So What’s Good About 2007?

I’ve been thinking about what good comes out of 2007. The top 2007 news and stories are about the bads and the uglies. Where are the goods?

Perhaps 2007 is one in which people have to find/make their own goods out of the bad ones. I had to make some myself. For one, I’m a better Chinese cook now since mom can't longer cook. I’m grateful of every little thing now because my family is still in one whole piece. I’m more generous than ever because I still have a lot when many have lost so much.

Perhaps 2007 is meant to be a year of self-reflection through tragedies and sadness. People cannot fully understand the impact of things and events unless we have personally experienced them. We often don't appreciate the simple pleasures until they are taken away from us. For me now, if mom can wiggle one little finger, it would be the greatest joy in the world – JUST ONE LITTLE WIGGLE!!!

People often complain too much – me included. Perhaps 2007 brought us life lessons: stop complaining; just do it and make things happen.

Happy New Year Everyone!

You're Bad, 2007!

Like ringing the closing bell eagerly on a stock losing day on Wall Street, I’m so glad that 2007 is going away.

2007 brought aches and pains to people globally, nationally, regionally, locally and to me personally . To be fair, it did bring us some things to cheer about but too little too few…

What does 2007 leave behind? Increasing global warming, never-ending wars, skyrocketing gas prices, the collapsing housing market, fires, droughts, so many people died, too many families cried, and mom’s stroke…

(and The 49ers, the Raiders, the A's and the Giants all suck too!)

Go away 2007!! I won’t miss you a bit.

But the sky is not falling!! I’ll think of something good about 2007 before it disappears. Leave a note if you have any good to share.

We must end the year on a good note.

Food Unites...

Cousins (first Auntie's two kids) drove up from LA on Saturday; stayed one night and headed back Sunday. They were here to visit Mom and they really pumped her spirits up.

It was a short visit but we felt that we got to know them (and they us) so much more than all the times that we have known each other. They were already pre-teens when we were just babies. So we never got to play with them.

This was probably the first time that we got to catch up like adults and we drank it up too! We started with red wine, then a little sip of limoncello that Sue made - fortified with a little bit more vodka, then moved on to tequila into the wee hours... sounds boozing, doesn't it? But we were good, very baby sips... more to accompaning the chatting than the other way around. So no one was drunk or had a hangover. We were such good kids!!!

We found that we all liked breakfast, black coffee and nice wines and we all got so excited talking about food. What a wonderful way to reconnect!

So before they went home, I took them to Kingfish where people "EAT LIKE A KING, DRINK LIKE A FISH".

Yes, this is exactly how we should enjoy our lives.

Wear Fog not Flower in Your Hair

Today (oops, past midnight, so yesterday) was one of those famous foggy days in San Francisco. The fog rolled in and out all day long. Sometime it hovered high and at times it floated below. This morning, it was so thick that I couldn't see a thing outside my window on the 30th floor. Then around noon, it cleared up without a trace.

THE FOG came back for an encore performance in the afternoon. It decided to blanket the bay and to cover up the Bay Bridge. This picture was taken around 3pm. The Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge looked like they were high above the clouds.

One look and you will leave your heart in San Francisco.

Hmmm, why do I sound like I'm singing?

I'm Thankful...

Thanksgiving 2007: James, Jason, Jennifer, Caitlin, Brandon and Carli all came home for dinner. The family really wanted to have this dinner together because we were thankful that we made through another year. It has been a rough year. Mom's stroke turned our lives upside down, yet, we are grateful that WE'RE STILL WHOLE. Sadly, some of our friends and relatives have an empty seat at their Thanksgiving dinner this year. We are so lucky that we are able to celebrate the holiday with our mom and dad and each other.

What's Cooking? No turkey. We had roast pork and seafood paella but the side dishes had the traditional Thanksgiving touch: green bean casserole and brussel sprouts roasted with baby potatoes and apples. We started with prosciutto wrapped mango, salami wrapped candied fruit and cheeses and ended with pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie. Everyone pitched in to make the food but we cheated on desserts. I must have done pretty good because all was gone - no leftovers. Wow!

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Life has ups and downs but there is always something to be thankful - health, family and happiness. Treasure the moment now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Dutch Out, French In

It's Not the Real Thing: Recalled that I was very excited to get my very first Dutch Oven in May. It wasn't the top of the line but I figured a newbie like me did not need the best. Boy, was I wrong! My Dutch oven, the chic-looking all cast iron pot, could not withstand heat! The outside enamel chipped off after the first use and the inside bubbled up after the sixth use.

What's a dutch oven when it can't be used as a dutch oven? A flower pot?

Oolala: I started over. This time, I got the real thing - the $$$ Le Creuset $$$ - and this is a French Oven, boys and girls.

So far, it's good as new after one use. Hopefully, it will hold up for the duration of the warranty - the next 100 years.

Lesson learned: You get what you pay for. Quality does cost money. Can't be stingy if you want the very best.

The beautiful cheap dutch oven wannabe reminded me of the old Chinese saying: a pretty pillow doesn't mean it's a good pillow; it's the stuffing inside the pillow that counts.

So true!!

Found My First Blog!

I rediscovered my very first blog! I forgot that I had started one in May 2006. I didn't like the format of the blog so I stopped posting to it.

Let's see... I had two postings about wrapping up my MBA life. Wow! It brought back memories - sleepless nights and midnight cramming. Has it already been over a year? But, must say, it was worth all three years of my life. Can I ever do it again?

Check It Out: My Lost Blog

Miss American Pie

Apples, Anyone? Our backyard neighbor's apple trees decided to mass produce this year. There were apples on every branch - almost more apples than leaves! The neighbor lady poke her head over the fence every weekend offering neighbors apples. They were small but very delicious - crunchy, sweet with a light touch of tartness. Neighbor lady credited Dad for the harvest. He told her to cut back the trees last year. She did and that did the trick.

In return, I baked her a pie with her apples. She brought back my pie dish the following day along with another bag of apples. She said the apple pie was sooo good that her family ate it all in one day. I told her it was her apples.

Hmmm...was the bag of apples a hint for another pie?

Spread the love: I also baked an apple pie for the neighbor across the street. She rang the door bell one night at 1am asking if we were OK because the garage door was open. Being a good neighbor, she came to check us out. So sweet! One pie for you too. Dad brought it over fresh out of the oven. I heard a happy squeal across the street when she opened the door. Dad thanked her for her neighborhood watch but was also curious what the heck she was doing peeking out the window at 1am in the morning... She yet to return my pie dish. Was the pie that bad?

Carli Pie: Jason said she asks for my apple pie day and night. Wow, my biggest fan! So, here's one pie all for Carli.

Think Art

Third visit to NYC in 10 months: this time I got to visit the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on a gallery tour on 10/02/07. Do you know that Chelsea has the highest concentration of art galleries in the world? 300!!! I didn’t count. The walking tour took us to 8 art galleries and my feet screamed uncle.

Note to self: wear walking shoes; boots hurt.

Eye Opening: abstract paintings, self-portraits, computer animation, computer art, video art and sculptures. It was quite a mix of art forms. Some were confusing and some just didn't connect with me. Overall though, they were interesting and I walked away with admiration for those who have the imagination and the ability to express their thoughts and feelings.

One exhibit was all self-portraits of the artist, Julie Heffernan, wearing dead animals. What’s up with that? I thought it was kind of morbid yet the paintings were rich and colorful at the same time - very bipolar.

I really like Ugo Rondinone's 9-feet sculptures and there were 12 of them - EACH being sold for $200,000. Want one for your garden?? Want to guess what they were made of? Clay? Mud? Try aluminum. Would you have guessed? Complexity disguised in simple form.

Sol LeWitt's 3-D sculpture was giantic and powerful. It stood alone – grandly - in an empty exhibit room and what a visual impact!! The cube art was sketched with ordinary pencils on 4 large building sheetrock. It took 12 artists over hundreds of hours to make the art. Mr. LeWitt passed away in April 2007. He instructed to have this art be destroyed after the exhibition. Huh? Do you have to? They make beautiful room partitions. Wouldn’t that be more meaningful (for me anyway)???

Yes, I Made Them

Japanese Mackerel boiled on a bed of sea salt with a squeeze of lemon - perfect with a glass of fume blanc. Many thanks to Andrew for his generosity.




Morning Pastries baked with help from the Pillsbury's dough boy, so can't really claim this as my creation. No time to play with yeast. I'll try making them with my bread machine next time.

Everyday Quiche made with leftover crab meat, spinach, and mushroom. Helpful hint: always keep pre-made pie doughs in the freezer. They come handy.





Dutch-Oven Roasted Pork Stew slowly roasted in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.







Edible Gifts are ideal to show appreciations - made from the heart.







Mussels with White Wine Sauce easy to make yet looks and tastes totally gourmet.







They're actually pretty good, believe it or not.

So We Like to Drink and Eat

Dummies for Wine: Thanks to Sandra's generosity, we always have plenty of new wine tastings at our parties. But, nope, we have never become sophisticated wine drinkers - heck, we don't even know how to describe the tasting properly, just good, yummy, woo, wow, ahh, light, buttery, cool, this is soooo good, and give me more - but we always have loads of fun and that's what counts.

Just Desserts: Julie always signs up for bringing desserts and she always goes all out. She did good again this year (summer party, 8/25/07). THREE fabulous looking desserts to complete the fun. No surprise that the cakes were all gone, not a scrap left. What do you expect with 30 tummies that somehow stayed hungry even after shrimp cocktail, smoke salmon and cheese, french breads, garlic breads, pot stickers, egg rolls, chicken nuggets, fruits, salads, hot dogs, meatballs, 15 pounds of BBQ meat, 1 huge red snapper, 2 dozens of krispy kreme donuts, shaved ice, sodas, beers, coffee......

Thank you Sandra, Julie, Sandy, Julia, Linda, Patty, Robert and families!!! This is the good life.

A Wedding Toast

My 2-second fame: Patrick and Julia got married on 8/11 and my Flickr photo album of their wedding day was featured in Julia's blog (see her 8/15 blog). Wow! Who would have thought my name would appear in an award-winning blog. Thank you, thank you very much!

Check out their wedding story at http://www.modernmuse.blogspot.com.

Out of the 200 guests, I only knew a few. So naturally the photos were taken from an egocentric angle. It was more about ME and my buddies having a good time at the wedding. How about the others? Yes, the bride and the groom had a great time too.

Happy life, Patrick and Julia!

Hello New Paltz

My second NY visit in June: Brian was so sweet. He offered to pick me up at JFK and wanted to show me his city, New Paltz. Little did I know that New Paltz is far far away in upstate New York.

It took Brian and Terry 3 hours to get to the airport and it took us another 2.5 hours to go back. I had an hour flight delay and Brian got lost in lower Manhattan so by the time we got to New Paltz, it was about 10:00pm. After a late supper and a night tour through the sleeping town, we got to their house around midnight.

I saw closed shops and dark houses.

The place was quiet and calm. Ahhh... so tranquil. But when I learned that we would have to leave around 5:15 am in order for me to be back in Manhattan by 8:15am, I rattled the place!

What? A 3-hour drive? Briiiaaaaaan, why didn't you say so?

The morning was beautiful though. I had my first good look of their house and the surrounding. It was like being in a park. The morning sun was already out and birds were chirping away. These pictures were taken around 5am on the property.

The drive back to Manhattan was longer than the evening before because of the morning traffic. Oh, I missed my 20-minutes BART ride!!

Brian wanted to pick me up and take me back to New Paltz again after work because I didn't get to see anything the night before. Huh? What Brian? Are you out of your mind?? Are you thinking of going home and coming out in the afternoon and going back and out again in the morning??

What's wrong with that picture? Should I stay at my hotel that was right next to the office building? Do fish drink water?

Until next time, New Paltz.

Take It As Is

Black coffee: dark, rich and distinctive. The first sip has to be just right - piping hot, fresh, strong, unsweetened, and no burned smell or metallic taste. Ahh… a good sip means a good day.

Why black coffee? I had to go back to when I was 16 years old when I should have been drinking hot chocolate at that age. It wasn’t by choice. Hot chocolate was not served at this fish and bait shop by Galileo High. I went there every morning before class to get something hot to chase away the chills. And what was I doing at Galileo High? I was crazy to take an early morning BASIC/COBL computer programming class that summer when I could have and should have played lazy. And Galileo High was by the piers and wasn’t even that close to home. What was I thinking?

Anyway, back to black coffee… the fish and bait shop never seemed to have cream and sugar. I guessed the fishermen didn’t care about that. Gulp it down and out to the sea. In the beginning I would always ask the weathered owner for cream, and the answer was always a baritone NO. ”Sugar?” I would asked next hoping for the next best thing, but the answer was still NO.

Instead of walking out, I joined the fishermen and took my coffee black. By the end of the summer class, I was one of them!

Talk about a coffee experience… Beat that, Starbucks!

Cold and Gray

This summer is unlike any summer. It hasn't been a happy one. Mom is recovering from stroke; dear cousin is clinging to the oxygen tank because her lungs are failing her; RK's mom succumbed to her illness; mom's best friend, Aunt Lily, passed away from cancer, Ling-Ling is going through her chemotherapy, and Uncle, Derek's father, passed away unexpectedly from coronary artery blockage. He was okay one minute and gone the next. No goodbyes and no last hugs...

It's a sad summer for many of us. The light summer breeze can't lift our hearts and the sun can't seem to dry all the tears. Yet, life continues to move on. There is nothing we can do except march on...

Act Now: Live each day and enjoy every moment like there is no tomorrow. Remember to say "I Love You" before that opportunity is taken from us.

No regrets.

No Code Required

So technology is getting easier and easier. Anyone can be a techie nowadays. Check out this "embed slideshow" function. One little click and presto! No need to learn HTML to make it happened. Can't all things be just this simple? But how much fun would it be left?

No complaints though. Very easy to show off. Here's a slideshow of one of RK’s interior design projects. It's Pamplemousse Bakery in Redwood City. RK designed everything from the counter to the furniture - not the pastries though. Luckily, pastries were still made the old- fashion way and not with a click of a button.

Bon Voyage!

Sue and her hubby are on this very ship cruising out to Alaska. I’ve told her that I see cruise ships in and out right outside my office window, so she said she would wave good-bye when they depart.

Blowhorn blasted loudly as the cruiseline announced its departure. This big ship backed out the pier pretty quickly and gracefully. I’m sure Sue was waving like crazy and jumping out and down out there as I snatched these pictures.

It’s the thought that counts. Sue!! Hey, you just might catch up with Delta and Dawn – the two lost Humpback whales that finally left the San Francisco Bay on Wednesday - on your way out to the sea.

Go Dutch!

My first dutch oven – not the top of the line Le Creuset, but it should be good enough for my entry level tryouts. My first try was rice cooking. OK, I know it wasn't exciting but I had to take baby steps first... My second try was a roast leg of lamb. It was pretty simple and yes, the lamb came out quite delicious. It worked! Wow! I will try seafood stew next. Stay tuned for photos of my finished product.

Cooking technique learned: there is a difference between dry roasting vs. dutch oven roasting. Dry roasting is done with high temperature; dutch oven roasting requires liquid and is with moderate heat.

Go Under

OK, I was wrong and I stand corrected. Muni Metro DOES take you to the AT&T Ball Park, aka Pac Bell Park. So, I guess the down arrow on the street sign is accurate. See... the City does know what they're doing after all (map from the SF Muni website).

This Way Please

I was walking down on Market Street and saw this sign on the sidewalk. Here, there, turn right, make a left... very helpful arrows.

I guess the City wants to make sure that visitors and locals don’t get lost. But, what’s up with the one pointing down? I’m local and I’m puzzled. Feel bad for out-of-towners… Hey folks, whatever you do, DO NOT go underground to the BART/Muni station and catch a ride. You will never make it to the ballpark this way.

Screaming Magnolia

Almost overnight, RK's neighbor's tall tree transformed from bunch of dry twigs to a beautiful bouquet. The sight was amazing! The flowers were so pretty that I couldn't even take ugly pictures!

So what the heck is this tree? After googling all sort of combo - flowering tree, blooming tree, big flowers, flowers before leaves, etc... I think this is a Magnolia tree!! If I'm wrong, let me know.

Why flowers before leaves? I tried looking it up but decided to forget it and just enjoy before they're replaced by green leaves.

Hello Gorgeous!

"Who? Me?" asked the sea gull...

"Ya? That would be me," said the seal... 

Sorry buddies, I was actually referring to the weather. It was one of those picturesque day in San Francisco yesterday. Bright sun and not a cloud in the sky. Air was on the chilly side but the sun warmed it up just right - not too hot and not too cold. My animal friends felt they couldn't miss it either.

Happy Golden Pig

The Chinese lunar year begins February 18, 2007. It's year 4705 and the year of the golden pig. It's not easy being golden (not every pig is so lucky); it only comes around every 60 years. Cheers to all of us who are able to experience the golden pig. May everyone have a very prosperous new year!

Queen Mary 2

There was a big hoopla about Queen Mary 2, the largest ship ever to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge, yesterday. Thousands of people, lined along the waterfront, cheered and welcome her as she entered the San Francisco Bay.

This morning, as I was getting ready to start my day, I looked out the window and there she was: Queen Mary 2 docked at Pier 27. She was very pretty and HUGE. Everything seemed so tiny next to her.

I decided to check her out during lunch. I joined the crowd and walked down the piers. I thought it was a short walk but it took me almost 15 minutes to walk there.

Note to self: distance seemed a lot shorter from the 30th floor.

People, including me, were wooing and ahhing looking at her. Hard to image anything can be so big and float and move...

It was a short visit for Queen Mary 2 but she felt the love. It sailed for Hawaii tonight. There will be an empty spot on the pier when I look out the window tomorrow morning...

Hello New York!

First visit to New York ever - I got to be a New Yorker for a week. I got up, dressed and walked to work. I ate with the lunch crowd and rushed the streets with commuters in the evenings. The one difference was I ate out every night and I slept in the hotel.

I also played tourist after work. Most of my memory of New York was night scenes because it was dark by the time I started my little walking tour. In a way it was good because the lights at Time Square were more brilliant at night anyway. Chinatown was bigger than the SF Chinatown. So many jewelry stores. Where did all the gold come from? Mulberry, main street of Little Italy, was quiet the night I visited. Where was everybody? I didn't smell any food!!

People in New York do walk fast and most move in one direction. Must be careful when walking opposite of the flow. You will feel like a fish swimming upstream.

I went through the Grand Central Station everday. I learned quickly that it was the short cut from Point A to B. After going around in circles few times, I think I got my directions figured out for next time. Great place for people watchinng.

Happy Year 2007!

Here we are, third day into the new year. So far so good. What awaits us this year? Only time will tell.

The new year began damp and cold. A typical cold winter day and a great day for HOTPOT. It must have been a good idea because lots of our friends had hotpot dinner on New Year's Eve.

Mom and I decked the table with pretty plates, matching bowls, chopsticks, spoons, ladles, wine glasses, etc...It looked very festive. Halfway through, power went out. A big section of the neighborhood went pitch black. What timing! But, power or not, we were having our hotpot. At least no electricity required. Mom got spare cans of gas, and we had plenty of candles. It would have been cool if we got hats with top-mounting flashlight. We ended up with a lovely candlelight dinner - couldn't call it romantic because RK wasn't with me. It was quite fun as we fished food in semi-darkness and strained to see what we put in our mouths.

Lesson learned: improvise! It just might turn out much better than the original plan.

Happy New Year!