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8.29.2006

hit and run

Holy sh*t, a man hit and run 14 ppl in San Francisco streets today. One died, an elderly man in Fremont.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/30/HITRUN.TMP

I'm still waiting to hear more about motive, as from all reports it was clearly deliberate. *Shudder* My cousin doesn't live very far from there. What if he'd be on the street?

8.26.2006

lots of miss sunshine

Wow - Little Miss Sunshine is one fantastic movie! A and I went to see it on Wednesday night on his brother's recommendation, and it was just amazing. Funny, touching, brilliantly acted, intelligently written. Its been so long since I've really laughed out loud in a movie, and meant it. I never realized until now, but sometimes I laugh just because my companion is, but don't really find the jokes funny. But the number of memorable moments here kept me chuckling all night, just thinking back at it. My favorite was when the very-terrifying looking MC at the Little Miss Sunshine contests asks Olive where her grandpa is right now. I won't give away the joke, but her face and delivery are both priceless.

The acting was also terrific. There's not one actor that I thought was bad - I even thought Greg Kinnear did an amazing job, contrary to what some of the critics have said. I don't usually like Toni Collette, but she was great. And of course, Abigail Breslin is adorable!

But the best part of the movie is that is has an amazing heart at the core of it. This movie is not just about a dysfunctional family, or their adventures, or their ups and downs. Its about how each adventure, each up and down, and how they interact as a family because of them. I almost wrote "brings them closer together", but that's a cliche movie premise. You can tell here that the family was already close; it just took the events to reveal it to the audience. My favorite scene by far is the one in the diner, when Olive orders ice cream for breakfast. Lovely.

Definitely go see the movie. Its one of the best that I've seen in a very, very long time.

8.22.2006

life, as we know it

Tonight, I sat on my porch, watching the sunset, enjoying a glass of red wine, and eating this amazing spicy lamb sausage & pasta from a local restaurant, and realized that life is really pretty wonderful. For once in my 30 years of existence, I don't feel deprived materially. I'm dating a guy that I genuinely care for, despite my reservations and insecurities. For all the stress that comes with it, I do love my job and my coworkers, and for the first time in as long as I remember, I'm pretty happy with the way I look. I don't feel behind on bills, short of money, deprived, envious, or angry.

So why am I still not happy?

Maybe its part of my natural disposition. As someone who has clinical depression, I just have moments where I hate life, and want to burst into tears for no reason. Maybe its because, as I learned during the last 6 months, we are conditioned by society to want everything to be perfect, because we have so much opportunity before us. Maybe its because we expect so much out of ourselves, we expect to be happy 100% of the time, that we cannot accept any blip on that radar.

I don't know what it is, but right now, I'm content to just appreciate my life for what it is, and not try to fix what objectively is not broken. Until tomorrow morning, that is ;-)

8.21.2006

best text msg exchange ever

Between me and the cousin this evening:
S @ 10:10: bsg tomorrow nite?

K @ 10:11: busy. wed?

S @ 10:11: date. thurs?

K @ 10:12: parents

S @ 10:13: bugger

Alright, so its not that amusing, but if you read through the exchange, you'd realize what a geek I've become. Its one thing when it was just Buffy (e.g. chic-cult-nerd-cool), but now that I'm watching Battlestar Galactica, I am officially a dork.

Oh, and my aunt and uncle are coming to town. Hooray!

1st yelp grub-club @ isa

The very first Yelp Grub Club met up this past Saturday for a wonderful dinner at ISA. A total of 7 Yelpers, including me, showed up for some delicious small plates. It was verrrrry good - but unfortunately, following the spectacular dinner I had on Thurs at The House, it wasn't quite 5-star material.

However, it was great fun! Its the first time that I've really had a chance to get to know any Yelpers. Although the parties are amazing and fun, they are very San Francisco-esque in that ppl come with a group, and its hard to meet new people. I myself am guilty, as I always end up bringing someone with me. So its nice to have a fairly intimate setting like dinner to get to know everyone.


Gil, Jeff and the Jersey Girl


Ohhhh... foie gras! How I've missed you!


Rob and Cindy


Todd


Our wonderful quail - quite possibly the smallest bird ever


The group, with one member conspicuously missing (Mai!)

Cannot wait to do it again... Find out more about the next one here.

a week o' gluttony

I'm not sure that I've eaten out so many times in one week, and good food to boot!

Tuesday, A and I stayed in and got some take-out from R&G Lounge. First time I've (a) enjoyed Chinese take out; (b) didn't end up with food poisoning after eating a seafood dish*; and (c) didn't find it totally greasy! We got the Special Beef - always sketchy sounding, but fantastic here - the Salt and Pepper Scallops, and Mustard with Black Mushrooms. Paired with a bottle of Malbec, it totally satisfied my Chinese food craving without destroying my stomach.

*Yes, people, I am a Chinese person who can't digest Chinese food. That's really why I refer to myself as Taiwanese/KMT instead :-)

On Thurs, A and I had an actual date and decided on The House last minute, thanks to John G.'s glowing recommendation. WOW. Let me say it again: WOW. For such a low-hype restaurant, it completely blew us away. The wine wasn't spectacular - we got a Chauteneuf du Pape - but the food was WOW. We started off with Lobster Tempura in Baby Greens, and then shared the Korean-spiced Rack of Lamb and Grilled Seabass with Garlic Noodles. I mean, every individual thing was amazing, but the way that the entrees complemented their sides was sublime! Each complete plate was meant to go together, and its obvious that the chef gave a great deal of thought and care when dreaming them up.

Dinner was topped by an ORGASMIC Scharfenburger Choco Cake with a side of vanilla-Heath ice cream. It almost put me into a coma. Even A was bowled over... and he doesn't even like chocolate!

On Friday, Carolyn came home at 8:30 pm covered with dirt. "I've been gardening all day," she explained, exhausted. They were doing a project at the safe house she works at to redo the backyard.

Since I hadn't eaten yet, I treated her to a meal at Couleur Cafe. Yeah, the service can be spotty, particularly with one waiter, but there's no question that the food is very yum. I'd been craving the Crepe Chicken, and Caro got the Lamb Sausage Pasta with Angel Hair. We also started with some Warm Brie, which was just fantastic. Amazing what a sprinkle of oregano can do!

Unfortunately, all that eating means I'm up a total of 3.2 lbs from goal... and got a stern lecture from my WW mtg leader. *Sigh* I'm back on the regular plan, but I think that it was worth it!

8.16.2006

corazón i mi ipod

Whoo! I got my spankin' new iPod Video today - 30 GB of beautiful, slim, shiny goodness. The resolution of the videos are unbelievable... almost better than our tv.

There was a little blip when I accidentally programmed it into Spanish, and of course, couldn't figure out how to reprogram the language since, well, the menu items were in Spanish. Luckily, Tomas saved the day.

I must get used to that click-wheel thingy. Otherwise, I suppose there's always Babelfish.

8.14.2006

wtc: the movie

My review in one word? Disappointing.

Last night, Carolyn, Kevin and I went to see the World Trade Center. Considering how deeply September 11 affected me, I thought that I would be moved. The only thing that touched me emotionally during that movie were the CNN clips that were interlaced throughout. It brought me back to that day, glued in front of the TV, watching in horror.

Otherwise, the movie was pedestrian.

The movie did not provide information. The movie did not have a message. The movie did not espouse theories. The movie did not have characters that we felt for. The only "theme", if you want to call it, is that the blackest day of the 21st century can bring people together to be heroes. But the way Stone delivered it, it was like a brass candlestick to the head: Said in a voice-over by Nick Cage during the last five minutes.

In addition, there were some overt patriotism and religious messaging that I found incongruous with Oliver Stone in general. I think Oliver Stone was trying too hard not to be Oliver Stone. In doing so, he didn't deliver a tribute, he made a TV movie. In fact, I was insulted that he was riding on the emotional residue of 9-11 to carry the heart; it didn't even feel like he bothered to make us care, because he knew that we would.

I'm not always an Oliver Stone fan, but one thing about his movies is that they are usually powerful, dramatic. This was just boring. I'm shocked that the critics have rated this so high. Maybe its another one of those PC things where you can't pan a movie b/c its about our country's greatest tragedy. Which in itself, is a tragedy.

team wine, stale wine

On Thursday, we had our long overdue PMO wine outing. My team at work cut out scandalously early - 4:30! - and enjoyed some glasses of wine and each other's company at Wine in Embarcadero 2.

There was much to be drinking to. Tom recently transfered to the Product Management group, so we were celebrating; Jeff announced he was leaving next week, so we were saying goodbye. Over plates of cheese, smoked salmon, and bread, we realized that Tom is a nutjob, and I'm a camera whore. Or maybe we already knew that ;-)


The Team Pic: [L-R] Drew, Jeff, Peter, Daisy, Tom, Carol, me


Daisy, Quiggles, Carol


Me and my officemate


Jeff and Peter

Wine was surprisingly crowded, considering its in a mall. And pricey, to boot. But it sure as hell beat our next stop...

... the London Wine Bar! We vetoed it originally because, as Drew said, it looks "dusty". Well, somehow Jeff and Tom thought it'd be a good idea to stop in for a glass. As it turned out, it was not. My review on Yelp says it all:
Considering there was no one there at 6pm on a Thurs night, we knew we were in trouble. Once we sat in an empty booth, one of my companions starting chewing on stale breadsticks.

At that point, we dubbed it "Fred"... our old friend Fred, who wasn't very interesting, fun to be around, a little older, a little less with it. But Fred was generally nice. Until Fred served us a Cote du Rhone that tasted like it'd been open for as long as Fred has. So nasty - it clearly wasn't fresh, and tasted like cough syrup. I couldn't even finish it. I spent all night throwing up afterwards... and no, I wasn't drunk. It was only my 2nd of 2 glasses of wine for the evening.
Yuck.


The breadsticks have been there since LWB opened


Why is Carol smiling? Because she was smart enough to order tea!


Cranky me, guilty Tom

Afterwards, Carol and I headed for the Yelp Elite event at the SFMoMA. Lots of fun - the food provided by Oola and Maverick were yummy, and people are always super nice. I don't think I'm a big fan of modern art though... I just don't get it. Maybe I'm a heathen, but when I see big red balls, I think of Target.

Just as well, since I ended up cutting out early thanks to the disgusting Cote I got at LWB.

love, betrayal and bowling

Last Sunday, some MITMers and I got together for bowling at Presidio Bowl. It was a fun time, but man, do I suck.

The Night's Theme Song: "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey


Micaya, looking freaked at the prospect of bowling


Navin lets one rip


"Please please don't get stuck in the gutter again," I pray


Micaya and her fireman, Al


Navin, Brandy, me and Alice

8.07.2006

what do you think you're looking at...

I've always wanted to be called "Sugar Tits". Now I will be, every time my phone rings, thanks to OasyMobile's Mel in Malibu ringtone.

http://store.oasysmobile.com/store/itemdetail?item_id=255238

Most excellent.

8.06.2006

the 1259 reunion

On Thursday afternoon, I get a call on my cell:
Colin: Hey Serena! What's shaking? Wanted to catch up with you and see what's going on.
Serena: Good, good. What are you up to?
Colin: Actually, believe it or not, I'm in town.
Serena: Seriously! Well, I definitely want to see you.
Colin: I'd love to see you too. As a matter of fact...
As it turns out, Mr. Colin, formerly of 1259 fame, was homeless. He was supposed to stay at a friend of his' apartment - this friend is on an extended vacation in South America. However, the key that he gave him didn't work, so Colin called me while he was sitting outside on Market Street with all of his luggage.

And thus began the 1259 reunion weekend.

The Lady with the Sweet Lookin' Buns
Not only was Colin in town, but so was Brian - a.k.a. Brian #1, the Original Brian, or yubm. He and his gf Martha coincided a trip to SF from LA so that they could see Colin here.

Since I was still not feeling great, I declined midnight gelato in North Beach on Friday evening when they arrived. But we did join up for dim sum at City View, which lacked a city view, but had some tasty treats and good laughs.

While we were desperately waiting for fresh dim sum, all of the dessert dishes came out. Of course, when we were ready for dessert, all we got was the stuff that we were pining for - lettuce cups, steamed Chinese broccoli, porridge.

Brian, looking around, commented, "I want to find the lady with the sweet lookin' buns."


And they arrive! Brian with a leer...


... but not a Leery.

Afterwards, we headed towards North Beach so that Martha and Brian can hit up a store called Double Punch. On the way, we pass by the most excellent place ever: the AMD Trading Association, which not only specializes in ping-pong accessories, but has a Table Tennis Robot.


The Robot!



After strolling around the Haight for a while with them, I headed home since I was still feeling feverish.

She's Like the Wind
This morning, we decided to venture out again for food. Restaurant of choice: Blue.

Apparently, this place has some kick-ass Mac 'n Cheese. I asked the waiter on his opinion, and he said, "Its the best you'll ever have... unless your mom just makes the world's most amazing Mac 'n Cheese."

Puzzled, I looked at him. "Does it look like my mom makes Mac 'n Cheese?"

Regardless, he was right. Brian, Martha and Colin all opted for the dish, while Martha's friend Ed and I chose some breakfasty foods.



But I was hardly Mac 'n Cheese-free. I'd gotten the Chorizo Scramble, which came with hot tortillas. Inspiration struck, and I wrapped some of indeed the world's best Mac 'n Cheese in a tortilla with ketchup. With "She's Like the Wind" playing in the background, it was like white trash heaven.

"All we need now is some kimchee," Ed commented dryly.



Before we parted ways for the weekend, we had to take one last reunion picture. So we struck a pose outside of the restaurant, reverting to our usual, violent ways. Martha even joined in the act.





Colin will be here through next weekend, and we've already decided that after he graduates from law school, we're going to move in together and get a dog. But I'll still miss these two.

8.03.2006

just. so. wrong.



Yes, that's a handbag. *Shudder*
 

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