feeling carnivorous

I started my vacation in San Diego. After some indoor rock-climbing, my friends and I ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I think I've eaten more red meat this month than the other months of this year combined. I had the New York strip since I was told they are known for that. I ordered it medium rare, but it was more like medium and continued to cook on the 500 degree plate. It was a little tough for my taste and I think I would have liked the ribeye better. Another option is to share the porterhouse for 2, as it has a strip and a filet attached to a bone, which keeps it juicy. So, I'm wouldn't say it was the best steak I've ever had, but it was good and made for very tasty leftovers.


I had venison for the first time. The two bites I tasted were delicious! but partly because the sauce was so good. I didn't care for the gamey aftertaste.

dry cleaning

I was at the dry cleaners today when I saw a big box on the counter. I asked the lady if there was a wedding dress inside. It was a box for a wedding dress, but it was still empty because the dress hadn't been cleaned yet. I asked how much they charge to clean and arranged a wedding dress in a display box. She said $100 and they require $50 up front (for all other items, the customer pays during pick-up). This is because sometimes people get separated or divorced within weeks of the wedding and don't pick up the dress. How sad :(.

On a lighter note, I start my vacation tomorrow! I get one week a year and this is it! I'm excited to get away, but the people I work with told me not to stay away too long. It's nice to know I'll be missed.

oktoberfest

we go every year for ...


... the food, esp. the cheesy fries


... the "chain of love"


... the chicken dance


... and the beer

celebrating october

Last night I had dinner with the October babies and honored guest at Bluefin in Newport Coast, a small, hip restaurant off of PCH. We could smell the ocean as soon as we stepped outside. The sushi was super fresh, the presentation excellent, and the company charming. "Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella?" (scroll down for answer)




lobster roll and spicy scallop roll


green tea creme brulée


"fo'drizzle"

reconditioning

Today I went to see Craig Liebenson, D.C. about my hip. This guy is a published author and expert in rehabilitation. His work is cutting edge. He works with many professional athletes and comes highly recommended by my friend and colleague (the most important credential). He put me through all sorts of orthopedic and functional tests, including gait analysis and endurance tests. He said I'm having inflammatory reactions and possibly bursitis in the hip. Also, my body has been decondiioned since I drastically cut down on my activities after the accident (probably was not a good idea). My biggest problem is the imbalance of my musculature, more of a software problem than a hardware one. We need to retrain the central nervous system to correct the source of the problems, not just the symptoms. This means training the muscle fibers to fire correctly and "waking up" my diaphragm so I can breathe properly while contracting my muscles. To reduce the inflammation, I'm taking anti-inflammatories (Advil) and eating a healthy diet with no fried foods, more fruits and vegetables, no coffee or carbonated drinks, and more water. I'm starting with "bridge" exercises for my upper hamstrings and gluts and we will add exercises one at a time. At the beginning of my consultation, he asked me what my biggest fear was with this hip injury. I said that it would never get better :(. He said that it will, and that it will probably be better than before because I'm focusing so much attention on it. I had such an emotional release leaving his office. I have hope, after 6+ months, that I will get better. That was my birthday wish.

eating sour milk

Last night, I went to Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt in Westwood for the first time. The original one is in West Hollywood. This time I'm on the upswing of an LA trend. It's a non-fat yogurt place and the lines are always out the door. Why is this place so popular? What makes it better than other yogurt places? First, they use real yogurt. It does taste a little sour and it comes in two flavors--regular and green tea. They also offer smoothies and shaved ice made with the yogurt. The toppings are cereal (fruity pebbles, cocoa puffs), crushed graham crackers, chocolate and carob chips, nuts, sweet rice cake (mochi), and fresh fruit (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, mango, pineapple, kiwi, banana). Yesterday, they removed the mango because it wasn't ripe. That's good quality control. I had the green tea yogurt with mochi, blueberries, and kiwi. The store itself is small, painted in pastel colors with full panel glass windows in the front. There is no indoor seating, so we ate outside. It was cold, but I enjoyed the yogurt, shivering all through the second half.

lawry's

We ate at 4pm with all the senior citizens and families with kids and had a great time. It takes that long to digest a large prime rib dinner anyhow. I remember going to the Lawry's factory in elementary school for a field trip, but this was the first time I went to the restaurant. The servers go by their last names, e.g. Mrs. Smith, and spin the salad instead of toss it. The prime rib is wheeled out in a silver serving dish that can fit a large child and the chef cuts the meat in front of each table. I must say, it was a very good steak (I had mine medium rare), very tender and flavorful. It seems that everyone at Lawry's tonight was celebrating a birthday. I think I heard the birthday song 6 times while we were there.

the beginning of the end

at least, that's what my friend tells me.

phone call this morning:
J: happy birthday! how do you feel?
A: the same as yesterday
J: yeah, that's about right
A: at least I didn't find any white hairs this morning
J: yeah, because you plucked them all last night! you're getting wiser as you age.

creating new memories

The last wedding of the year was that of my oldest friend. She was my first friend after I moved back to California. We were in the second grade. Camping, toilet-papering, spaghetti ... we have decades of memories together. Now she's a married woman. This was the first time I remember tearing up during the ceremony. Usually, it's during the slideshow, go figure. The wedding was lovely, under a gazebo at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. The string trio played the wedding march and music from "Phantom of the Opera" afterward. The reception was a yummy Chinese banquet at 888 Seafood Restaurant in Rosemead.


bridal bouquet


appetizer


wedding cake with panda toppers


the groom's cake is a part of southern tradition (think "steel magnolias"). it used to be sliced up and given to unmarried female guests to put under their pillows. supposedly, the women would dream of their future husbands. hey, where's mine? the cake is designed to represent the groom's interests. this groom works at the NASA jet propulsion lab in pasadena and the cake looks like mars.

lake arrowhead

Lake Arrowhead holds many memories for me. There was that time my tennis team made the trip up to play a match against Rim of the World High School. I got really sick playing in the high altitude and we lost our match :(. The home team played no-ads, so our games ended the point after deuce. That didn't help us. Then there was the time my friends and I went up to ski and snowboard. We watched "Titanic" at the Cinema and, at the part when the boat starts flooding, the film burned up right before our eyes. We sat around for 20 minutes until they got the movie started again. Then we got snowed in. To cope with cabin fever, the girls styled my hair and dressed me in a powder blue raving coat. Good times.

Last weekend, my friends and I went up for our friend's brother's wedding. There comes a time when you share so much history with someone that they are more like family than friends. It was a beautiful, intimate gathering. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the plum brandy was flowing. It was a respite from our busy lives. I was a little disoriented driving to work this morning. I felt like I had been away for a week.


golf course across from the cabin


part of the floral arch


grandma's homemade cozonac bread, made with nuts and cocoa. we dipped it in champagne during the cocktail hour and in coffee during breakfast


salad (no spinach) with cute little lightbulb tomatoes


big fat pork chop on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and spinach at the lake arrowhead resort


chocolate cake with sliced strawberries in the center


fog around the mountains