Browse Month: December 2010

a sigh of relief

Friday was the perfect day for a happy hour since we had so much to celebrate: the end of a tough week, Michelle’s last day of her 3-month internship with us, and Ranee’s arrival back in SF for the holiday.  We went to Conga Louge for some $5 Mai Tais and appetizers.  We love this tiki bar even though they have become a lot stricter about how many people you can have in your party.  Luckily we had just enough to max out the 12-person limit and then snuck in a couple extra by the end of the evening.

It was great to be able to celebrate Michelle’s achievements and to give her a proper send off into the real world.  It was also nice to be able to hang out with our old friend Ranee.

We also got to meet Teresa’s baby brother Patrick who had also just arrived from Chicago for the holidays.  We love bringing family to our happy hours.

Afterward, most of us made it down the street to Ici for some tasty ice cream.  I got to taste their Salted Coconut Pecan and Candied Cacao Nib flavors this time.  They were delicious and it felt so good to be outside in the rain.  Once that was done, we headed over to Gordo for a little bite to eat.  I shared a chicken burrito with Michelle and it was just the right amount to get me sobered up for the drive home.

Happy Birthday to Bangerang

Last night we gathered at the Chiang residence to celebrate Bang’s 36th birthday.  They had just brought Baby Rowan Kirin Chiang home that afternoon so we also got to hang out with the little dude.  Check out the little smirk on his face.  Cute.

That evening, Bang had gone out and purchased his own cake, had a little something written on the cake, lit his own candle, almost started singing to himself, and cut his own cake.  Luckily, he had a bunch of good friends around him to witness this momentous evening.  Happy Birthday, Old Friend.

Baby Bang

Today the Bangs became parents.  Vyl went into labor last night and delivered this morning.  They don’t have a name chosen yet so until then, his name will be Baby Bang.  Or maybe Bang Jr.  Whatever…he’ll have both names.

After dinner, Jes and I stopped at the hospital to meet the little guy and to see how his parents were holding up.  At less than a day old, he’s not doing much but he’s certainly a cutie.  Looks like the whole family is comfy in their hospital room, which reminds me of a Motel 6, and handling things moment by moment.

Congratulations to Vyl and Bang!  And welcome to the world, Baby Bang!

Holiday Party

On Saturday night, I hosted a Holiday Party for my co-workers.  We are a deprived bunch and deserved a more festive party this year compared to our pathetic lunch last year.  We had about 40 people show up and we had lots to eat and drink while enjoying each other’s company.  I ordered all the food from Pete’s next door and also made a Costco run for appetizers and drinks.  Everyone chipped in $20 per person and also brought their own booze to make this all possible.

Midway through the party, we had some familiar faces singing Christmas carols for the crowd.  Jes and I had bid on this at a fundraiser and found out a couple weeks ago that it was actually a bunch of people we already knew.  So, when they started singing, I called Victor and Susie to come down to watch too.

By the end of the night, the older folks went home and we were left with the usual HH crew and their significant others.  We continued to eat and drink and played a silly game of “Celebrity”.  Overall, the party was a success and we all had a fun time celebrating the end of the year.

Here are the photos from the party.

Wednesday nights

“Top Chef Season 8: All Stars” started last Wednesday and Brother decided to do a Fantasy Top Chef draft.  There are 4 of us playing: Brother, Joy, my friend Teresa, and yours truly.  We each have 4 chefs on our team and our chefs score 5 points for winning an elimination challenge, 3 for a quickfire win, 1 for cursing, and 1 for crying.  My team consists of Angelo, Spike, Jennifer, and Fabio.  So far Angelo has been pulling through for me with two Elimination Challenge wins while Jennifer just got kicked off tonight.  Fortunately she still scored me 2 points for cursing and crying on her way out the door.

It’s been fun watching this group of chefs again and it’s even more fun watching it every Wednesday night with the family over video chat.  Brother bought Joy a new macbook so we’ve been able to use iChat and we get to call out who’s cursing while posting up the scores live with shared Google Docs.  I [heart] technology.

My Apple Pie is getting better.

Ryan and Michelle held their 4th Annual Pie Party on Sunday afternoon and it was at Ryan’s work office down the street this year.  I made two pies: a skillet apple pie and a pumpkin pie with walnut brown sugar topping.  I think I finally figured out how to make a decent crust and my apples came from the Farmer’s Market this year.  The pumpkin pie was just for fun since I wanted to redeem myself for the not-so-good one that I made on Thanksgiving Day.

This year, there were way more sweet pies than savory pies.  There was a mac and cheese pie that everyone thought tasted delicious but didn’t vote for it because we all either thought it was cheating or we were just pulling for a sweet pie to win this year.  Mine were the apple pie in the two-handled pan and the pumpkin just to the right of it.

In the end, Vyl won.  AGAIN.  For the third year in a row.  Oh well…she certainly does make good pies.  This year, she won with a chocolate bourbon pecan pie that really was tasty.  The prize was a lighter in the shape of a small fish.  It was pretty funny.  There were 4 apple pies this year (including mine) and I came in 4th place overall with the most votes out of the apples.  I guess I’m improving.  At least that’s what I’m telling myself.  One day I will win with an apple pie…one day.

Here are the photos from the party.