the end because it was pretty heavy.  Good counterpoint to the slightly bitter greens though.

Scallops: inedible at best.  I suffered through maybe one and a half out of politeness and cut the remainder up into pieces to pretend that I had worked on all of them.  They were gooey rubbery and tasted weirdly metallic.  I've never tasted scallops, or anything for that matter, like that before.  The bed of eggplant puree underneath it was really bitter so I think they should have peeled their eggplant first.  I'm not big on beans so I didn't like their vegetable medly either. 

 

Cool atmosphere though.  It's right by a little gallery so some of the quirks made its way into the restaurant, including large green penguins which I almost wanted to drag to my table so that I would have a friendly green companion.

*1274 - long night

I have been in this situation before--being on that fine line hovering between being only slightly tipsy, but just ever so slightly over the optimum level of tipsy-ness to do excellent work, at 10 pm when there's still a full night's work ahead of me.  I don't want to risk it.  Big gulps of water and maybe some handstands to rush the blood to my brain?

Yes, second "official" day in Bentonville and was taken out to dinner by the big 'uns.  Having a good time so far.

*1273 - pole education

Again, pole dancing does not mean strip club.  It can be very beautiful.  Unfortunately, I don't think it has quite caught on in Arkansas so I'll have to crowd in the lessons whenever I'm back in SF.  Ever since the last recital, I've been dropping off a little in terms of taking regular classes, but hopefully an attempt at working out will help me maintain a wee bit of the strength I've gained so far.  Who am I kidding ... my only forms of working out are strictly anything that requires pointy toes and and pretty lines.

*1272 - kids

I've been flying a lot lately and I know that I would absolutely pay a premium price to sit in a no-kid zone.  I think travelers with kids/babies should be saturated in a sound-proof section of the plane where they can wail and throw tantrums in a vacuum from the rest of us.  My latest flight unfortunately involved a brat in front of me, a crying little ’un behind me, a very young baby shrieking a few rows back: way too many.  This may become more tolerable one day when I have a young 'un of my own but for now, no thank you, please keep them away from me.  Too bad I forgot to bring my earphones ...

*1271 - food flags

I think this is awesome!

*1270 - labor

I finally birthed my 90-slide report of pure insightful data today.  It's been a month in labor for this report on top of everything else I'm working on, and while I am that dork who finds joy in producing excellent work yada yada, BOY WAS THAT TIRING.

*1269 - it's official

Big news for me.  It's now official.

Just accepted a position within my company to travel for two to three weeks for every one week in SF to the boonies of Arkansas for the next six months, which sounds pretty scary/awful but it's a great career opportunity.  I'll be consulting with clients and will be the face of the program I've been managing for a couple of years ... my baby project.  Exciting stuff.

Hanging out with S yesterday, whom I've been fortunate enough to have as my early days career mentor and now my life mentor now that we no longer work in the same company, and realized over spiced Mexican chocolate ice cream that precisely yesterday was my three year anniversary at MaPS.  Three years!  Some of my peers aren't even out of school yet.  But three years!  That's it?  It's not an exaggeration to say that most people in this field take double that time to get to where I am.  Yes, we work very hard to get there, but we do it because we love what we do.

All my life, I've been living expedited towards the idealized "excellence", and I don't know when I would slow down and take a breather for myself.  It's not a rat race because there's nobody I'm racing against besides myself.  Maybe that's okay, for now.

*1268 - nuggets

Some days, even the likes of Alexander's Steakhouse and Jardiniere fail to tickle our fancy and what we really want is ...

A good ole plate of chicken McNuggets.  Delicious when tamed with (homemade) smashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli and served on a porcelain plate.  I'm sure kids (and probably D) beg to differ but a full meal consisting of deep-fried ground chicken gizzards / bones / beaks / fat / feathers / poop / toenails / slight bit of real meat + french fries + soda??  Ohh, nasty, not happening.

*1267 - ducky

Jardiniere: one of SF's celebrity chef-owned restaurants (Traci des Jardins) and our pick for celebratory dinner #2 of 2.  I fell in love watching her on Top Chef and we had to go try out her food.  Some time in the future they should have multi-sensory TV programs where you can smell or taste food prepared on cooking shows to see what it is people on TV are gushing over ... I always suspect that people hosting cooking shows are lying through their teeth when they are in raptures over what that prepared.  I look at the ingredients and I'm like ... meh ... how can it possibly be that great.

I digress, because Jardiniere was quite magical.  We may have been half the age of the next youngest person in the restaurant; everyone was having their pre-theatre meal before heading off to the opera next door.  Yup, made us feel real fancy.

Chacuterie that came along with a basket of many different types of breads and crackers; sadly, I enjoyed the rabbit the most.  Ack.

Scallops; sadly, we both agree I tend to make scallops that better suit our tastes.  My preference is for scallops to be as undercooked as possible. This was not a fav.

Garden peas and mushrooms with a thoughtful sprinkle of crispy rice thingies that added a nice texture.


This was really interesting.  Pasta with strawberries and duck tongue.  The strawberries were meant to look like the traditional tomatoes you find in pasta but with an interesting new taste.  Very interesting indeed.  It might also have been my first time eating duck tongue, of which at least 20 ducks' worth in this dish.  That's a lot of ducks.


And then more duck, but a very different sort.  Breast and confit and some delightful fruit on the side that went really well with the dish.  Evidently, we both really enjoy duck.


Pleased as punch.


Also pleased as punch.

*1266 - "rustic" carrot cake

I know I have mentioned it so many times before but I'm always amazed at my carrot cake recipe which has never failed to please a crowd.  Even baking it for the first time in years in SF, with a whole different set of ingredients (make up of flour, salt, etc. all change and affect the final product when you're using different brands) yielded perfect results.  It is a very forgiving recipe.  One of my go to's when asked to bring dessert, along with my spiked banana cake.

Am quite pleased that you can even see the little spots of vanilla bean in the cream cheese frosting!  I don't actually know how to frost cakes--I'm terrific at cupcakes, with a piping bag, but big cakes?  No time for using a teensy piping bag, no icing spatula in kitchen repertoire, no knowledge nor desire to produce professional-looking cakes ... hence my "rustic" cakes.  "Rustic" is one of those euphemisms you should look out for in real estate descriptions (along with "cozy", "potential", "compact", "unique" ...), which we are very well-educated on at this point, but really I do think it makes for a cute little cake.  Sprinkle a handful of walnuts on the top to take the mind away from the imperfections, and voila!  Rustic.  And delicious.

*1265 - salty

Yes, this was some weeks back.  Celebration #1 of 2 (job-related) at Alexander's Steakhouse.

The sound of a "steakhouse" doesn't usually inspire culinary excitement in me but this was really interesting stuff.  A lot of molecular gastronomy and very thoughtful dishes.  Among my favorites, the renown hamachi shots!  Avocado, little garlic balls, ponzu sauce, lime ... perfect little mouthfuls.  Mmm.

 

We splurged on wagyu and were greeted with a delightful platter of 12 different salts.  There was a very interesting smelly pick sulfuric one that was a little nasty if you took a plain lick of it, but when combined with the beef: eggs and steak!

 

A lovely treat and really impressive food experience--and I am not easily impressed.  There was just so much care put into every little dish.

Across us was a table with a handful of little girls and their parents ... I'm excited for the day I have enough money to regard a $50 meal for my handful of little kids who wouldn't care less if they were eating wagyu vs. a frozen beef patty as no biggie.  Privileged kiddos.

*1264 - am I alive?

Yes, but just barely. Spent a week in Costa Rica, sure, but everything leading up to it (two random debilitating ailments, and I'm not a sickly person; and much to think about at work) and right after it (plunged straight back into work, which is ok, but also plunged into a host of team issues and possibly the most stressful career decisions I have had to make yet) pretty much negated any relaxation my mind benefited from during the holiday. The amount that this company packs into you so very tightly in such a short amount of time is mind blowing, which works out great for your career and personal satisfaction, depending on your personality and ambition, but boy do I find it tough to ever take a break from it, even if I'm on a break physically.  My three year (work) anniversary is coming up next month and it feels like that number should be much much smaller and much much larger.

*1263 - rodeo beach

Rodeo Beach is just past the Golden Gate Beach, beautiful as all beaches are on the Pacific, but this one had interestingly dark, pebbly sand.  It was a beautiful day but the winds were blustery. I had forgotten a hair tie and had to construct a turban out of a long scarf in order to be able to see and breathe properly.  Maybe this will catch on some day:

 

It was one of those situations that made you remember how teeny you were and how massive the earth is.

  

 

(Spot the tiny waving D)

 

 

 

*1262 - krispy kreme

One day while driving past our favorite In N Out joint, we realised that Krispy Kreme was right next to it.  I squeal because I've only had Krispy Kreme maybe once, and I know how everyone in Singapore raves about them and flies them in from foreign lands.  D looks at me, puzzled, and explains that far from being a cult donut place, it's a fairly low class establishment that sets up in places like Walmart and gas stations.  

I tried a couple nonetheless, and I'm no donut connoisseur, but these seemed pretty normal to me.  Hmm.

*1261 - plow sf

The acclaimed Plow in Potrero Hill, open only for brunch, allowing only small parties in, due to their extreme popularity.  We've been there twice, and the wait was about 2 to 2.5 hours each.  This works out perfectly for us because we live round the corner, so it's possible for us to trudge down in PJ's to put our names down, wade through the crowd of waiting people, head back home to wake up properly, and head back 2 hours later to enjoy the food.

I really, really want to love Plow, but I do think that they're a little overrated.  They have a few really excellent items, but other things we tried were good-normal, not fabulous-good.  

The best: lemon ricotta pancakes.  Amazing.  I need to figure out how to make these.  Paired nicely with those pancakes are maybe the best fried potatoes ever.  They cook them once, smash them, fry them up, and sprinkle generously with fresh rosemary.  Really good stuff.

 

Also tried their thick French toast.  This was good, but just not outstandingly amazingly good.

 

Crab scramble.  Missing a little seasoning, was slightly disappointed.  I know it looks really good, though ;)

We sat at the bar both times we've been there.  That's particularly fun because you get to see the cooks at work, who move like very cheerful clockwork cogs.  They're so quick and very cute and happy at the same time.  It's a nice atmosphere.  

Check out the lumpy lemon ricotta batter cooking.  Looks nastily lumpy but is so good.

 

*1260 - raw

I have a penchant for anything raw.  The only raw dish I've ever rejected was an Ethiopian raw beef dish--rather than little pieces like tartare, or thin slices like carpaccio, we're talking large hunks of completely raw, very sinewy beef here.  I thought I would like it, but it was like biting into a heavily spiced cow.

But traditional beef tartare, mixed table-side by a French server, with raw egg, capers, mustard, a good kick of spice?  Yum.

From Bisou in the Castro, who's proven themselves capable of the most beautiful eggs benedict and excellent free flow brunch minosas, and now has also proven themselves capable to us of delicious French dinners.  Mmm.

*1259 - class IV and V

White water rafting! Class four and five (the highest levels) of rapids on Lake Merced.  Woohoo!  It was my first time and I loved it.  We navigated through very safely with a guide, but I almost wish he had intentionally tumbled us around more.  Just enough to scare me and make my tummy turn as we hurtle over the rapids, but not enough to actually flip the raft.

Would totally do this again!

*1258 - two and a half years ago

Just recalled that 2.5 years ago, we had fried chicken and a long conversation over beers and pink wines--one of the first time we actually hung out outside of work, and certainly the first with just the two of us.  Then, we were babies of the company, eager and scared and nervous about the first round of promotions.  Now look at us, just a few years out, but considered oldies of the company, much wiser, settling into the rhythms of being like old people together, cooking, gardening, meowing at our cat, etc.  Things have changed so much, in a good way.

:)

I can't remember the last time we realised it was our month-niversary, and I think we clean forgot about our second year anniversary, and I can never even remember if we've been together for one year or for five, but I guess those milestones matter less to us than the journey.

*1257 - beef short ribs

I know I keep saying this, but from not knowing what boiling water looks like to whipping up full meals, healthy and delicious ... my, how my boy D has grown within the past couple of years.

Sure, slow cooker meals are easy peasy but you can't discount the fact that they turn out so intensely rich and yummy. Here we have slow-cooked short ribs, sweet and salty and caramelly mmm.  In the background, D's amazing mashed potatoes--add a squeeze of lemon and loads of fresh basil, and you'll be amazed at how much that transforms simple mashed potatoes and elevates them to citrusy fresh aromatic heights, it's like an entirely different dish!

And may I just show off, the short ribs are sitting in a C&B angled glass bowl I had been lusting after for over a year.  They are finally mine and they make me So Happy, no idea why I was holding out for so long.  I love tilted/asymmetrical dishware that's still clean and modern.

*1256 - earlier that day ...

It's always a party in the Castro, even early on Saturday mornings.  Dance music as you rub sleep out of your eyes on an outdoor patio?  Sounds about right.

Delicious food as well!  Moules & frites, with chorizo.  Mmm.

 

Smoked salmon benedicts.

Happy to have D.