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Happy 010110!!

Another year has passed and we finished up 2009 with a 6-course dinner at Jardiniere.  I was supposed to work today but at the last minute I was granted the day off.  Phew!  So we checked around for available reservations and we got a 9pm at Jardiniere, a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try ever since we moved to SF.  The meal was delicious but I was SO stuffed by the end.  They also handed out party favors since dinner didn’t end until midnight so we rang in the new year at the restaurant with the live band playing.  We missed the fireworks at the Ferry Plaza but judging upon our ride home on Muni, it looked really crowded and crazy.

In review of 2009, the year was filled with many memorable moments and events.  We both still had our jobs despite the “Great Recession”, I got to travel to Europe for the first time, and Brother got married!  I also started working in Rehab (a move from outpatient) and have the best team a girl could ask for.

Here are the Best, Worst, Faves, and Not-So-Favorites of 2009:

Best Event: I got a new sister AND got to hang out in Hawaii with the family.

Worst Event(s): Saying “see ya later” to a good friend and co-worker.

Best Trip: Eurotrip to ITALY!!!

Worst Trip: Almost getting to Tahoe but getting stuck in Auburn.  It wasn’t that bad but it was the worst of the year.

Best Meal: Birthday dinner at Fleur de Lys and meeting Chef Keller

Worst Meal: one of our meals in Florence…Rick Steves is good with sightseeing but not food recommendations

Favorite Moment: Giving a speech at Brother’s wedding reception for the family

Worst Moment(s): Losing my keys for 2 days

Coolest Moment: Sharing McDonald’s fries with Jack while watching Elmopalooza

Favorite New Toy: my iPhone

Funniest New Toy/Gift: an eraser that says “holy crap” from my Secret Santa (apparently I say it a lot)

Turkey Aftermath

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner was another tummy-stuffin’ affair.

Koa and the turkey

Koa also benefited from the holiday and got a bunch of turkey and ham scraps.  Unfortunately and as usual, we all paid for it for the next two days with his squishy poos and 4 am emergency walks.  Oh well, I guess it’s like his version of being hung over.

Korean hot pot

On Saturday night we drove down to Santa Clara to meet up with some friends for Korean food.  They specialize in a hot pot that comes piled on with veggies and underneath are pieces of udon noodles, hot dog, spam, and other tasty meats.  They also have the fried chicken that we’ve been longing for ever since KoKo House was shut down several years ago.  We also met a couple who were Korean by blood but grew up in China.  What a crazy combination!  They both spoke Korean and Chinese and I was trippin’ out the whole time.  I wonder what it’s like to identify with both cultures.  Traditionally they don’t particularly like each other so are you in constant conflict with yourself?

New Game!

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We just finished an 8-day trip filled with rich foods and tasty treats and our fridge is completely empty.  So, we’ve decided to start a new project, which we will call “The Veggie Experiment”.  Jes wanted to try eating like a vegetarian for one week.  Yep, you read it correctly.

For this week, here are the rules:

1) no beef, chicken, or pork
2) no fish
3) no eggs

Things that are ok to eat this week: dairy (yay cheese!), things made with eggs (like pasta).

Today was Day One and we went to Trader Joe’s to stock the fridge.  We bought lots of stuff that Jes would never try before but I was looking forward to trying lots of new items.  For dinner we had cheese quesadillas, black beans (Jes hates beans), salsa, and guac. Yum.

In the next few weeks we’ll add one of the forbidden items and work our way back up to being omnivores again.  It’ll start with adding eggs, then fish, and then the meats.  I’m curious to see how bacon tastes after this is over.  Does anyone want to join us?!

23 Futures in my Hands

We make decisions all day and everyday.  What am I going to eat for dinner today?  Do I take BART or drive to work?  The ginger cookie or chocolate chip with nuts?  Well, this morning I woke up early and participated in a round of interviews for prospective students for my graduate program.  Initially, it was a little weird being on the other side of the table but I got the hang of it and it made me really appreciate the process and importance of school interviews.  When we were all done with the morning, we had chosen 9 out of the 23 candidates for the program with recommendations for some of the “maybes” to come back next year.  It’s interesting to see how lower GPAs can be off-set by life experience and the interview and how you can’t judge a person solely by just one component.  It’s already an awesome experience to influence a student as a teacher but it’s an unfamiliar feeling that I have about determining whether or not someone can start a new careeer in the fall.  Is this what parenting is like?

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year!

I actually got the day off today so I decided to update my theme for the new year.  Last night we went out to Jillian’s for some drinks and dancing.  They were raffling off diamond necklaces but I didn’t win.  This morning I watched the Rose Parade on TV while I tidied up the house.  It’s great to have a random day off in the middle of a work week.

As I contemplate the events of 2008, I must say that I’ve been pretty lucky.  The economy really took a nose dive but I wasn’t directly affected.  In fact, my job is steady as ever and I got an unexpected albeit small bonus check when I got back from Christmas break.  I’m still trying to shake this cough and squeaky voice but the health of me and my entire family is stable.  Mommy retired earlier this past year and Johnny got engaged.  I got to ski in Utah for the first time and sailed in the Caribbean Sea too.

Here are the Best, Worst, Faves, and Not-So-Favorites of 2008:

Best Summer Festival: Fillmore St. Jazz Festival

Worst Summer Festival: Festival of Sail (or Festival of Fail)

Biggest Accomplishment: Learning to sail without getting seasick

Biggest Disappointment: American Airlines

Most Surprising Meal: Luce

Most Disappointing Meal: Michael Mina

Favorite Outing: Nike Women’s Half Marathon with Joy and Brother

Least Favorite Outing: Trying to get back to the hotel from Snowbird…2 buses, a light rail, and shuttle.

Coolest Moment: When a sea turtle popped his head up out the water just 2 feet in front of me in Hawaii

Yuckiest Moment: Catching Fifth’s Disease back in February

Worst Moment: When I realized that I had double-booked myself for two weddings on the same day.  Oops.

snoopysnowcone

Favorite Christmas Gift: Snoopy Snow Cone Machine from Joy and Brother

Worst Christmas Gift: None.  They were all appreciated.  Thanks!!!

Genius

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It’s T minus 2 days until the half marathon and I’m feeling excited to be running my one and only event this year. With that excitement also comes a sense of skepticism. When I first registered for this race two years ago, I was one of the first among my circle of friends to know about it and thought it would be an interesting race to sign up for. Now in it’s 4th year, the race has gotten a lot of hoopla and has lost a bit of its athleticism (at least in my mind). Sure, it’s for a good cause and you still have to train (sorta) but there’s something about this race that some purists would scoff at. Nowadays, it seems more like a fun excuse to buy really cute workout clothes and pay 80 bucks (registration) for a Tiffany necklace that you receive after “running” 13.1 or 26.2 miles with hundreds of other women. Yes, I am guilty for using the finisher’s necklace as a part of my motivation but running is running and that’s what I’m really here for.

On Wednesday night, ClubRunSF held their last training run of the season with a 3-miler and then big carboload party, which was quite a spectacle. Just imagine 500+ women in a 5-story NikeTown fueled with excitement, money to burn, and a little alcohol and you’ve got one of the best marketing schemes ever.

This year’s race colors are pink, white, and plum, which make for a very cute line of running shirts, shorts, caps, jackets, and anything else running-related. To make matters worse they give us a 20% discount off of all purchases made that evening and a chance to win a pair of $900 Tiffany diamond earrings. Let me give you a little perspective on the “devotion” these ladies have to the event and their Nike “madness”. In the middle of the party, the fire alarm went off. As a result, the entire store needed to be evacuated. Everyone was asked to put down their merchandise and go downstairs and hang out on the sidewalk. You’d think that this would lower their overall sales but think again. I’d have to say there were at least 475 of the 500 women still outside and waiting in the cold for a good 30 minutes for the chance to file back into the store to continue shopping. That’s devotion for ya.

At the end of the night, I too bought something. I got myself a hoodie to make up for the one I did not get the first year I ran this race. The race was still in its infancy two years ago and sold out of almost every item by the time I had arrived in SF for the weekend. You may think I’m being silly but most girls who have entered this race once before will continue to register (regardless of whether they plan to train or not) and purchase a new race outfit each year. As I’ve said time and time again. Whoever came up with this race for Nike is a genius.

Oh yeah…and let me share with you the additional marketing twist to this crazy race this year. They’ve decided to incorporate Apple into this marketing scheme by introducing their faker Nike+ challenge. Basically, if you didn’t get a spot in the actual race, you can register with Nike+ and use your iPod sensor to log 13.1 miles on the actual race day for a piece of the excitement. I am one of those suckers and will be running (unofficially) alongside Susie and Vyl on Sunday for a Tiffany keychain (not necklace) and a loser-time t-shirt that both get mailed to me 4-6 weeks after the race. Fortunately for me, registration costed half the price and I may actually walk home with a finisher’s necklace too if I’m sneaky enough. Yes, I admit it. I’m a sucker for great marketing too. Now if only I could figure out a way to get a piece of all this…