NYC: The Good,The Bad & The Ugly

THE UGLY. Hot. Steamy. Sticky. Stuffy. Cloudy and Rainy. Not a very good combo for summer. The humidity is just too much for me. Want a different summer? Come visit San Francisco!

Ladies were all in sun dresses baring shoulders and legs. Funny how everyone (yes, even the guys) was wearing flip-flaps - not the nice ones too. I looked out of place in my loafers.

THE BAD. I had a horrible hotel experience this time. The AC broke down. It would ice up and block the air flow. So, the AC man said to turn it to warm to melt the ice. WHAT? Then from Wednesday night on, there was no hot water - just luke warm - for shower. So, I was cold in the shower, and hot in the room. Well! That was one heck of a way to experience the NY summer.

THE GOOD. I countered the worst with the best. I got to see cousin Ching-Huey and her husband. It has been so long since I last saw her - and this is the first time I met Mr. Chang (and they've been married over 20 years). They drove over from New Jersey last night fighting traffic all the way. I booked a table for dinner at City Crab & Seafood Company. It was a pretty nice restaurant. It happened to be the New York Restaurant Week so we all went for the pre-fix menu. Three of us shared 3 appetizers, 3 main courses and 3 desserts. Oh, yes, we had a oyster platter too. It was heaven!

Seeing my dear cousin made this week all good.

韭菜盒子 (Chive Pockets)

Be Brave. Be Very Brave. I saw a Chinese cooking show on making 韭菜盒子 and it inspired me to give it a try. Of course cooking shows always made cooking look easy and led me to believe that I can cook anything. So I did this morning. Mom and Dad were my food critics. I think they rated me 7 out of 10.

Practice makes perfect. This is what I've learned...

#1. When making dough, need to remember it's STICKY. Make sure to dust flour on hands and the counter first. You don't want to know what happened to me.

#2. Don't chop the chives too finely. Need the texture. Need to be able to taste and smell it.

#3. The filling needs less ground pork and more chive. Oh, don't forget the cellophane noodles! The recipe also called for dried shrimps but I skipped it.

#4. Roll out the dough in a way so it's not too thick and not too thin. Also, should crimp the edge nicely. This is the hardest part for me.

#5. When cooking, the easiest way is to cook them like pot stickers so the outside doesn't dry out. Some oil and water will semi-fry and steam at the same time. Clever!

#6. Voila, my finished product. Looks pretty good huh? Still plenty of room for improvement but I'm happy with my first try.

Note to Self: If fail miserably, there are pre-made ones in the store. Never fear!

I Think Kermit is in My Pond

What Is This? RK called and said he saw a monster in our lilly pond (ok - a 100 gallon plastic tub). It's a 3" something with a tail and 2 legs. It's big and it's ugly!

RK sent over a picture of this monster. He couldn't believe it's a tadpole. It's too big and where did it come from?

I think it's a chubby tadpole becoming a frog. But RK is right, where did it come from? Our tub is tucked away at a corner against the fence. There is not even a tree around. Yes, the swimming pool is near by but it won't bring on frogs let along tadpoles. A tree frog? A toad?? A monster??? By the way, why only one? Aren't tadpoles groupies?

In Our Lilly Pond: We have 20+ some odd happy goldfish, and 4 -6 crawfish that escaped from becoming food (I hope they're still there), but that's about it. Hmmm... just don't eat my fish, ok?

Can someone explain how it might have ended up here?

... and can I kiss the frog?

Hold That Coffee!

THE BEST SMELLING STATION! The smell of freshly brewed coffee permeated the terminal as I ascended from the BART platform. What a wonderful smell especially so early in the morning. The riders are greeted by the great coffee aroma and eyes just open(well, mine anyway). Wow! I thank whoever came up with the idea and I thank whoever approved the idea. This is the best thing that happens to the transit system.

SIP NOT SPILLS. Of course the biggest worry is coffee spills in the trains. Do not fear. A non-spill cap is provided with each cup of coffee according to BART. I am curious to see how it differs from the regular cap. I'll post a picture when I get a chance to buy from the underground Peet's.

Howling at the Pump

Filling up the gas tank is a painful thing to endure nowadays. I bet people howl, cry and curse - like me - while watching the price gauge spins more than 4 times faster than the gas. The thick click that finally stops the fueling brings on a stomach turning sensation... Unfortunately, this nausea will get worse if the gas price keeps going up.

I filled up RK's Landrover this morning and it cost $90.90 for 19 stinky gallons. $90.90!!! That's almost $25 for each quarter tank of gas. Aughhh! It hurts!! I can think of other ways to spend the $90.90 than on gas. But, do we have a choice?

Yes, it would be nice to start walking, taking bus or biking instead but easier said than done.

Will howling become a ritual at the pump?

Mid Point Check In

So we're half way through 2008. Aughhh! Didn't I just blog about the new year? It seemed not that long ago but here we are, 183 days passed. Oh can't forget the extra leap day, so 184.

So what has happened the first 6 months? There were happy and sad events but I'm not going to talk about the sad. You can read that on papers. Let's talk about the good - the happy stuff.

Better and Better. Mom is gaining strength and she is improving noticeably almost on a daily basis. Her determination and hard work are paying off. Her right arm is still weak but she will regain the use of her right arm and hand eventually. Mom did not lose her positive attitude, and it's so nice to hear her laughs again now she has more energy.

Reach Out and Touch Someone. I ramped up my social and professional networks and reconnected with folks that I have not been in touch for a while. Modern technology allows people to stay in touch so easily nowadays so there is no reason not to do so. We all got to know each other for a reason. Our paths have crossed once, why couldn't they cross again?

Gourmet Wannabe. I'm going gourmet (or trying...) and I'm getting creative with whatever I find in the refrigerator. I thought only Mom can do that but I'm getting a hang of it. Nice to have a good cook for a Mom. She is itching to cook but couldn't so she directs me in the kitchen. I'm her cooking hands now and I'm picking up her techniques and recipes. Lucky me!

Self Improvement. For the second half of 2008, I'm going to focus on staying positive and channel good energy to myself and to everyone around me. Be kind to people. Give. Say hello to strangers. Make someone's day if I can't make mine.

Positive Thinking. A glass that's half full is always more satisfying than if half-empty.