Archive: February, 2010

Memo to Boys from Bob Marley & Other places you can find me

February 25th, 2010 · · in passing, love, quotations 7 comments

From Bob Marley to Boys/Men

“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before, she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect- you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together, but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break- her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there”

And other places you can find me: (all links open new windows)

You can ask me anything here and even do it anonymously.

My new food blog

Follow me at new food twitter

Dreams & Desserts: Ten on Tuesday (vol II)

February 23rd, 2010 · · savory, Ten on Tuesday 8 comments

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Pistachio gelato. Or coconut.

2. What is your earliest memory?

Living in a 2 bedroom apartment with my half siblings, younger brother, and parents. My brother and I slept on a queen bed and my parents slept on the floor. We moved to an actual house also when I was pretty young, but I think this is my earliest memory.

3. What is your earliest memory of a dessert?

As a kid, every time we went to an Asian market, my parents would let my brother and I pick one dessert to bring home. I always picked out this yellow and green dessert made out of mung bean and tapioca. I used to LOVE as a kid. It’s kind of gummy and really sticky. I haven’t had it since I was a kid. Revisiting it in 2009, I don’t really like it. It’s almost too plain for me. I think I must have liked just peeling it in strips and playing with it. Below is a picture of Dave scrutinizing it.

4. Do you have any recurring dreams?

Nope. I used to. I used to dream about my childhood best friend and him coming back to my life every 6 months or so but it’s about almost 2 years I’m guessing since I’ve had that dream.

5. Have you ever dreamed about dessert?

Yes. I forget who was feeding me, but someone in my life was spoon feeding me melted chocolate over and over again. And over and over again. Dream lasted about 10 minutes of this sequence. Best dream ever!

6. What is one thing (aside from a cell phone or computer) that you cannot go the entire day without?

Chapstick.

7. What is one dessert you could go your entire life without ever having again?

Anything lemony.

8. If you could go on vacation tomorrow, where would you go? (Assume someone else is footing the bill, but within reason…so “the moon” won’t work)

Paris!

9. If you could have any dessert tomorrow, what would you have (assume someone else is buying it for you. Within reason though, no “gold sprinkled ice cream cones.”)

Any kind of egg custards. Creme brulees. Flan. Egg custards from dim sum.

10. What was your first impression of your significant other? If you’re single, what was your first impression of your best friend?

The dude: First impression the very very first time: super quiet. He thought I talked too much, which I do.

My best friend: “This girl has a booger….” (This was back in first grade though, she’s better about the boogers now. (As am I.))

Weekend Pockets of Joy

February 22nd, 2010 · · new thing(s) of the week, pursuit of happiness, savory 5 comments - Tags:

Lots of happy moments this weekend. Listed in chronological order:

  • I saw Brit, Deesh, and Bing whom I haven’t seen in a while. We sat through a pretty atrocious movie (Obsessed).
  • A group of nine of us tackled the biggest pizza we’ve ever laid eyes on.
  • Jess, Brandi, and I had an in home spa night. Never held my face over a boiling pot of green tea before.
  • I had brunch with the lovely Selina and our conversation was very thereauptic.
  • Took a leisurely walk around our neighborhood wearing a skirt. It was warm enough to wear a skirt and flip flops! The weather climbed to 76 degrees. Of course we’re due for below freezing weather again. They say if you don’t like Texas weather, wait 5 minutes.
  • Had lunch with and hugged someone I hadn’t seen in a while and missed.


Tell me about YOUR weekend. What brought you joy?

7 Quick Takes (1)

February 19th, 2010 · · 7 Quick Takes (Fridays), creative play, in passing, lists, on the nightstand, pursuit of happiness, the grind 6 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

  1. A plane crashed into an IRS building here in Austin yesterday morning, killing two people. I just read the pilot’s 6 paged suicide note. I’m really sad for the innocent man who showed up for work and never came home because some sad twisted man could not take rein of his life and own responsibility for his unhappiness.
  2. Yesterday, during my lunch and on my own, I went to the Blanton Museum to see their exhibit on desire, aptly named On Desire.

    No photos were allowed at this exhibit but if you’re in Austin, I recommend it. It highlights a great span of desire, touching on heartbreak, confusion, sex, love… I sometimes find art hard to relate to but a lot of the pieces on display in On Desire really touched me and spoke to me. Very.. human.


    I’ve always loved the Blanton’s peaceful grandeur.

  3. Lately, I have a lot of mind chatter that is self-deprecating. I’m starting to worry that it’s excessively self-deprecating and I can’t seem to find my way out of it. Yet, anyway. I’m toying with the idea of talking to a counselor. My insurance covers it after a deductible.
  4. This video of a three year old sobbing over Justin Bieber is heartbreakingly CUTE. Such anguish for a little one.

  5. In the last week I finished the first three books of 2010: Fup, The Shack, Bonk, and am almost done with 50th Law. I think it’s amusing that when you read a handful of books all at once, there’s a lag in finishing books but then you start to finish them at the same time. Book reviews to come of all three (four?) books soon.
  6. My mom had my fortune told by this Asian dude who records his take on your life on tape. According to him, per my mom, the funnest years of my life is from age 24-34. She said according to him, I’ll get married and start a family at around 34/35. Interesting. Everything that has happened in my life, my mom claims she already knew was going to happen to me. My dad, a skeptic of fortunes, was gleeful to report that the fortune teller thinks that any degree of charismatic magnetism I possess comes from his side of the family. Ha! My parents crack me up.
  7. I’m most hungry for reassurance right now. Cuddles. Chicken soup. Hugs. Murmurs that everything will pan out. For now, I settle for still wearing Valentine’s day socks and knickers, and chocolate chip cookies.

Spotted: Car hoarder to the max!

February 17th, 2010 · · in passing 16 comments

I was doing my usual 20-30 minute walk from my car to my building on campus when I did a double take of a car I passed. I saw a car FILLED to the BRIM with STUFF. At first, I thought, “no way it’s trash, it’s probably someone moving.” But upon double take, it most certainly is not moving boxes. It’s a bunch of random… trash? Papers. One coat hanger. Books. I didn’t want to take too long so I pulled a stealthy ninja move and snapped two pictures. Had to pretend to be looking for something in my purse to wait for a few walker-bys to finish walking by.

But I did it. And I did it for you.

Behold! Car hoarder’s car!

This person clearly has a problem. I hope they get help for it soon.

New Food Blog :) Finally

February 15th, 2010 · · savory 2 comments

Last week, I went to lunch with Tracey where she encouraged me to start an exclusive food blog. Right now all my food blogs are housed alongside my other miscellaneous entries in this blog and categorized under “savory.” The current count in my savory category is 200. I think it’s about time to create a food blog. So that’s what I did! There will no longer be new food blog entries posted on this blog and will instead be posted here: http://girleatsworld.curious-notions.net. I’m also copying over all 200 entries over from here to Girl Eats World. I’m working backwards and I’ve thus far transferred over February 2010 to September 2009. Oi!

I’ll still keeping this blog as a personal blog and I hope to have you keep me company at both Curious Notions and Girl Eats World.

Thanks :).

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14th, 2010 · · holidays 7 comments - Tags: ,

The flowers were from Cindy. A very sweet gesture from one of my close friends who must love me a lot because she HATES Valentine’s day.

The joke and truth is, most (not all) of my most romantic gifts and dates and moments were usually shared with girlfriends. We go to Broadway shows, buy each other jewelry, send each other heart felt letters declaring our admiration for each other, and send each other flowers and cookies more readily than I’ve experienced from boys in general.

I’ve come to really cherish my girlfriends. As much as I adore the small handful of male friends I keep in my life, they’re usually not the nurturing types. Case in point, here’s a voicemail I got from my best guy friend. (He’s a great boyfriend to whomever he’s dating so this is not reflective of the romantic side to him.)

The answer to his question by the way, is zero.

Suspense!

February 12th, 2010 · · holidays 5 comments - Tags:

At work, I don’t have cell phone reception so Google Voice emails me my voicemails. I just got this voicemail emailed to me.

Straits: Third Stop of Progressive Lunch

February 11th, 2010 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory 5 comments - Tags: , ,

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. This entry is the third (out of four) progressive stop of a lunch we had in Houston. If you missed the other entries here is a chronological list:

1. First stop: Niko Nikos
2. Second stop: Asia Market
3. Third stop: Straits

Photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

Straits

800 W Sam Houston Pkwy N
Ste 940
Houston, TX 77024

(713) 365-9922
www.straitsrestaurants.com/

If you click on their website, you’ll see that Straits also has a location in San Francisco, in Atlanta, and in San Jose. I’ve been to Straits before for drinks but have never thought to try their restaurant. Willis, a Houston foodie, recommended that we tried Straits because everything he’s had there he’s enjoyed. Specializing in Asian fusion, the restaurant certainly has a trendy and modern flair in both their cuisine and their atmosphere.

The Food

Our group of four ordered the Roti Prata, a pulled duck sandwich, and Indian street noodles.

Roti is a crisp griddled Indian Flatbread. It came with the a curry dipping sauce. My three eating buddies LOVED it. I thought it was good. It’s like eating puff pastry with a delicious dip and really, that’s hard to go wrong with. I like my carbs.

Pictured above is the slow roasted pulled duck sandwich that comes with a dipping sauce. Seriously, out of all the dishes we’ve tried that day (I’m also including a dinner that is not included in this lunch), if I could only have one thing over again it will be this pulled duck sandwich. It was heavenly. The Asian Slaw and Shiitake Au Jus with the pulled tender hearty duck, dipped into that sauce was such a powerful fusion. You could taste everything! All the flavors and textures contrasted in such a harmonious way that it’s STUNNING. Shit. I’m not kidding when I say of all the delicious food I had that day, if I could only have a repeat of one, it’ll be this sandwich. The fries, dusted with garlic and Parmesan, were a nice complement.


Our last tasting from Straits was the Indian Street Noodles (“Mee Goreng”), wok fried spicy egg noodles,
fried with cabbage, tofu, prawns, tomatoes. This was pretty decent. It sounds perfect after a night out drinking. I guess it was overshadowed by the fabulous pulled duck sandwich. The prawns and tomatoes were especially satisfying.

The Bathroom

One quality I realize I cherish in my friends is their ability to have fun (almost shamelessly). Thomas left us girls to use the bathroom and came back reporting that the bathroom was “awesome.” So we three girls left Thomas to check it out. To our utter childlike amusement, we were delighted that in addition to the hot pink lighting, the bathroom was also a UNISEX. Party in the bathroom! So we came back and fetched our boy, Thomas and proceeded to have a photo shoot.

All in all, I’m pretty impressed by Straits and cannot wait for my next opportunity to come back. (Again, for that pulled duck sandwich!)

Next up and last for this progressive series, dessert at Juicebox!

Sending out Valentine Cards and Packages

February 9th, 2010 · · holidays, love, quotations 6 comments - Tags:


Cell phone photo of the batch of cards I sent out today.

I just sent out a batch of Valentine’s Day cards and packages. Every year I pick a handful of single friends and send a little festive note. When I send out any letters or cards I always pick out quotations that are apt to write on the back of the envelopes. I’ve been doing that for years and cannot remember when I started.

I want to share some of the quotations I transcribed this year onto the envelopes.

(It’s all I can do not to inundate this blog entry and all blog entries I’ve written about Valentine’s day with exclamation marks. To do so would sincerely reflect my GLEE!!! The glee that I experience every year around this time.)

Some Valentine Quotations


Age does not protect you from love, but love to some extent protects you from age.
- Jeanne Moreau

If I am not worth the wooing, I am surely not worth the winning.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.
- Elie Wiesel

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.
- Edgar Allen Poe

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever.
- Amy Tan