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9.30.2005

wisdom tooth wisdom

nathan: Gaah evil dentist stole my boobs
serena: shut up!
serena: hahaha
nathan: Eeek
serena: did you get your wisdom teeth pulled?
nathan: Just leaving yep
nathan: *hug*
serena: hilariuos
nathan: Walking home, glad its 3 blox away
nathan: Can't talk at all, so yay im
nathan: @ work?
serena: yar
serena: boo, bun
nathan: W
serena: are your boobs in tact?
nathan: Same as befor
serena: is that a good thing?
nathan: Yep
serena: oh good
nathan: Weird, took like 20 min
serena: i think mine took longer?
nathan: More paperwork than tooth whacking
nathan: Uhh yeah
nathan: Like 2 hrs
serena: well, obviously most of that time was spent on removing my boobies
nathan: Dude, I've put this off for 4 years cause of fear of losing my boobs
serena: lol
nathan: Hhaha
serena: you're totally wacked out on novacaine right now, aren't you?
nathan: Fun part comes in 1.5 hrs when the meds wear off
nathan: Hoooboy that'll be fun
nathan: Going to walgreens for my friend vicki
nathan: Err vicoden
nathan: Crap, no coffee/soda for 24
nathan: I'm gonna freak

9.28.2005

and hence is the difference...

... between me and Fernando. In the context of picking a restaurant, of course.

fernando: i'll try anything once
fernando: i think i've been to baraka
fernando: can't remember falling in love with baraka
serena: and i've just made reservations for the restaurant for 7:15
fernando: neat
serena: you and your being in love
serena: !
serena: i'm just happy with a (food) orgasm
>

And you wonder why it didn't work out...

9.27.2005

which britney are YOU?

I am apparently sexy, almost naked Britney. But you know? If I had boobs like hers, I'd be completely naked. All the time.
Which Britney Spears are you?

Sexy Almost Naked Britney

You are young and you have nothing to hide. You are a free spirit who has fun dancing and being sexy. You will be old with wrinkles some day, enjoy it while you can.

Personality Test Results

Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

celebration at jardiniere

Last night, Topher and I went to Jardinière to celebrate the GMAT score.

Ohhhhh.

Ohhhhhhhhhh...

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

And, sorry Topher - but it wasn't you that was causing all the orgasms.

We started out with a 1/2 bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which I thought hit the perfect note for the food we ordered. It was slightly sweet, and very light. Not anything that sent shivers up my spine (that is reserved for the Syrah that we had at Cafe Claude), but it worked well for dinner on a Monday night. And I did quite like the glass - it was the size of my head.



The food? I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was. We ordered several small dishes and just one main course to share. First came the Tombo Tuno "Crudo" - a fantastically raw cut of tuna, dropped in sizzling olive oil for just 30 seconds, then paired with shelling beans and cucumbers. Fantastic. This was accompanied by a trio of Seared Dayboat Scallops, topped with crispy fried onions and drizzled with a tomato-chili oil.

I never thought that I could love raw fish that wasn't sushi.


The Tuna Crudo


Seared Scallops

Next came the Duck Liver Mousse (of course), and the Heirloom Tomato Salad with Avocado and Olive Spread. I always love anything pate-ish, but I have to say, I've had better. Oola's and Cafe Claude, particularly, come to mind. The mousse was creamy, but not very seasoned; the housemade croutons that came with were a tad too greasy. The salad, however, was exceptional. I'm so glad that its still tomato season.

We polished off our 2nd course, and the waiter brought out the Roasted Squab. This was originally only available if one ordered the tasting menu ($79), but because it was a Monday night, the chef was gracious enough to prepare a serving for us. It was tender, just rare enough, with its own juices highlighted by the haricot vert salad. I definitely recommend it.


Our cute little Squab

The grand finale of the night was our one and only main course - a finely pan-seared Alaskan Halibut with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Saffron Potatoes and Sweet Corn. Wow. Wow. Wow. If I thought I loved raw fish after the tuna, the halibut only made me realize that well-prepared white fish is even better. I even declared that I was in love after my first bite... and you all know that I do not love easily.


Topher gets all Zoolander with the Halibut.
(Yeah, you try convincing me he's not gay.)


We were way too stuffed for dessert, but they brought us a complimentary dish of biscotti, candied lemon rind, and fudge with walnuts. I almost fell out of my chair from the first bite of the fudge, but Topher liked the lemon rind best.


Me, biscotti, fudge and the table

By that point, my clothes felt so tight that all I wanted to do was to go home, change into sweats and pass out. Which is exactly what I did.

I haven't had that sweet of a sleep since... well, its been a long time. Which just goes to show that a great score on the GMATs, and fantastic food can cure any insomniac's troubles.

9.26.2005

and the verdict is...

710 baby! Whoo hoo!

The best thing about my score is... is... Who the hell am I kidding? There's tons of best things about my score.

... I'm smarter than 95% of the people who take the test
... I'm 3 points smarter than the average HBS student
... I can delete that damn MyKaplan bookmark

and...

... I DON'T HAVE TO STUDY ANYMORE!!

How much better can life get right now? I'll answer that if and when I get into Harvard - hehehe.

9.25.2005

training diary, weeks 5 and 6: gmats = jello butt

OK. As if the 2 week gap between training diaries aren't a clue, I've been slacking off - seriously - these last couple of weeks. I can blame it on the GMATs, which are coming up on Monday, but as my trainer, Mark, said, "Exercise is brain food."

So I've just been lazy.

Well, not really lazy. Its been a pretty stressful time. HiPer was launching its demo at Applebee's last week, so I was pitching in for testing, and GMATs are right around the corner. But the truth is, that's not an excuse, because I will always have something going on.

But to quote Mark once again: "The past is the past. Start over right now."

*~*~*~*

Training Diary, Weeks 5 & 6
Weight: 131.5 lbs - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Body Fat: 30%*
Fitness Level: Jello. Yuck.

* Estimates. I haven't been in to get measured by Janet. (Bad Serena! Bad!)


Me and Wiggy on 9/23


Karen and I on 9/9

*~*~*~*


Luckily, I think that my increased weight training and better eating habits have kept the gain from visibly resurfacing - looking at my pictures, I still look a helluva lot better than on Week 0. But I know better. If I don't start again, it'll be back to Jello-land all over again, this time minus $750. So I'm back in the game. I even moved from the regular Bay Club to the B of A club because its closer to work.

Any and all of you are welcome to yell at me if I don't get myself back on track from this point forward. Just refuse to eat out with me. That'll do it.

return of the booty

On Friday, we threw our September babies birthday party @ the Luna Lounge, with headliners such as Pam the Funktress, Nikola Baytala and Apollo. I'd tell you they were awesome, but I don't really remember them playing - not because I was drunk (although I was a teensy bit), but because I was busy hanging with my peeps :-)

I'll let the pictures tell the story... or half-story, in any case. I can't post all the things that were captured on film, as there were some unseemly pictures involving, um, me ...


J-Dubz and his pal from Alabama


Me and Wiggins


Sergio on the decks


Kenji and gf


Topher's white side takes over


Heather and I do the penguin dance (hip hop version)



Me and B


Clyde, Carolyn and Topher


Clyde! Why is your head on my boob?!


Clyde!! Why is your head under my dress?!


Me and Karen


September Babies - Batch 1


Heather makes the Sept baby picture complete


Eric and Carolyn (aka Roboheaux and Robustique)


Somehow whenever the 4 of us get together, our pictures degenerate into this...


Caro and Clyde, dancing it up


Awwww yeah.

Happy Bday, loves!

9.18.2005

cheap eats

I've been eating my way through San Francisco, but mostly trying out some of the nicer restaurants in the city. Now that I'm soon to be poor, I'm ready to eat my way through the cheap eats that we have to offer.

The Chronicle's article on Bargain Bites could not have come at a better time: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/18/CMGG7E9NMD1.DTL

On my list to check out:
  • A La Turka
  • Balompie Cafe
  • Goood Frikin' Chicken
  • Hukilau
  • Il Pollaio
  • Pakwan
  • Pastores
  • Shalimar
  • Tangine Moroccan Restaurant

Who's game?

9.16.2005

not date food

I've been so good about studying that I decided I desperately needed a break. So Brendan and I decided to check out Filipino food last night, and I have to say - it was the raunchiest dining experience I've had in some time. And I don't mean "raunchy" like sexual/fun/kinky raunchy. I mean like, fried carcass raunchy.

I picked Brendan up at the Daly City BART station as he ran into a bit of a MUNI-snafu. By the time we got to Ongpin, it was something like 8:30. We brought a bottle of wine, but of course, we couldn't open it there. And we were largely ignored - probably because Brendan was like the only white person in the whole joint.

I've been to Ongping before - I used to date a Chinese guy whose parents grew up in the Philippines - so I knew that it was pretty good. The three dishes that I'd had before did not disappoint. Sisig, as always, was amazing and fragrant; and eggplant relleno topped with banana sauce a fantastic contrast. It was when we got to the Pancit Palabok - noodles topped with fish flakes and shrimp - and the fried short ribs that we ran into problems.

Yes, I said fried short ribs.

I think the problem was that we were both so hungry when we got there that we just ordered way too much food. We ordered the three dishes, and then saw some other tables with the fried stuff, and decided to add that. The waiter even looked at us and said, "That's a lot of food." But we were the stupid white people there. We didn't care.

Brendan really did NOT like the Pancit Palabok - he said that it tasted like fish food. In fact, he liked to so little that he dumped it onto another plate.

I really did NOT like the fried short ribs. I mean, it was really, really fried. Not slightly stir fried; not even just deep fried. It was put in a vat of oil and fried for house until the meat was no longer even recognizable as food and the marrow inside was covered with oil. I couldn't even look at it, and the smell of it made me sick. Brendan had to wipe his hands so badly after handling a piece that he grabbed the napkin off the table next to ours - which was occupied, of course.

I wish I brought my camera - well, sort of, because I might have gotten grease on it. But there would have been some precious shots of Brendan's Beatles hair, him eating a nugget of fat (ewww!) and the carcass itself. Then you would believe me when I say "ew". We felt so gross after words that we both sat in the car with our pants buttoned, and our conversation degenerated to talking about bowel concerns the next morning. I would say, not a place to bring a date.

9.14.2005

happy burfday, natopoo

It was Nathan's birthday today, and Dave Weekly got a hold of his label maker.


They also apparently had shots at the scary Irish bar down the street, where people pee on cars when they are bored.

P.S. Britney had a baby! Coincidence? I think not.

9.13.2005

bday mildness

OK, I suck. OK, I'm boring. My life these days consists of waking up, going to work, coming home, maybe working out, studying and going to bed. Then it starts all over again. Throw in a couple of packages of frozen dinners (5 for $10 @ Safeway!) and that's a day in the life of Serena.

So suffice to say, my bday celebration wasn't quite as... er, interesting, as it usually is. However, I can thank my friends Karen and Eric Pop for dragging me out to dinner and drinks... especially considering I spent the rest of the weekend studying some more.

Not to say that I didn't have a *great* birthday! I arrived in the office, and there was a bouquet of beautiful flowers from my co-workers sitting on my desk. I was getting calls all day from friends and family, including a text message from Brendan at midnight (scared the crap out of me!) and a voicemail at 7am from Daysun ("Oh crap! I just realized its 7am! Well, have a happy bday if I didn't ruin it for you already!").

But my friends respected my study-absorption and so I spent a chill night. Karen and I went to Bacar for dinner - and had A LOT of duck! I was pretty excited... Bacar has a 58 page wine list, and wine has become my new passion.

I arrived a little late due to Muni-madness, but wasted no time in ordering the Italian red flight. Eh, just so-so, but the wine that Karen had - a Syrah - was fabulous. It was hard to choose what dishes we wanted, since everything on the menu looked great, but we finally ended up ordering 4 small dishes and a pizza. The Sonoma Foie Gras Terrine was amazing - I liked how they put the plum sauce on the side with the apples, and brought out toasted fruit bread instead of crostini, as was the Mesquite Grilled Asparagus. I thought Karen was going to start eating the aioli sauce with a spoon!

Then came our Duck and Foie Gras Sausage - yum - and the not-so-impressive Lamb Riblettes. The duck was particularly good because of the caramelized onions. Finally, came our pizza: thin and crusty, right out of the woodburning oven, and topped with house made duck chorizo, quail egg, manchego and truffles. Ohhhhh. Probably one of the best pizzas I've ever had! Too bad we were close to exploding, the food was so rich.

After dinner, we met up with Eric and headed over to Sushi Groove South for some sake cocktails. Jonathan and two of Eric's friends joined us. But, I was good and headed out as soon as it turned midnight. I needed to study the next day :-(


Karen and I at Sushi Groove - the site of our first date!


Karen and Eric


Eric decides to DJ me...


I gave myself head!


The next morning, I found ppl camped out in our living room, Karen in Heather's bed, and Eric's sake purchases from Japan all over our coffee table. There was a hilarious incident where Heather comes into her room to find Karen crashing there (Eric let her in - not my fault!) and they both started screaming. That woke me up.

What a way to usher in Year 29.

9.08.2005

i heart my bennie!

My mom FINALLY got around to sending me pics of our doggie, Bennie, and let me tell you - she is sooooooooooooooo cute! I can't wait to go home and play with her!

That's all.

9.04.2005

training diary, week 4: reset

This week has probably been one of the crappiest weeks - both emotionally and physically - that I've had in a long, long time. Family issues, lack of sleep (13 days and counting!), stress, and some relationship housecleaning led to a not-so dedicated week for training.

Despite the fact that it absolutely sucked, I'm glad that I went through it. Its about time for me to make some of these changes in my life - I have been just floating along for a while. I look forward to reseting my life.

In the meantime, I totally blew off training this week. Not an excuse, I know. But at the same time, my priorities were elsewhere.

*~*~*~*

Training Diary, Week 4
Weight: 130 lbs*
Body Fat: 30%*
Fitness Level: Urg. Improvements from last week hold, but didn't make much progress on that front.

* Estimates - I didn't actually measure anything this week


Me and Carolyn on Sat, 9/4

Workout Record, Sun. 8/28 to Sat. 9/3
  • Sun, 8/28 - Strength Training, 1 hour
  • Tues, 8/30 - Elliptical Trainer, 30 mins
  • Wed, 8/31 - Elliptical Trainer, 30 mins; Strength Training, 30 mins
  • Sat, 9/3 - Elliptical Trainer, 30 mins
*~*~*~*

Beyond simply not training as hard, or hitting my focus, I also didn't really track what I was eating. I don't think I terribly overate (except for Sat night, where we all scarfed down some wings in a drunken frenzy), but I just didn't log every single thing in to my Weight Watchers online.

In some respects, I think I've made peace with myself. Even though I'm not dropping crazy weight, I can see improvements in my muscle tone and overall health. I'm not as panicked about this need to lose weight as I have been for the last 2 months, simply because I know that slowly but surely, its going to come off. Besides, as I've stated before, my goal is not to be a skinny size 0 or 2. I'd be perfectly happy staying a 4 if I'm more muscular and lean.

In regards to food, one of the things that the nutrition counseling has helped me see is that the points are just incidental. Yes, we need to eat a net loss in order to lose weight, but its really about balancing meals, defining good eating patterns, and recognizing that no one is perfect when it comes to food. Would this weight loss be worth it if I couldn't eat something I really liked for the rest of my life?

I'm going to continue to stay on track, just because its keeping me healthy and I feel much better when I work out. And I still have a goal that I need to meet. But I think I'm through beating myself black and blue if I can't do it at the pace that I set. As long as it happens, a couple more weeks won't kill me.

In other news, my acupuncturis left bolts in my ear. I'm supposed to press them when I feel upset. I feel mighty upset that there are bolts in my ears :-)

Resetting my life, resetting my expectations, resetting my goals, and looking forward to getting back on track in Week 5.

a robust evening at the holy cow

Dear Visitors to San Francisco:

If you plan on visiting our wonderful city, please abide by the following guidelines of good taste that most people that live here seem to understand.

(1) Please do not dress like Paris Hilton or dye your hair blonde to look like Paris Hilton. If you must look like Paris Hilton, please do not wear cutoff halter tops that have the Playboy Bunny in fake rhinestones stitched on. Especially if you are twice the size of Paris Hilton.

(2) Please do not dance on stage if you do not know how to dance. We in San Francisco know how to dance or, minus the people that live in the Marina, know that we don't know how to dance.

Some examples to help you:
  • Sticking one leg up and humping the wall does not consitute dancing.
  • Bending over and pushing your butt out (especially if said butt is clad in acid wash jeans) does not constitute dancing.
  • Grinding with the perverted old man leering at you on stage does not constitute dancing.

We understand that in places like Texas, Alabama and wherever else they vote for Bush that they do not play hip hop. But grinding an inanimate object does not equate to hip hop dancing.

(3) Please refrain from making out on stage. Once you have gotten to the make out stage, kindly step down and allow other nasty Paris Hilton wannabees to take your place. No one needs to see your neck getting licked.

Observing these rules will make your visit to San Francisco far more pleasant for those of us that have to live here. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Patrons of the Holy Cow


Robusteam ['ro bus tem]: n. Group of four randomly drunk people that make up words from the stem of "robust" and describe cheese and wine as "robust". Team members include Robust-it, Robust-a-move, Robustique, and Rôbóheaux (pronounced ro-bo-ho)


Last night, Clyde, Carolyn, Eric and I started off with dinner at Green's - an elegant vegetarian restaurant in Fort Mason - and somehow ended up watching Girls-Gone-Wild wannabees at the Holy Cow.


Dinner was suprisingly delicious and filling. We met up at around 7:45 and ordered a bottle of Barbera D'asti (quickly becoming my favorite type of wine). Every Saturday at Green's, they have a prix fixe menu for $46 - something we knew, but didn't realize that we had no alternative to.

We started off with a wonderful cheese and fruit plate, followed by appetizers. The goat cheese, as Carolyn commented, was quite "robust", as was our wine. Caro, Clydo and Eric all got organic salads, while I opted for a corn pudding. It was a corn-filled night for me, as you shall soon see.

The salads were good, but not impressive. The same was not true of the entrees. Eric and I both ordered the smoked cheese and corn tartine, while Caro and Clyde opted for the wild mushroom ravioli. I had some apprehensions about whether a purely vegetarian meal would fill me up, but amazingly, we were all stuffed! The tartines were simply incredible. The smoked cheese managed to make it taste like there was actually meat in there - Clyde even asked if we were sure that there wasn't bacon in it!


We started off so nice and civilized at Green's...


.. although Eric's wine spill on the table should have,er, tipped us off.
(OK, I admit, I threw a napkin at him.)


Clyde, are you eating an apple slice or a finger?


After dinner, it took us about 3 hours to decide where to go. Eric and I did drive by's of Mr. Smith and Mezzanine, and were scared off by the Marina crowd and hordes of Asian people, respectively. We ended up at the Holy Cow, where we spent all night being horrified by the yuckiness of Girls Gone Wild wannabe's.


Holy Cow!


Introducing Robust-a-move, Robustique...


... Rôbóheaux and Robust-it.


Fernando and Val (not pictured) joins us for the festivities.


Mike makes a brief cameo


Smiling for the camera


Yum. Beer.


It took us long enough, but we're finally drunk - as evidenced by us licking Carolyn's shoe!


"Wait. What were you doing to my shoe?! And why?!"


Turning into a vampire (I was biting ppl all night)


Val joins the fray


Rôbóheaux breaks out the signature dance


Um.


Um, part deux. (Fernando wonders: "What is going on down there?"

We ended up eating crepes, chicken wings and fries at 2am, before we all headed home and fell face down in bed. Good times, good times.

9.02.2005

hurricane katrina

In light of the devastation due to Hurricane Katrina, we've decided to donate all the proceeds of our September party (one year anniversary) to the American Red Cross.

In the meanwhile, please consider donating to the American Red Cross so that the thousands of people affected by the hurricane can receive the care, food and medical attention that they need: http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/topnav/hurricane_katrina.htm

We hope you'll join us at the Luna Lounge on September 23rd.

 

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